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Why I Don't Love Using Zinnias In My Designs

Ellen Frost

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Hello Flower Friends! I'm Ellen. Sign up for my FREE weekly newsletter, FlowerNerd (https://ellenfrostflowers.substack.com/) for more flower fun! I write flower profiles, chronicle my flower adventures and share flower stories.

I know this is going to make some people mad, but as much as I love the look of zinnias, I have a LOT of problems using them as a florist.

Zinnias are beautiful, inexpensive, easy for flower farmers to grow, and come in some incredible colors and forms. But their unpredictable vase life, broken stems and heads, browning petals, difficult cooler storage, and dreaded “zinnia meltdown” can make them surprisingly difficult to use in floral design.

In this video, I’m sharing my honest experience with zinnias as a florist who buys locally grown cut flowers—and why I sometimes choose not to use them for daily deliveries or weddings.

I’ll talk about:

🌸 Why zinnia vase life can vary so dramatically
🌸 How I test the vase life of cut flowers
🌸 The “wiggle test” for knowing when zinnias are ready to harvest
🌸 Why zinnia stems and flower heads can break
🌸 How improper harvesting and packaging can contribute to broken zinnias
🌸 Whether zinnias should go into a flower cooler
🌸 The confusing advice florists receive about zinnia storage
🌸 What the cold chain means for cut flowers
🌸 Why zinnia petals can brown so quickly
🌸 How and why florists sometimes wire damaged flower stems
🌸 What “zinnia meltdown” is and why it can be such a serious problem
🌸 Why zinnia problems can be particularly frustrating during wedding season
🌸 The challenges of using locally grown zinnias in professional floral design

I also talk about why I want to love zinnias. They are an important flower for local flower farmers because they are easy to grow, relatively inexpensive, and offer colors and varieties that aren't readily available through traditional wholesale flower channels.

So are zinnias actually bad flowers? No. But from a florist's perspective, predictability matters—and that's where I struggle with them.

If you're a flower farmer, florist, floral designer, or gardener growing zinnias for cutting, I'd love to hear your experience. Do you put zinnias in the cooler? Have you experienced zinnia meltdown? And what varieties have performed best for you?

CHAPTERS

00:00 Why I Don't Love Using Zinnias
00:15 The Problem With Zinnia Vase Life
02:01 Zinnias for Events vs. Daily Deliveries
02:57 Broken Zinnia Heads
04:07 Why Zinnia Stems Break
04:38 The Zinnia Wiggle Test
05:15 Why Zinnias Break in Buckets
06:23 The Problem With Shrinkage
07:13 How to Wire a Broken Zinnia
08:14 Why Fixing Zinnias Isn't Worth It
09:35 Why Zinnia Petals Turn Brown
11:34 The Zinnia Cooler Controversy
12:03 Understanding the Cold Chain
13:06 Zinnias Don't Like the Cooler
14:00 Where Should Florists Store Zinnias?
15:00 Asking Flower Growers About Zinnias
15:15 30 Growers, 30 Different Answers
16:17 The Problem for Florists
17:03 Why You Can't Just Add Zinnias on the Wedding Day
17:54 Conflicting Advice From Flower Growers
19:17 Why I Still Want to Love Zinnias
20:09 What Is Zinnia Meltdown?
21:08 When Zinnias Completely Melt Down
22:07 Why Zinnia Meltdown Is a Florist's Nightmare
23:15 Where Zinnia Meltdown Happens
24:23 Why Zinnia Problems Matter for Local Flowers
25:21 What Causes Zinnia Meltdown?
26:03 Zinnias Can Have a 3–23 Day Vase Life
26:17 Beautiful Zinnias...But Are They Worth the Trouble?

I love working as a florist and running my business, Local Color Flowers, founded in 2008. I make videos about flowers (obvi). I also write a free weekly flower newsletter and host an online community of flower friends.

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20 Comments

@ellenfrostflowers Creator 3 weeks ago Pinned

If you liked this video, you’ll love my free, flower newsletter FlowerNerd 🌷Subscribe today! https://www.ellenfrost.com/join-now

@Perrinsflowers 3 weeks ago

Ive noticed this too, but i thought it was something i was doing wrong on my end. Its nice to know im not crazy lol!

@thepragmaticfarmer6308 3 weeks ago (edited)

All legitimate concerns you highlighted.

I only sell doubles to florists/ designers. I also dont sell any with the yellow disk florets open or "stacked" doubles.

CVBN tablets for the first 24-48 hours.

Cooler storage if I need to, 45⁰F for no more than 36 hours. Our cool, dark basement is best.

And most of all not all zinnia varities are created equal. Benarys and Oklahoma have the best vase life in my experience. Queen are more unpredictable and the specialty varities ( Floret, Ballerina, etc) are predictably awful.

I don't blame florists for not wanting to use them. I also don't blame beginner growers for leaning on them as their main crop. This is an excellent video that is very much needed.

@NDBGardenStudio 2 weeks ago

I've kept this secret to myself for a long time - I've tried, but I just don't like Zinnias! Not to mention, in our particular climate, they are quite susceptible to powdery mildew. So it is no conflict for me to not grow or use them. You are not alone!

