Creeping Zinnia (official name: Sanvitalia procumbens) offers profuse and dense green foliage, and you can enjoy a mass production of bright yellow flowers with a dark heart. The flowers are individual little suns with ribbons for petals that makes the Creeping Zinnia look radiant. This annual or biannual plant does not grow taller than 20 cm and has long branched stems that hang down quite a bit. In a flower bed it provides temporary groundcover, but this garden bloomer can also be used to make attractive arrangements in containers and bowls to display on the garden table.
They look just like mini-sunflowers!
Creeping Zinnia is a member of the aster family and has some resemblance to the aster, but on a much smaller scale. The plant is native to the south-west United States, Mexico and Guatemala. There are seven species, most of which are meadow plants.
Wild Creeping Zinnias have rather fewer flowers and a coarser look than the cultivated varieties. Creeping Zinnia flowers from the beginning of May until the end of September (although they will often extend their season up to the first frost).
Creeping zinnia trivia
Freely translated Sanvitalia means ‘lust for life’, an obvious description of this cheerful little bloomer!
