2005 AAS Flower Award Recipient
Blooms on the Magellan Coral are dazzling. They cast light on the garden. The 5- to 6-inch blooms have dahlia-like petals that are totally double and shimmer in beautiful coral. Comparable to other Zinnia elegans, the flowers are of higher quality and color. Magellan Coral plants are not only colorful, but they are also ablaze with brilliant blossoms. A higher grade flower is one that is consistently produced. Early blooming is yet another outstanding quality. Only 6 to 9 weeks pass from seeding to the first bloom. Depending on the growth environment, mature zinnia plants can grow from 15 to 17 inches tall and spread from 15 to 19 inches. Magellan Coral, like all zinnias, will thrive in a full-sun growing environment.
The container culture can be adapted to by this AAS Winner. Magellan Coral is a low-maintenance plant that is undemanding in the landscape.
What zinnias grow the tallest?
According to Eric Grissell, author of A History of Zinnias:Flowers for the Ages ($28, Amazon), “much of the glory goes to the towering zinnias.” He emphasizes the zinnias’ ability to reach heights of up to 4 feet tall as well as the well-known Benary’s Giant ($5, Johnny’s Selected Seeds), a famous series that takes its name from the German seed business that created it. “Except for blue, its enormous, dahlia-like blooms come in almost every color. Blue zinnias are not available “He claims.
On her urban flower farm in Cincinnati, Ohio, florist and grower Christina Matthews consistently grows rows of Benary’s Giant for her company, The Flower Lady. She explains, “I call them star flowers because they are so brilliant and happy.” She utilizes Benary’s Salmon Rose, “a peachy, blushy, pinky” colour, which is one of her favorites, when creating flower arrangements for weddings.
Are Magellan zinnia recurrent each year?
As annual plants, zinnias do not return year after year. In other words, the flowers go through their full life cycle in a single year.
Because they succumb to frosts so quickly, zinnias are extremely susceptible to them. You must either resow every year or allow some of the zinnia blooms to naturally wither and drop to the ground so that the seeds will naturally germinate in order to have flowers in your garden every year.
To gather and store flower seed for springtime planting:
- Allow the blossoms to wither.
- Cut the blossoms off.
- Shake and massage the seeds carefully while holding a bag below.
- Save in seed packets with labels for planting the next spring or summer.
It’s not too difficult to cultivate zinnias because of how simple and low-maintenance they are, especially considering the reward of the lovely blooms that appear in the late summer.
Who has the shortest zinnias?
One of the tiniest zinnia varieties you may plant is the thumbelina variety. They only grow and spread 6 inches, making them a good choice for edging. The totally double, 1 1/2 inch blossoms come in a variety of hues. These tiny plants are so tiny that cute is the absolute last word. These early bloomers begin when they are only 3 inches tall and continue until the end of the growing season.
Which zinnia blooms the biggest?
In the hopes that it will encourage you to plant some of these hardworking, heat-loving beauties in your garden this season, I thought I’d share some of my favorite types that we grow here on the farm.
To start with, we are incredibly excited about Unicorn Mix (pictured above). While it’s still a work in progress, this unique Floret blend has been a labor of love for us, and we’re pleased to be able to share it with the world at last.
The mixture features medium-sized, usually double blooms with eye-catching lavender centers that come in a beguiling array of vibrant sherbet shades, including raspberry, orange, magenta, lemon, apricot, dusty lilac, and blush.
Golden Hour, another new release from Floret, is a stunning assortment of warm buff, honey, and soft apricot flowers that began with two single plants we found in our fields.
We’ve gathered the seeds throughout time and picked out the lightest antique melon hues. Nothing else like it is available in the market. This cultivar is called after the golden hour just before the sun sets on the horizon, which is our favorite time of day on the farm.
The zinnia family’s largest-flowered kinds, Benary’s Giant Series plants frequently grow to a height of 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 meters), and they frequently feature a high proportion of enormous double flowers. They have a total of 12 different hues and are renowned for having sturdy stems and exceptional disease resistance.
The ‘Giant Salmon Rose’ variety, shown above, is my all-time favorite since its warm peachy color is so adaptable and gets softer with age. Both pastel and vivid hues go nicely with it.
