Hi Ellen,

" ...these zinnias are new to me.
Could you tell me the names? "

Well, at the time I posted those pictures back in 2016, those zinnias were also new to me, and I had not given them any formal names. I refer to some of my breeders as "exotic" and to some as "cyanus" (the ones that have a flower form similar to a Bachelor's button). These are some current pictures.

The one on the left is a "Razzle Dazzle". I haven't named the one on the right yet. It reminds me of a Sea Anemone.

" Did you just scatter seeds to get this? "

No, I don't just scatter my zinnia seeds. I have carefully hand pollinated them, so they are "my babies". I place them carefully (kind of) in shallow trenches in straight rows under a stretched string. As the zinnia plants grow and spread their branches, they tend to form a bed and you don't see those original straight rows. There is actually "method in my madness," in that having the seedlings in straight rows makes it easy to distinguish between them and emerging weeds.

" Seed packages say 12 inches apart. But I just sowed seeds a few inches apart. "

Me too. Since I am breeding my zinnias, I cull them out severely at first bloom, so I plant them too close knowing that culling will thin them a lot.

" It doesn't look like you get any fungus problem. "

I don't have problems in the Spring and Summer, but in late Fall when the days get short and the nights get cold, I do see some foliage diseases. Zinnias prefer warm or even hot weather.

ZM

Zenman,

these two are beautiful!

thanks for your answers to my questions.

Hi Ellen,

Glad you like them. However, they are enough different from commercial zinnias that everyone may not like them. As they say, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." I like them simply because they are different from all commercial zinnia varieties. And I wonder what they might produce if I cross-pollinate them. These are a couple more of my recent breeders, that also are "different".

I value my breeder zinnias not just for what they are, but the possibilities of what might occur when I cross them with each other. For example, what might be produced by crossing the Razzle Dazzle with the Sea Anemone? That could be strange, and even stranger recombinants could be produced from further hybridizations with them. Zinnias are full of surprises, and that is one reason why I enjoy breeding them.

ZM

Good hearing from you Zenman.
Always love my zinnia row in the summer garden.
Saved a one gallon ziplock bag of seeds again last year, so there'll be another 100' row of zinnias this year.

Here's a pic for zen man; this zinnia popped up from a sowing of "Forecast" variety. Don't know if this is a throwback or a mistake by Burpee seed co.

Hello Lynda,

In my opinion, that looks much better than the single Forecast variety. If you wish to dabble in zinnia breeding, you could put some pollen on it from some of your other zinnias. Or use zinnia pollen from your neighbors or even from some public displays of zinnias. If you are careful, you can use tweezers to "pick" just the pollen florets, and leave no evidence that you "borrowed" them.

ZM

Wow, not sure I'm ready for that, but thank you for the info on how to do it! My street is comprised of mostly rent houses, including mine, it's barren, real sad! The only other gardener is on the corner, he is an accomplished gardener AND he grows zinnias; I could get pollen from him. I have a perennial bed (raised) about 12 feet long, an annual bed about 8 feet long, a 4by 8 raised tomato bed, new this year, and pots too numerous to mention, I am going to learn how to take wide landscape shots, will post them soon, I hope!

Hi Lynda,

I look forward to your landscape shots.

" The only other gardener is on the corner, he is an accomplished gardener AND he grows zinnias; I could get pollen from him. "

Hopefully he is not a serial killer, and it is safe to strike up a conversation with him. Some people borrow a cup of sugar, you could "borrow" some zinnia pollen florets

ZM
.

I decided to go minature zinnia in the perennial bed this year. Very happy with these late summer blooms that fill a need for color.
Profusion Lemon seeds from Park.

Question - It bugged me that I paid for a packet of seeds, but it only contained 25 seeds. Do you think I could save these seed heads once they are fully mature and expect to get minature zinnias next year?

Very pretty, Kathy.

Hello Kathy,

" Question - It bugged me that I paid for a packet of seeds, but it only contained 25 seeds. Do you think I could save these seed heads once they are fully mature and expect to get miniature zinnias next year? "

Yes. Profusions (and Zaharas) are not F1 hybrids, and will come true from seeds.

ZM

Zen ! Thank you.
Seed saving season is coming soon.

This is my two tone zinnia grown in Bomoseen, Vt

Another zinnia variegated!

Vt - I love it when my zinnias & dahlias do that.
That one is beautiful.

Hi Vt,

That is a nice half-and-half specimen. I wouldn't want all of my zinnias to look like that, but I would save seeds from it just to see what happens. I am guessing that the seeds from the pure white half will be pure white, and the seeds from the Peppermint half will be Peppermint. But I could be wrong about that. Zinnias are full of surprises.

I enjoy breeding them as a hobby for that reason.

ZM

Sunny, breezy, 78 degrees, ahhhhhh. Such a joy to stroll & observe. 100 foot zinnia row is abuzz.

@katesflowers lovely zinnias you have, and how lucky you are for your great weather. I don't know what kind of weather you have had lately; we have finally had a decrease In temp and humidity after several weeks of temps in the high nineties and heat indices of one hundred and ten degrees. The air temp now is in the high eighties, it almost feels like fall out there.

Hi Lynda
I could sense fall in the air for about 2 weeks now. Early. Heavy dew in the mornings. Low night time temperatures ranging 55-60 degrees.

It was 64! Degrees this morning, unheard of for August in Ar. Invigorating.

Just THOUGHT fall was here. Back to mid nineties with no end in sight... fall can't be too far away; the bees have really ramped up nectar gathering, pics from my zinnia "Forecast", a bee and butterfly magnet!