Zinnia ‘Peppermint Stick’, Zinnia elegans, is a wonderfully unusual old-fashioned zinnia famous for its cheerful flowers splashed, striped, speckled and streaked with contrasting colours. No two flowers are necessarily quite alike, making every plant a little surprise. Blooms may appear in shades of cream, yellow, orange, pink, rose, red and scarlet, decorated with contrasting flecks and stripes that give them their distinctive “peppermint stick” appearance.

Zinnias are native to Mexico and surrounding parts of Central America. Wild zinnias were growing there long before they became familiar garden flowers elsewhere in the world. The Aztecs knew these plants, although the rather simple wild flowers were very different from the enormous, colourful blooms produced by modern garden varieties.

Zinnias reached Europe during the 18th century. The genus was named in honour of German botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn, who studied and described plants during the 1700s. Early European gardeners weren’t particularly impressed by the rather plain wild forms, but plant breeders soon began selecting them for larger flowers, brighter colours and increasingly elaborate forms.

By the 19th century, zinnias had become popular garden flowers, and generations of breeding eventually produced the extraordinary range we enjoy today. Peppermint Stick belongs to the novelty or striped group of zinnias, selected specifically for the unpredictable markings scattered across its petals.

That unpredictability is one of the great pleasures of growing Peppermint Stick from seed. One plant might produce a creamy flower splashed with crimson, another yellow streaked with red, while another may be pink with darker spots and markings. Even flowers on the same plant can sometimes vary in their patterns.

Plants generally reach approximately 60–90 cm tall, producing sturdy upright stems topped with large flowers. The blooms can be single, semi-double or fully double, adding even more variation to a planting.

Zinnia Peppermint Stick is primarily an ornamental flower rather than a food or nutritional crop. Its greatest benefits are its spectacular colour, long flowering season and usefulness to garden wildlife.

Bees and butterflies are particularly fond of zinnias. Single and semi-double flowers provide the easiest access to nectar and pollen, and a group of flowering zinnias can become wonderfully busy with visiting pollinators.

Zinnias are also excellent cut flowers. Their strong stems, brilliant colours and good vase life make Peppermint Stick particularly fun for flower arrangements. Because every bloom can have different markings, even a small bunch can look remarkably colourful.

Regularly cutting flowers actually benefits the plants. Zinnias respond to cutting and deadheading by producing additional branches and flower buds, so don’t be afraid to bring plenty of them indoors.

Peppermint Stick loves sunshine and warmth. It is an excellent spring and summer flower and performs particularly well during Australia’s warmer months.

Plants prefer fertile, well-drained soil but are quite forgiving once established. They appreciate regular watering, particularly during extended hot and dry periods, although they dislike constantly soggy soil.

Good airflow around the plants is important because zinnias can be susceptible to powdery mildew. Allowing adequate spacing and watering around the base rather than continually wetting the foliage can help keep plants healthy.

Pinching out the central growing tip when young plants are approximately 15–20 cm tall can encourage them to branch, resulting in bushier plants with more flowering stems.

Flowering can begin approximately 8–12 weeks after sowing, depending on temperature and growing conditions, and healthy plants can continue blooming for months.

Peppermint Stick is an open-pollinated variety, so seeds can be collected from mature flower heads. However, if other zinnia varieties are flowering nearby, bees may cross-pollinate them, meaning saved seed can produce some interesting surprises the following year.

How to Grow From Seed:

Sow Zinnia Peppermint Stick during spring and summer once the danger of frost has passed and conditions are becoming warm.

Zinnias are very easy to grow directly in the garden. Sow seeds approximately 5–10 mm deep into prepared soil and keep the area gently moist while germination occurs.

Seeds can also be started in pots or seed trays. Zinnias grow quickly, so avoid leaving seedlings crowded in small containers for too long.

Warm temperatures encourage rapid germination. At approximately 20–25°C, seedlings generally begin appearing within around 3–10 days.

Once seedlings are established, thin or transplant them approximately 25–35 cm apart. Adequate spacing encourages good airflow and allows each plant room to branch.

Choose a position receiving full sun, preferably at least six hours of direct sunlight each day. Water regularly while young plants establish, then water deeply when required rather than keeping the soil continually wet.

When plants reach approximately 15–20 cm tall, the growing tip can be pinched out just above a pair of leaves to encourage bushier growth and additional flowering stems.

Once flowering begins, pick blooms regularly or remove faded flowers before they form seed. This encourages the plants to continue producing new buds.

If you would like to collect seed, leave some of your favourite flowers on the plants towards the end of the season until the flower heads become completely brown and dry.

With Peppermint Stick, waiting for those first buds to open is especially exciting. You never quite know what you’re going to get – stripes, spots, splashes or speckles in all sorts of colour combinations – and that’s exactly what makes this gorgeous old zinnia so much fun to grow.