Hybridizers: It can be fun to breed your own zinnias - Part 4, 1 by Zen_Man

Zen_Man wrote:
Corey,

That's a good idea about watching out for someone referring to Crown of Gold zinnias by some other name. I guess I would need to read their descriptions, looking for something that resembled the characteristics of Crown of Gold (like gold color at base of the petals).

I try to be reasonably accurate in describing a color, without trying too hard. Zinnias come in very many colors and color gradations. I've seen well over a hundred different zinnia colors. In particular, the Burpeeana Giants Mix and the Burpee Hybrids Mix come in an incredible array of un-nameable colors. It reminds me of those walls of paint chips in the paint stores.

Crossing different colors of zinnias isn't exactly like paint mixing, but it's not completely different, either. I particularly like some of the pastel colors and colors that you get when you cross a color with white. I like to cross zinnias with white zinnias, and that is one reason I am going to grow a lot of whites next year, looking for nice giant white flowers to use as breeders. And just getting an improved white strain will be nice, too.

This scabiosa flowered specimen seems to be a yellow with a lot of white in it. Maybe it is a "cream with pale cream", or perhaps some other name would be more accurate. Your warm colors project is going to present you with a whole spectrum of yellows, yellow oranges, oranges, and so on.

There is a lot to be learned about zinnia colors, and how they behave. I am not sure what you would get if you crossed an orange zinnia with a white zinnia. The best way to find out is to do it.

ZM