Zinnia

This is a zinnia. In the northeast it is an annual that is either grown from seed or planted as a seedling that you can buy in six-packs from a garden center in May. These flowering annuals are easy to grow in full sun. Some tips for success are:
1. Plant in full sun – zinnias need at least 6 hours of dead-on sunshine including the noon hour.
2. Like all annuals they bloom on new growth so stimulate that new growth with fertilizer, either an organic product with a slightly higher first number (nitrogen) or a synthetic fertilizer that also has a slightly higher percentage of nitrogen.
3. Water zinnias deeply once a week in most northeast gardens. These are plants from Mexico, so they do not like frequent splashing of water on their leaves. Frequent irrigation is the kiss of death for these plants!
4. Deadhead – that is, clip off the old flowers – consistently to promote new bloom. So cutting the flowers for bouquets does double duty: you get pretty flowers for the house or to give away, and you also stimulate more bloom!