Sakata flowers first to be grown in space

Morgan Hill, Calif., March 2016 – In January, Scott Kelly, Expedition Commander on the International Space Station, tweeted a photo of a blooming zinnia at the International Space Station 250 miles above earth. The blooming zinnia was a big development for the future of cultivating flowers and vegetables in space ventures to come. The #SpaceFlower, as Kelly hashtagged in his twitter post, was none other than Sakata Seed’s Profusion Orange zinnia. Profusion Orange is an All-America Selections Gold Medal Winner and is known for its uniformity and heat, drought and disease resistance.

See our previous article on the First Flowers Grown in Space.

The zinnia space cultivation began November 16th, 2015, by astronaut Kjell Lindgren, as part of the Veggies experiment, which tasked astronauts with the challenge of autonomous gardening in deep space. As part of the Veggie system, Lindgren activated rooted ‘pillows’ of Profusion 5 Color Mix zinnia seeds in November of 2015.

Kelly’s eye for gardening along with the (on Earth) Veggie team’s creation of the ‘Zinnia Care Guide for the On-Orbit Gardener’ resulted in the first bloom - reported shortly thereafter, on Jan, 12, 2016.

“Sakata Seed is proud to have an industry-proven series that is able to go from international success to intergalactic! The ability of Profusion to grow in the most extreme, unpredictable conditions is a true testament to the vigor and flower power of this amazing plant!” said Jamie Kitz, Key Account Sales Manager for Sakata.