Hybridizers: It can be fun to breed your own zinnias - Part 5, 4 by Zen_Man

Zen_Man wrote:
Hi Brenda,

I think of the zinnia in #2 as Marigold flowered, because it looks rather like some marigolds do. I know that #1 is rather weird, but I actually like it. It reminds me of a Water Lily, and I will actually be trying to develop a strain based on that unusual flower form, as the opportunity presents itself.

A lot of my zinnias have some cactus flowered "blood" in them, including #5. It represents a project to get much larger central florets in the scabious-like flower form. I would like for each floret to be a flower unto itself. My enthusiasm for my Razzle Dazzle and Exotic strains is based on the same goal -- to get the individual flower parts of zinnias to look more like individual flowers. Botanically, any plant part capable of producing a seed is a "flower", and that includes individual zinnia petals, as well as the pollen-bearing florets. The florets in #5 are considerably larger than normal. Pics of a few more scabious-based breeders.

ZM