diff --git a/API.md b/API.md
index 2215c2f..bcf5d25 100644
--- a/API.md
+++ b/API.md
@@ -669,6 +669,10 @@ series: {
         fillColor: null or color/gradient
     }
 
+    lines, bars: {
+        zero: boolean
+    }
+
     points: {
         radius: number
         symbol: "circle" or function
@@ -737,6 +741,13 @@ y axis instead of the x axis; note that the bar end points are still
 defined in the same way so you'll probably want to swap the
 coordinates if you've been plotting vertical bars first.
 
+Area and bar charts normally start from zero, regardless of the data's range.
+This is because they convey information through size, and starting from a
+different value would distort their meaning. In cases where the fill is purely
+for decorative purposes, however, "zero" allows you to override this behavior.
+It defaults to true for filled lines and bars; setting it to false tells the
+series to use the same automatic scaling as an un-filled line.
+
 For lines, "steps" specifies whether two adjacent data points are
 connected with a straight (possibly diagonal) line or with first a
 horizontal and then a vertical line. Note that this transforms the
@@ -1236,9 +1247,21 @@ hooks in the plugins bundled with Flot.
    
     In any case, you might be interested in setting datapoints.format,
     an array of objects for specifying how a point is normalized and
-    how it interferes with axis scaling.
+    how it interferes with axis scaling. It accepts the following options:
 
-    The default format array for points is something along the lines of:
+    ```js
+    {
+        x, y: boolean,
+        number: boolean,
+        required: boolean,
+        defaultValue: value,
+        autoscale: boolean
+    }
+    ```
+
+    "x" and "y" specify whether the value is plotted against the x or y axis,
+    and is currently used only to calculate axis min-max ranges. The default
+    format array, for example, looks like this:
 
     ```js
     [
@@ -1247,14 +1270,22 @@ hooks in the plugins bundled with Flot.
     ]
     ```
 
-    The first object means that for the first coordinate it should be
-    taken into account when scaling the x axis, that it must be a
-    number, and that it is required - so if it is null or cannot be
-    converted to a number, the whole point will be zeroed out with
-    nulls. Beyond these you can also specify "defaultValue", a value to
-    use if the coordinate is null. This is for instance handy for bars
-    where one can omit the third coordinate (the bottom of the bar)
-    which then defaults to 0.
+    This indicates that a point, i.e. [0, 25], consists of two values, with the
+    first being plotted on the x axis and the second on the y axis.
+
+    If "number" is true, then the value must be numeric, and is set to null if
+    it cannot be converted to a number.
+
+    "defaultValue" provides a fallback in case the original value is null. This
+    is for instance handy for bars, where one can omit the third coordinate
+    (the bottom of the bar), which then defaults to zero.
+
+    If "required" is true, then the value must exist (be non-null) for the
+    point as a whole to be valid. If no value is provided, then the entire
+    point is cleared out with nulls, turning it into a gap in the series.
+
+    "autoscale" determines whether the value is considered when calculating an
+    automatic min-max range for the axes that the value is plotted against.
 
  - processDatapoints  [phase 3]
 
diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index b4c70ed..92d20c3 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -101,6 +101,9 @@ The base and overlay canvas are now using the CSS classes "flot-base" and
  - The selection plugin's getSelection now returns null when the selection
    has been cleared. (patch by Nick Campbell, pull request #852)
 
+ - Added a new option called 'zero' to bars and filled lines series, to control
+   whether the y-axis minimum is scaled to fit the data or set to zero.
+
 ### Bug fixes ###
 
  - Fix problem with null values and pie plugin. (patch by gcruxifix,
diff --git a/jquery.flot.categories.js b/jquery.flot.categories.js
index 5bc2396..ec314bf 100644
--- a/jquery.flot.categories.js
+++ b/jquery.flot.categories.js
@@ -74,7 +74,8 @@ as "categories" on the axis object, e.g. plot.getAxes().xaxis.categories.
             format.push({ y: true, number: true, required: true });
 
             if (s.bars.show || (s.lines.show && s.lines.fill)) {
-                format.push({ y: true, number: true, required: false, defaultValue: 0 });
+                var autoscale = !!((s.bars.show && s.bars.zero) || (s.lines.show && s.lines.zero));
+                format.push({ y: true, number: true, required: false, defaultValue: 0, autoscale: autoscale });
                 if (s.bars.horizontal) {
                     delete format[format.length - 1].y;
                     format[format.length - 1].x = true;
diff --git a/jquery.flot.js b/jquery.flot.js
index 650a215..1df9898 100644
--- a/jquery.flot.js
+++ b/jquery.flot.js
@@ -106,6 +106,8 @@ Licensed under the MIT license.
                         fill: false,
                         fillColor: null,
                         steps: false
+                        // Omit 'zero', so we can later default its value to
+                        // match that of the 'fill' option.
                     },
                     bars: {
                         show: false,
@@ -114,7 +116,8 @@ Licensed under the MIT license.
                         fill: true,
                         fillColor: null,
                         align: "left", // "left", "right", or "center"
-                        horizontal: false
+                        horizontal: false,
+                        zero: true
                     },
                     shadowSize: 3,
                     highlightColor: null
@@ -498,6 +501,13 @@ Licensed under the MIT license.
                         s.lines.show = true;
                 }
 
+                // If nothing was provided for lines.zero, default it to match
+                // lines.fill, since areas by default should extend to zero.
+
+                if (s.lines.zero == null) {
+                    s.lines.zero = !!s.lines.fill;
+                }
+
                 // setup axes
                 s.xaxis = getOrCreateAxis(xaxes, axisNumber(s, "x"));
                 s.yaxis = getOrCreateAxis(yaxes, axisNumber(s, "y"));
@@ -547,7 +557,8 @@ Licensed under the MIT license.
                     format.push({ y: true, number: true, required: true });
 
                     if (s.bars.show || (s.lines.show && s.lines.fill)) {
-                        format.push({ y: true, number: true, required: false, defaultValue: 0 });
+                        var autoscale = !!((s.bars.show && s.bars.zero) || (s.lines.show && s.lines.zero));
+                        format.push({ y: true, number: true, required: false, defaultValue: 0, autoscale: autoscale });
                         if (s.bars.horizontal) {
                             delete format[format.length - 1].y;
                             format[format.length - 1].x = true;
@@ -661,7 +672,7 @@ Licensed under the MIT license.
                     for (m = 0; m < ps; ++m) {
                         val = points[j + m];
                         f = format[m];
-                        if (!f || val == fakeInfinity || val == -fakeInfinity)
+                        if (!f || f.autoscale === false || val == fakeInfinity || val == -fakeInfinity)
                             continue;
 
                         if (f.x) {