@SIMULATIONINTRFCDSCNTND 2 weeks ago

@20:27 FLOWER WAS JUST RIGHT ... AFTER THAT POINT YOU MOVED INTO CHAOS AND DISORDER NO JOKE, ELLEN:text-green-game-over::face-blue-wide-eyes:

@FranDreschirt 10 days ago

This video is so affirming! I'm a new hobby grower/arranger and zinnias are pushed real hard as a "must grow" but I haven't had a lot of success growing them; they're so delicate to handle and I find them kinda scruffy looking 😶‍🌫 Cosmos do the same job for me with none of the drama.

@PatriciaKoelmel 2 weeks ago

Zinnias were always my favorite flower in my father's garden growing up. Like you said, the range of colors is awesome. However, I never knew the difficulty in caring for them as cut flowers for arrangements. I understand your predicament. BTW, I love this arrangement, everything about it. A work of art.

@annbrodzinski5707 2 weeks ago

If you find the time, could you make a mason jar arrangement video? :)
❤
Love your videos 😊
Thankyou!

@nicomyth 3 weeks ago

Snapped heads drive me crazy too! I try to add extra into bunches to help avoid shrinkage. I don't know that my zinnias have experienced meltdown but I tend to store my zinnias about 45 degrees or on the warmer side. You are right that the vase life can be unpredictable but I generally only grow Benary and Oklahoma. Those varieties seem to stand up best. I love the new fancy varieties but even as a grower they are frustrating, because they don't all grow true to form.

@janetschuchter238 2 weeks ago

You are so right!

@marleneleuenberger892 2 weeks ago

Your experiences and feelings are your experiences and feelings so they are valid. I started following you in the spring and as a hobby grower and designer I was prepared to be disappointed by my zinnias. However, they are actually far surpassing my expectations for ease to grow and vase life. I did an arrangement with zinnias and dahlias for my home. Left for a week, and came back to find everything wilted except for some of the zinnias which were actually fresh enough to reuse with a fresh cut and fresh water. 💁‍♀️. Idk but i will grow them again.

@therese81081 2 weeks ago

Thank you for sharing this! I’m a first year flower farmer that made the mistake of growing a lot of Floret zinnias, ugh. The petals turn brown so fast after harvesting and I ended up having a lot of wasted space in my field. Except the Monarch butterflies love them, so I guess it wasn’t a total loss. I wish I would have done more research before I bought the seed. All your videos are great, thanks for your insight!

@KyleMartinInNC 2 weeks ago

As a small grower in eastern NC, my 1st year soil wasn’t as healthy. Just a tilled row with the cheapest compost barely worked in. All I had heard was they like crummy soil and how easy they are to grow. It took forever for them to get size. Once they finally were usable, they were beautiful but I had a lot of the same issues where I would cut them and next day or 2 they were awful! Some were ok, but some not. I sold at a small farmers market so a lot of mine were there for the pollinators. The next year, the row I planted them in we covered in shredded mulch and I threw the seeds out/racked them around and they came up much faster/healthier. I didn’t have any issues in the vase like the 1st year. I do not put in a cooler ever and I do try to change the water out since they are one of the dirty flowers! I was originally worried my house might be too cold, but I think it was just the soil not being the best. I do get powdery mildew from our humidity. If I find treasures, I cut and use them but really my zinnia row is for the pollinators. They bring in so many butterflies, moths and bees which is part of why I love growing flowers!

@GegeRetired2023 3 weeks ago

I totally agree with you. I love zinnias and I wanted them for my arrangements, but they just didn’t work. Sometimes they declined before I finished the arrangement, some made it to the vase but only lasted 2-3 days and some lasted longer. I will keep growing them, but I will leave them in the garden/landscape for color and interest. I just won’t use them for arrangements.

@FoothillFarmFlowers 2 weeks ago

I have been feeling this way for SO LONG. Unpredictable. I have also done lots of vase life testing, and some will last 3 weeks and some 3 days. I use them and sell them, but I know this is a problem and it seems like most farmers just ignore this fact.

@artefloralkimera 2 weeks ago

I agree with what you say about zinnias. I buy them for my home and that is it. It is too risky otherwise.

@DovieWylie 2 weeks ago

I had stopped buying zinnias in the farmers' market years ago because I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong when I got them home...😆 Good to know that it (probably) wasn't me! And thanks for the comment about a vase life of 3 to 4 days being common for dahlias. In yesterday's Zoom for the Dahlia Summit, I was the one asking the first question -- about best practices for extending dahlia vase life -- because I'd been trying the hot or even boiling water methods and so on, hoping to get >4 days, even from dahlias bought from the farmer herself. But if that's normal... I'll stop expecting more. Thank you.

@katebarrett1924 12 days ago

I was going to plant fewer zinnias next year - focus more on ballerina, aurora and linen. I agree that queen lime series browns quickly. Interested in any experience people have had with those 3 varieties- production and vase life.

@GermaineRoss-sg9pf 3 weeks ago

Really good to know your thoughts- for a beginner farmer. Loved your arrangement and that you talk through it. What were the tall buds you were using?

@allybowman345 2 weeks ago

Ooh, I ever knew about the vase life issue. I grow them and use them in market bouquets all the time. I especially love them for the crossover quality they have where there are a couple of shades in a bloom.. They're actually not that easy to grow Ellen!