Zinnia 'Profusion Apricot'

I love the soft apricot color, which blends well with most other colors. A great mildew-resistant performer. Tolerates heat and drought.<...Read Morebr />
Profusion Apricot 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.

I purchased a 6 pack of these beauties in May,2008, and fell in love! Disease-free, prolific bloomer right up until our first killing f...Read Morerost in November. Colors varied on this plant from day to day (creamy yellow, bright yellow, light peach, apricot, bright orange, rusty orange). I attributed this change in colors to temp. & amount of sun, although I really don't know for sure what caused it - I've never experienced this with any other plant. I collected seeds in the fall, and started my own plants for the 2009 season. (No greenhouse, just started them in my sunny kitchen). I put very small (about 3"-4") plants in the ground at the end of May (18 of them). They have all performed exactly the same as those from 2008, and I will continue collecting seeds and planting these forever!! They are especially beautiful when mixed throughout the garden with blues or purples (verbena, ageratum). I only wish I could dig them up before the frost and have their beauty continue through the winter as a house plant. I guess that would be expecting too much from this wonderful plant. Maybe I'll try one plant just for the heck of it.

petite zinnias in delicious apricot shades with exceptional heat and mildew resistance. Superb performers bloom non-stop on 2 foot plan...Read Morets. A lovely canopy of summer color.

I'm not growing them now, but I had planted a couple of these a few years ago and they ended up reseeding all over the place. The new se...Read Moreedlings looked just like the parents, flowers and all.