Zinnia 'Profusion Double Mix'

These bushy dwarf plants (12-15" tall and wide) are great performers. Mildew resistant, drought and heat tolerant.

Profusi...Read Moreon Double mix seeds will come true, because all of the commercially available Profusion seeds are open pollinated varieties.

They were created from selected hybrid crosses between Z. violacea and Z. angustifolia. Those hybrids had 23 chromosomes, and hybrids with an odd-numbered chromosome count are usually sterile. That problem was solved by doubling the number of chromosomes to 46, by using colchicine.

The result is a true-breeding open pollinated new species of zinnia, named Z. marylandica in honor of the University of Maryland, where much of the preliminary breeding work was done. The term "hybrid" is applied to the Profusions, Zaharas, and Pinwheels (all Zinnia marylandicas) because hybrids were used in their creation, but they themselves are not hybrids. Referring to them as hybrids has caused some unfortunate confusion.