The Perennial Zinnia Companion Plant That Turns Your Garden Into A Pollinator Magnet

As a gardener, nothing can be more exhilarating than a gorgeous flowerbed filled with colorful blooms that buzz with bees and other pollinators in the morning sunshine. This is especially exciting if your floral plot is situated near your summer vegetable patch because all those bees are a welcome sight when you're growing things like cucumbers, squash, and pumpkins that need consistent insect pollination. One flower that's popular in summer gardens is the stunning zinnia, which is one of many flowers that attract pollinators and are easily grown from seed. As these are a member of the daisy family, it makes perfect sense to pair them with another plant from the same family. One perennial zinnia companion plant that should be on your list of must-haves is the pretty coreopsis because it truly is a pollinator magnet. 

Zinnias are annuals, so you have to sow fresh seeds every year, but many coreopsis species are perennials and will readily self-seed. This means that once you've planted them, they'll continue to come up year after year. As a tip, if you want to grow coreopsis from seed, they do need light to germinate, and you'll get better results with some cold stratification. But once you've done this initially, you'll save yourself some time establishing your warm-season flower garden in subsequent years — you'll only have to sow zinnia seeds among already sprouted coreopsis to get an outstanding display every growing season.

Many coreopsis species enjoy the same growing conditions as zinnias, making them ideal companions. For example, the common coreopsis can thrive in USDA hardiness zones 4 through 9, while annual zinnias grow well in zones 3 through 10. Plus, like zinnias, coreopsis prefers a sunny spot in the yard and well-drained soil. Even more importantly, both these flowering plants are drought-tolerant once they're established, so they'll need similar levels of water. You'll also find that coreopsis wildflowers are an easy to propagate perennial for beginner gardeners, just as zinnias are fairly easy to grow from seed.

Different varieties of zinnias and coreopsis reach similar heights, which can give your garden a more meadow-like appearance and means the pollinators can easily buzz from bloom to bloom. Zinnias can have flower stems that reach up to 4 feet. This means you can easily pair them with coreopsis varieties such as greater coreopsis, which grows up to 4 feet tall, or threadleaf coreopsis, which can get up to 3 feet tall. As a bonus, you'll also find that both zinnias and coreopsis are generally deer and rabbit-resistant. And if these aren't enough reasons to grow zinnias and coreopsis as companions, both of these gorgeous flowers are perfect for a cut flower garden.