Persian Carpet Zinnias attract hummingbirds, butterflies and bees

This year, be bold in the garden and remember, carpe diem, to seize the day, or more likely “pluck the day,” because carpe diem has the same Latin root as carpet, meaning something that is plucked. This is probably because carpets were originally made by unraveling clothes and “plucking” the yarn to make rugs.

Persian carpets go back 2,500 years and are famous for being hand-knotted. Even though a good carpet maker can tie 10,000 tiny knots a day, it takes 300 days to make a small 3-by-2-foot carpet.

Luckily, you can mimic the intricate weave of Persian carpets in the garden with Persian Carpet Zinnias (Zinnia haageana).

These low-growing plants will cover themselves with sensational burgundy, gold, red, mahogany, orange, and even bi-colored double flowers. They are a cut-and-come-again flower, so every time you cut a flower, more will grow back.

With their amazing tolerance of hot weather, wind, and even drought, the two-inch-wide double and semi-double blossoms start blooming in early summer and go nonstop until killed by frost.

These heirloom zinnias grow just 12 to 16 inches high in mounds about a foot across.

Persian Carpet Zinnias attract hummingbirds, butterflies and bees.

Plant the seeds a half-inch deep directly in the garden after the soil is warmed up and all danger of frost is past. Keep the seedbed evenly moist for the first week or so. You can also start them indoors for earlier blooms. The arrow-shaped seeds will germinate in five to seven days.

Choose a spot in full sun for best results. Once the plants are up and growing, thin them to stand at least six inches apart. They do best in soil that is fertile, rich in compost and well-drained. Even though they are not fussy, the best results will be with a soil pH between 5.5 and 7.5.

Because of their dwarf habit and continuous flowers, Persian Carpet Zinnias not only do well in containers or as low borders but combine beautifully with other low plants such as alyssum, dwarf marigolds, lobelia and petunias.

You can even plant Persian Carpet Zinnias in the vegetable garden, where they deter cucumber beetles and tomato worms. Their nectar brings in beneficial insects such as ladybugs, predatory wasps and hover flies to eat harmful insects. Even the hummingbirds that come to feast on the nectar will eat whiteflies and other damaging bugs.

Zinnias are perfectly edible, so use them as colorful garnishes or added to salads. They taste somewhat bitter, and frankly their culinary value is mostly for show rather than flavor.

You can save your own Persian Carpet Zinnia seeds. Just let flowers from your healthiest plants wither and die right on the stem. After the flowerheads are completely dried, separate the arrow-shaped seeds from the dead leaves and petals. Store your saved seeds in paper envelopes in a dry spot out of sunlight and heat, and the seeds will keep up to five years.

So seize the day and plant Persian Carpet Zinnias in the garden, along the border or in pots. And you can sweep your troubles under the rug.