The Zinnia Peppermint Stick, 'Zinnia elegans', displays flowers that are as tantalizing as their namesake candy; no flower is the same. When Peppermint Stick start blooming the neighbors will say "Wow". This dramatic Zinnia is excellent in containers and is great for dried or cut flowers. The flowers are 3 to 5 inches in circumference. They are striped and blotched scarlet, carmine, vermilion, orange and rosy-purple on cream and dark yellow. They will bloom from early summer until the first frost.
The Peppermint Stick Zinnia will perform best when planted in rich, deep, well-drained soil. Mix a high phosphorous, low nitrogen fertilizer in with soil. Plant in the late spring, 2 weeks after the average last frost date. This Zinnia looks great in mass planting and the blooms last a long time before needing to be clipped off.