I just read a post (not here) that a person has two zinnias that have a nice, sweet scent and wondered if anyone has ever bred for scent. I have not heard of this and am under the impression zinnias do not have a scent. Why would zinnias not have a scent? Is there somewhere I can read the "science" on this?

Have any of you experienced this?

Also, I have read in the past that bees are more attracted to the nectar from orange or reddish zinnias. Any thoughts on this one?

The source regarding scent is the Stimart and Boyle article referenced in The Zinnia Breeder's Handbook that you mentioned you have.
Lots of flo era don't have scent. There are several theories about how bees find flowers. They include visual cues (bees see at a different spectrum than we do, according to my bee keeper friend. David Attenborough did a special about bees and talked about he protons they pick up while they fly and the negativity charged flowers which are grounded. He liked them to opposite magnets, essentially. Maybe bees can't smell?!

Blommar said: The source regarding scent is the Stimart and Boyle article referenced in The Zinnia Breeder's Handbook that you mentioned you have.

Great info. Thank you! I do have the book. It's quite a treasure! My question was actually prompted after reading a post in a FB Zinnia Breeding group where a person stated they had 3 zinnias that had a honeysuckle scent. This is a person that seems to post honestly so it caught my attention. I will find and read through the Stimart and Boyle article, but in the meantime, have you ever experienced a zinnia with sweet scent?

Blommar said:
Lots of flo era don't have scent. There are several theories about how bees find flowers. They include visual cues (bees see at a different spectrum than we do, according to my bee keeper friend. David Attenborough did a special about bees and talked about he protons they pick up while they fly and the negativity charged flowers which are grounded. He liked them to opposite magnets, essentially. Maybe bees can't smell?!

Very interesting. I'll watch that video. I have to say, for a person that hasn't been interested in science much, this hobby is certainly changing that.

Thank you again.

Hi all;
I have a couple questions about seeds. I bought some seeds online for the first time (usually get one of those colorful packets from big box store) from 2 places, couple from one and 3 from another. Started a few of each indoors. All are as usual, doing ok so far, but for one variety - Giant Cactus white. There's 30 per pack, I tried about 10 and zero germination so far.
Are those known to be slow / fussy or the seeds are just old? Should I try planting the rest outside, direct or in cells? I have very little experience (and even less room..)
Thanks,

Hi pinkpurple,
I have not experienced odd germination behavior with commercial white cactus zinnia seeds. White is an unusual zinnia "color" because there is no white pigment in their petals. Zinnia white is like white snow and owes its white appearance to cellular structure. It is possible that your white zinnia seeds experienced some unfavorable storage conditions at some point in their commercial handling through no fault of yours. White is my favorite zinnia color. Don't forget, you can click on these photos to see larger versions of them. You can close that expanded photo by clicking on the X in the lower-right-hand corner and get back to this "regular" photo.



ZM

ZenMan ~ ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!!

PinkPurple ~ Did you buy them from a commercial website like Parks Seed, Burpees, Select Seeds or anothet name brand website or was it from Amazon or eBay? Usually the commercial websites are pretty reliable, but I would never buy seeds from Amazon or eBay.

Thanks, Zenman!
First of all those zinnias are beautiful!!
White is my favorite color in flowers too, and I have never had any whites from my mixes. That's why I got the 2 specifically named white, 1 Profusion and 1 Cactus.

Thanks, Evelyn!
Yes, commercial websites.

I actually just got a reply from the owner. He said they might not be viable 'cause they've had them a while, and suggested I tried what I believe is called stratifying. I never bother with that but will try this time. Oh and they refunded me.

I have a few more newbie questions, please.
My second question if you guys have time. I am having problems with some of my collected seeds. Again couple batches are fine but the ones I collected from my State Fair last year germinate but they are all white (light yellow) and don't survive and the ones I collected from my friend's Profusion - very poor germination rates, like 2 out of 20. So, are those harder to grow from collected seeds? Especially Profusion? Or I did something wrong, most probably :)

Which leads to my 3rd question. I can't find any info easily online. Are Belize zinnias like Profusions and Zaharas? I know they are low growing. But are they those Marylandicas?

And my 4th question, just out of curiosity. Is there any correlation between seedling height and zinnia plant height? Looking at my seedlings the Profusions and Belize seedlings are small, but my others are almost all tall (I planted Burpeeana Giants, Lilliputs, State Fair and Whirligigs). Lilliputs prob the last time because I am tired of 4+ feet "dwarfs" and I kinda like bigger size flowers on such tall plants.

Hi PinkPurple,

Like you, I have never stratified zinnia seeds because, as far as I know, zinnias don't depend on cold treatment to make their seeds viable.

Regarding your State Fair seeds experience, State Fair is a tetraploid zinnia, and their seeds are expected to behave differently, depending on whether they were pollinated with non-State Fairs. Your friend's Profusions may not have been well pollinated. Belize is an inter-species cross similar to Profusion but grows only about a foot tall.

Regarding your fourth question, there is little correlation between seedling height and ultimate plant height.

ZM

Thank you, ZenMan!

I will continue my experiments with growing new to me zinnias, and hopefully better success than last year.

Well too bad about the State Fair ones. I will plant some commercial seeds left later this month but really liked my 'red' one last year. It was sorta self pollinated. Will try to add a picture of its 4" flower, don't think I have ever posted pics here (other than to the database)

Hi PinkPurple,

"Well too bad about the State Fair ones."

Not too bad at all! When crossed with any of your diploid zinnias the result of diploid X tetraploid will be triploid. Triploid zinnias can be most remarkable. Their only serious negative feature is I have no idea how they can have viable offspring. But that is the only negative thing and there are many positive things that make it worth your while to try to produce triploid zinnias. This was an "accidental" triploid zinnia of mine.


When a killing frost finally killed it, it had over a hundred blooms. Triploid zinnias are like magic. Unfortunately, I don't know how to get viable seeds from them. Viable seeds are probably not possible by any ordinary means. You could grow cuttings from them. So I recommend you grow your State Fair zinnias for the express purpose of cross-pollinating with diploid zinnias to produce seeds of triploid zinnias. Triploid zinnias are extra special and, in my opinion, worth the trouble of producing them.

ZM

Hello again, PinkPurple,

Congratulations on your successful posting of a photo. That's a great looking red zinnia closeup. More photos from you will be most welcome.

ZM

Yes, I remember this zinnia picture. Ha, you plant one and no need for mass planting. I may try the cross. Right now no tet seedlings though. Not even sure if Giant Cactus is tetraploid or not.
And thank you!

Hi PinkPurple,

" Not even sure if Giant Cactus is tetraploid or not. "

It might be tetraploid. The 2023-2024 GeoSeed catalog lists "Super Cactus Giant Mix" as seven bright colors of tetraploid zinnias. The only zinnia that includes "tetraploid" in its name is Burpee Big Tetra, and it is not even listed in Burpee's 2024 seed catalog, but it was listed on their website, which is where I bought my packet of them. I am trying to grow some of them indoors under fluorescent lighting. I hope to produce some triploid zinnia seeds for my own use in the next few months.

ZM