Varieties of Zinnias
Zinnias were named for Dr. Johann Gottfried Zinn, a German botanist who wrote about the plants in the 1700s. Plant breeders in Europe developed the first zinnia cultivars. When Landreth Seeds made zinnias available to U.S. gardeners in 1798, there were few buyers. It wasn't until Bodger Seeds Ltd. released the cultivars Giant Dahlia and California Giant in 1920 that zinnias gained widespread acceptance in the U.S. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
-
Variations
-
The ancestor of today's zinnia is the Mexican wildflower, Zinnia elegans. From those humble roots, the zinnia has become a flower with more than 100 cultivars. They display a variety of colors, flower sizes, flower forms, petal configurations and plant heights.
Petal Color and Configuration
-
Every color but brown, black and blue is represented within the zinnia species, and some cultivars feature more than one hue on a single flower. The configuration of zinnia petals is described as single, semi-double or double. The flower's center is visible in single and semi-double varieties, but is hidden in double zinnias.
-
Flower Shape
-
Zinnia shape is either beehive-type, button-type, cactus-flowered or dahlia-flowered. Beehive-types are double zinnias with stacked petals that mimic miniature beehives. Button-type zinnias have small, flat, disk-like blossoms. The petals of cactus-flowered zinnias twist and curl under, while the dahlia-flowered varieties display blooms that are large and flat. Zinnia plants range from 8-inch dwarf cultivars to 4-foot giants.
Species
-
Zinnias are part of the Asteraceae/Compositae family. Within that family are approximately 20 species of zinnias. Those most familiar to gardeners are Z. elegans, Z. angustifolia and Z. haageana. Cultivars of Z. elegans have blossoms as small as 1/2 inch and as large as 5 inches across. They are available in a wide variety of colors, forms and heights (from 8 to 48 inches). Z. angustifolia -- narrowleaf zinnia -- is a durable, heat-tolerant species in a smaller size, up to 12 inches high. Z. haageana is commonly called Mexican zinnia. The flowers are less than 3 inches across and the plants grow from 18 to 24 inches tall. Another common species is Z. pauciflora, which can reach a height of 30 inches and is topped by small red or yellow flowers.
Disease Resistance
-
Although zinnias aren't bothered by many diseases, they are susceptible to powdery mildew, which spoils their beauty both in the garden and as cut flowers. Certain species are resistant to powdery mildew, including Z. angustifolia and Z. pauciflora. The cultivar Profusion, which is a cross between Z. angustifolia and Z. elegans, is also mildew-resistant.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images
