Zinnias are popular, easy-to-grow annual flowers known for their bright colors and continuous summer blooms. They are often planted for aesthetic appeal but are also highly valued for attracting beneficial insects. Bees do like zinnia flowers, making them excellent additions to any pollinator garden. However, the degree of attraction depends entirely on the specific variety planted. Selecting the right bloom structure determines whether the zinnia provides a summer buffet for bees or a functionally useless decoration.
Why Zinnias Appeal to Pollinators
Zinnias are visual beacons due to their striking, vibrant colors that bees easily detect. Bees are sensitive to the blue, violet, and yellow spectrum, and many zinnia varieties fall into this range, signaling a food source. The petals also possess patterns, often invisible to humans, that reflect ultraviolet (UV) light. These patterns serve as “nectar guides” to direct foraging insects toward the center of the bloom.
Bees find a rich supply of both nectar and pollen once they reach the flower head. Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid providing energy for flight and hive maintenance. Pollen contains protein, fats, and vitamins, which is the necessary food source for developing bee larvae. Zinnias offer both nutritional resources in abundance, supporting adult bees and the next generation.
As part of the Aster family, the flower structure is a composite head made up of many tiny individual flowers. This arrangement provides a large, stable landing platform for various bee species, including honey bees and native solitary bees. The consistent, long blooming period, often lasting from early summer until the first frost, ensures a sustained food source when other plants may have finished flowering.
The Critical Difference: Single vs. Double Blooms
The accessibility of pollen and nectar is determined by the zinnia’s bloom structure, which is the primary factor for bee attraction. Zinnia varieties are categorized as single, semi-double, or double blooms. Single blooms are the most beneficial because they feature a clearly visible central disk of tiny yellow flowers, known as disk florets, surrounded by a single row of outer petals.
This open structure allows bees to easily land and access the pollen-bearing anthers and the nectar at the base of the disk florets. Double-bloom varieties, in contrast, have been bred to have multiple layers of petals, creating a dense, pom-pom-like appearance. This proliferation of petals often hides or completely replaces the reproductive disk flowers.
The tightly packed petals of a double bloom make it difficult for a bee to reach the pollen and nectar below. Gardeners should prioritize single or semi-double varieties with exposed yellow centers to attract and feed bees. Excellent choices include the Zinnia elegans ‘State Fair’ mix, which features large, semi-double blooms with accessible centers, and the ‘Profusion’ series, which provides numerous small, single flowers.
Recommended Varieties
The ‘State Fair’ variety is a tetraploid cultivar, contributing to its vigorous growth and large bloom size, often 3 to 5 inches across. The ‘Profusion’ series, a hybrid of Z. elegans and Z. angustifolia, is highly regarded for its disease resistance and continuous production of small, accessible flowers. Selecting varieties like ‘State Fair’ and ‘Profusion’ ensures the zinnia’s aesthetic beauty is matched by its functional value as a pollinator resource.
Enhancing Your Garden for Bee Visitors
Gardeners can maximize the effectiveness of zinnias using strategic planting and maintenance techniques. Bees are more efficiently attracted to large patches of color than scattered individual plants. Grouping zinnias in mass plantings creates a stronger visual signal easily spotted by foraging bees.
Planting tall varieties at the back of a border and shorter types in front creates a layered effect, increasing the visible area of the food source. Continuous bloom is achieved through succession planting, which involves sowing new seeds every few weeks throughout late spring and early summer. This staggered planting ensures a fresh supply of flowers throughout the entire growing season.
Regularly removing spent flower heads (deadheading) directs the plant’s energy toward producing new blooms instead of setting seed, prolonging the nectar and pollen supply. Zinnias thrive in full sun, requiring at least six hours of direct sunlight daily, which is the preferred foraging condition for most bees. Avoiding broad-spectrum pesticides ensures the zinnia patch remains a safe environment for visiting pollinators.