ZenMan said:

So lovely!!!

The cut flower industry would gobble these up.

LorettaNJ said: The cut flower industry would gobble these up.

😍

Hi guys (that is a generic "guys" that includes you gals),

Extensive cross-pollination somehow morphed tubular petals with florets, yielding a flower form I haven't named yet.






I am a little uncertain whether some of those are just variants of "plain old tubulars" that happen to have toothy petal tips.

ZM

Hello again, guys (once again, generic)

An advantage of those weird flowers with apparently only one kind of flower part is that they make it possible for a zinnia to take on the form of an onion flower.


By "onion flower," I mean the actual flower of an onion, not the delicious dessert. There are already flowering varieties of onions with near-spherical flowers. Onion flowers are attractive for that reason and come in various colors. I think it would be interesting if there were a variety of zinnias with spherical flowers. Genetic engineering could make them glow in the dark in many colors, although many people would balk at GMOs. I guess you can't have everything.

ZM

It's nice to see them grouped together. I really like your nameless form.

Patience and imagination reign here. Kudos ZM!👑
THE ZINNIA KING!

ZM, I think your work is very creative, ingenious and inspiring for all Zinnia lovers. You are like the Charles Darwin of Zinnias, or the Audubon of Birds and even though you have written that the Zinnia breeding is only a hobby, I think that it will someday have a bigger impact on seed production in some form.

Hi Evelyn,

Thanks for the positive comments, but I don't feel at all like a "King". I have just been having fun with zinnias and have been kind of lucky.

Hi slowcala,

Thanks for your compliments. Most of my zinnia success has been just a matter of luck. I have had fun breeding zinnias, and am still having some scaled-back fun within the limits of apartment living.

This was another of my "onion flowered" zinnias.

That is one possible avenue for zinnia breeding, but certainly not the only one. The tubular petals can give a zinnia bloom a "star-burst" look when they are narrow.


They can look good even if the tubes are shorter and less narrow.

"Regular" petals can look great if the bloom is big and has good color.

More later.

ZM

Onion, Starburst, Regular, narrow tubular, Oh my!

Hi guys,

A few more pics of tubular-petal zinnias.




Since their stigmas are inside those tubes, pollinating them requires some surgery.

ZM

Love those tubes!!!

I still see a potential to going
commercial if you wanted that. When you pass on, no one will benefit from your patient long hours of work and creativity. Just think of all those flowers that could be in SO many gardens...

Love the photos. That pink and yellow onion type is a great color combination.

Hi guys,

Well, I guess I am getting older. And forgetful. My star-tooth-ended tubular petals reminded me at the very first of the Gaillardia puchella variety "Razzle Dazzle" and I mentioned that earlier in this message string. At that time, I referred to my tubular petal specimens that had toothy petal ends as "Razzle Dazzles," and I will continue that. These are some of my Razzle Dazzle zinnia photos:




I think the Razzle Dazzle zinnias could be improved quite a lot with significantly larger and fuller blooms. I like to include them in cross pollinations, even when that requires some "surgery". More later.

ZM

Thanks!

Hi Guys,

This is a link to Razzle Dazzle Gaillardia,
https://www.dallasplanttrials....
You don't have to wait indefinitely for that flower form to become available in zinnias, you can just grow the available Razzle Dazzle Gaillardias. These are some more photos of my zinnias.





The interesting thing about those is that their pollen florets are not the usual "fuzzy yellow starfish." They were possibly a small step in the direction of the Razzle Dazzle flower form.

ZM

Each one of your zinnias is a work of art. I do grow zinnias every year, but it is still amazing to look at someone else's labor of love. The rabbits are so plentiful here and I am lucky if I get to see one of mine mature. Peace.

That third Razzle Dazzle is really nice. I don't remember if you posted that one before.

ZM ~ I still hope that your BEAITIFUL zinnias become available. Are any of the seeds stable, so that you can continue to grow the ones that you have created?🌼🌼🌼

Hi Evelyn,

" Are any of the seeds stable... "

Zinnia seeds remain viable for several years if stored reasonably well (dry and not hot), and at least some of them come true from seeds. So, they are somewhat stable. Others vary quite a lot, and some of them are actually better (in my eyes). I have some zinnias in bloom at this present time, blooming under fluorescent lights in the apartment. They came from stored seeds that I brought from the farm and some from green seeds that I saved here in the apartment. I should take some photos of their blooms. One of them is a yellow Razzle Dazzle. I have been thinking about getting a tiny refrigerator to store seeds in a cooler than room temperature. More later. It's past my bedtime.

ZM