Bugbite, I have grown most of those from seed at one time or another, with the exception of Million Stars. This year I grew Vanilla Sprite exclusively. I think it is my favorite variety now.
The yellow is nice and clear without that horrible Cheetoh's Gold color that I dislike and the petal tips were often white, which gives them dimension.
I always start them in the greenhouse in mid-March and have near-blooming size plants when I pot them on into larger containers for the summer. I use them to cascade over pot edges and to surround plants I am using as focal points like Canna's or Alocasia.
I don't have any experience with them planted in the ground.
Alana

Poisondartfrog,
I really appreciate the input. There is a variety that is growing down here (NE Florida) that is grown as a ground cover. I read that Sanvitalia can be a perennial in zones 9-11. So that may explain it.
I want to try one as a ground cover, so will try Sprite Yellow based on what you wrote (Geoseed does not have the Sprite Vanilla. Geoseed is by far my favorite seed company; has 8000 vareties of seeds, but no vanilla...go figure.)

The Million Sun is another I will try because it is compact. It is a Sanvitalia speciosa rather than a Sanvitalia procumbens. Might be a perennial substitute for my melampodiums or even marigolds.
Thanks again,
Bob

I have been looking for a Sanvitalia speciosa. I will check Geoseed for that one.
Thanks for the tip!

PDFrog,
If you go to the Geoseed website there are 2 types of catalogs: 1. a cool but very, very hard to use online catalog and 2. a very easy to use PDF.
To get to the PDF, click on the 'Online Catalog' at the top. Then after that loads, look at the bottom of the front page of the catalog. The third icon, at the bottom left, is a 'save' icon. Click that and it will ask if you want to download a PDF version. Do that and you will get a great PDF version.
Took me 5 days to figure that out :-)
Also check out Aztec Gold (Sanvitalia speciosa) while you are looking.
Another thing about Geoseed besides there excellent germination rate is the flat shipping fee. Always verify seed count when you call and order and count them on arrival. One of their sources did mess up. I never had a problem but a friend had 2 packages that were short, which they corrected immediately.
Bob

Here is a link that might be useful: Geoseed link

Bugbite: I can highly recommend zinnia maritima Solcito as a groundcover. I bought one little $.88 pot of it two years ago just to give it a try and it proved to be an excellent investment.

This little zinnia self-seeds (in place, not 20' away!) and self-cleans. It's drought tolerant and I've had absolutely no mildew or other disease.

Here's a picture of it from just a few minutes ago:

{{gwi:25920}}

If you're interested, send me an email and I can harvest seed.

At one time I was interested in trying sanvitalia also. However, info from the UF IFAS Extension said that sanvitalia "may suffer in the heat in the warmest parts of Central Florida" so I didn't pursue it for my garden. - June

Juneroses,
Thanks for the great information. I found the reference on the UF IFAS that you mentioned along with a lot of other good info. As much as I research plants, never knew that info was on the UF site.
Your zinnia is amazing. I will email you.
Thanks,
Bob