Sanvitalia procumbens
Creeping Zinnia
Common names: Sanvitalia, Mexican Creeping Zinnia, Dwarf Sunflower
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Pot size
- from 3 l
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Flowering
- Jun–Oct
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below 0 °C
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: André Karwath aka Aka · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Sanvitalia procumbens is a low summer-flowering annual from Mexico and Guatemala. It grows flat and creeping, reaching only 15 to 20 cm in height and spreading to about 40 cm wide. The small, egg-shaped leaves are fresh green and set densely along the stems. The many flowers, only about 2 cm across, resemble tiny sunflowers, with bright yellow or orange ray petals around a dark brown, almost black center that resembles a military button, from which the plant takes its German name. It blooms without pause from June until the first frost in October in sun and warmth. In the garden it serves as a ground cover for sunny beds and borders, and in window boxes, hanging baskets and pots it trails over the edge. It is an annual, not frost hardy, and requires little work.
Care instructions
Plant Sanvitalia procumbens after the Ice Saints in mid-May, from calendar week 20, in a fully sunny, warm location, as the more sun it receives, the more abundantly it flowers. Space plants about 20 cm apart. Water regularly but moderately: the soil may dry out on the surface between waterings, and it does not tolerate waterlogging. In containers, fertilize about every two weeks; in beds, little fertilizer is needed. Deadheading is not necessary, as it keeps flowering without it. If the stems become thin in August, cut them back somewhat, and the plant will regrow more densely. In prolonged rain the stems can rot, so a spot under a roof overhang protects them.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingMar–May
FloweringJun–Oct
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 15 °C, ideally 21 °C
- Days to sprout
- 7 to 14 days
- Light
- Needs light to sprout
- Sowing depth
- Press in, don't cover
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
well-drained, sandy, humus-rich
Creeping zinnia is undemanding and grows in any free-draining, slightly sandy soil, whether balcony potting compost in a window box or normal garden soil in a bed. The pH may be slightly acidic to neutral. Soil that is too rich and heavy produces lots of foliage and fewer flowers, and in soil that is too wet the shoots rot. So mix heavy soil with sand.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
Jun–Sep
In window boxes and pots, from June add liquid fertiliser for flowering plants to the water about every two weeks. When planting, a little ripe compost is enough to get started. In the bed you hardly need to feed at all; a thin layer of compost in early summer is enough. Plants that are fed too generously produce lots of foliage and fewer flowers.
Overwintering
Creeping zinnia is an annual and dies with the first frosts. Clear the plants away in October. If you want to save seed, let a few flowers ripen and store the seed dry and cool until sowing in March. In mild winters, some of the seed survives in the bed and germinates by itself in spring, but you cannot rely on this.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
Propagate creeping zinnia from seed. From March to April, sow in trays of seed compost, press the tiny seeds in lightly and cover them only thinly. At around 18 to 20 °C and in a bright position, they germinate after about two weeks. Prick out the seedlings into pots, harden them off in May and plant them out after the Ice Saints (mid-May). From mid-May you can also sow directly in the bed, although it then flowers a little later. In autumn you can collect seed, which you store dry and cool until the following spring.
Companion planting
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Creeping Zinnia yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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