Zinnia elegans Cresto Peaches and Cream - seeds

Zinnia elegans Cresto Peaches and Cream mix brings together different varieties of zinnias with scabious-like flowers in a harmonious palette of pastel, pink, peach, and cream tones. Generous and gently original, these annuals bloom for months if you deadhead the flowers or pick them for bouquets. This selection, with its long stems and trendy colours, is particularly well-suited for cutting. In the garden, zinnias prove resistant to heat and drought. However, they require sunny, well-drained soil to thrive.

Zinnia elegans is a robust annual plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. This botanical species, native to Mexico, has given rise to numerous cultivars. 'Cresto Peaches and Cream' was selected for the attractive shape and soft colours of its beautiful, more or less double flowers. Each plant forms a beautiful, branching clump that reaches approximately 75 cm (30in) high when flowering, with a width of 30 cm (12in). Its stems are hollow and moderately brittle, adorned with rough and fuzzy, lanceolate to elliptical, medium green leaves. Flowering occurs 10 to 13 weeks after sowing. It begins in June-July and continues until September-October, depending on the sowing date. The colour palette includes true pink, candy pink, cream white, peach pink, light yellow, salmon... This flowering is nectar-rich. The flowers appear in the axils of the leaves, forming large 6 cm (2in) heads composed of numerous ligulate petals around a central disc that may be more or less visible depending on the plant. After pollination by insects, seeds are formed, which can be harvested and sown the following spring.

Watching zinnias grow is always a surprise. They can emerge from the ground in the most unlikely places abandoned by many plants, their flowers bloom even in rocky soils and under scorching sun. The shades of Zinnia Cresto Peaches and Cream blend well with those of your most beautiful roses, as well as with purple and chocolate-coloured flowers or foliage. Try it with purple basil, 'Velvet Curtains' amaranth, 'Rubrum' Pennisetum x advena. This mix of pastel shades is perfect for rustic flower beds, with cosmos, autumn asters ('Little Carlow' aster, A. turbinellus...), or light grasses like Stipa tenuifolia or 'Little Miss' Miscanthus sinensis. They can also be sown in pots to decorate the terrace in summer.