The “Desert Sunset Mix” (seen above) is another color I adore. It has my three favorite warm-toned Benary’s Giant hues: coral, orange, and carmine. When coupled with acid green or deep crimson blooms and foliage, they make a striking statement.
A longtime customer favorite, “Benary’s Giant Coral” is a glistening tropical coral-salmon variation. ‘Benary’s Giant Carmine’ (shown right) features raspberry-pink blooms that have a three-dimensional aspect as they age due to the outer tips of the petals fading.
The smallest tinge of lavender is bordered around the petal tips of “Benary’s Giant Orange,” giving them an iridescent appearance. ‘Benary’s Giant Lime’ has unusual Granny Smith apple-green flowers that are densely covered in petals.
‘Benary’s Giant Deep Red’ (shown left) has a deep ruby-red color with just a tinge of purple on the back of the petals, giving them a dazzling, iridescent appearance. ‘Benary’s Giant Bright Pink’s’ (right) cotton candy-pink blossoms are as delicious as they come.
The dramatic, deep wine shade “Benary’s Giant Wine” (seen on the left) is a customer favorite. The outer petals of “Benary’s Giant Lilac” (shown on the right) begin as a vibrant lilac and gradually turn a chilly, pale lavender, creating a haunting image.
The most prolific and floriferous zinnias I’ve ever grown are the Oklahoma Series. Oklahoma Salmon, Pink, Carmine, Ivory, White, Yellow, and Scarlet are among the series’ seven colors.
‘Oklahoma Salmon’ (seen above) features small, double blooms that go beautifully with everything. They are a warm blend of salmon and peach. Everyone adores this find!
To the satisfaction of innumerable growers and designers, Frank Morton from Wild Garden Seed in the Pacific Northwest brought back “Oklahoma Ivory,” which had previously been withdrawn. This cultivar, cherished for its adaptable creamy ivory color and lovely double flowers, is one that we are thrilled to offer.
The Queen Series of zinnias has the most distinctive collection of uncommon colors, such as lime green, smoky apricot, dusty rose, and limey blush.
A welcome advance to the zinnia family, the Queen Series cultivates vigorous plants with strong stems and hardy flowers in addition to their distinctive colors.
The ‘Queen Lime Blush’ flower, which is usually double and semidouble and is shown above, is unlike anything else we’ve ever seen. Everyone who sees them falls in love at first sight. It must be grown!
“Queen Lime Orange”: The most exquisite assortment of iridescent raspberry, apricot, and smoky peach with a dark cranberry center can be found in the Queen Series. When paired with lush greenery and blooms, this color’s versatility looks amazing.
Types with scabiosa flowers: I cultivated scabiosa-flowered zinnias for the first time in 2014, and they rapidly rose to the top of my list of seasonal favorites. The lacy double blossoms resemble double-flowered echinacea or little gerbera daisies.
They feature lovely long stems, strong disease resistance, and a gorgeous variety of hues.
The improved variety “Candy Mix” (seen above) features a higher proportion of double blossoms in a cozy, upbeat combination of scarlet, raspberry, pink, salmon, tangerine, gold, and cream.
It’s important to note that many growers in warmer areas have observed that they don’t receive the same high proportion of doubles with scabiosa kinds (doubles shown on the right) that we experience in the Pacific Northwest.
I believe that if plants experience any stress, such as not getting enough water or being exposed to too-high temperatures, they will begin to produce single blooms after doing a lot of research and exchanging letters with the breeders (pictured left).
Although the single blooms are attractive and distinctive, many people have been let down by this fact.
The frilly double blooms of “Zinderella Peach” (seen above) have a dramatic dark center and are a warm blend of salmon, peach, and cream. This may be my favorite zinnia out of all the ones we cultivate. The exquisite blend of blush and delicate lavender known as “Zinderella Lilac” (seen above) is highlighted with an eye-catching black center. Floral designers adore it since it’s perfect for wedding work!
Bicolor novelties: Everyone who sees these interesting bicolor novelties is bound to be intrigued.
Since we’ve been cultivating “Macarenia” for years, we’ve discovered that people either adore it or despise it. For a whimsical twist, each glistening crimson flower has a gold tip. This diligent plant, which took home the Fleuroselect Novelty Award in 2012, does well in the heat and is quite simple to grow.
With a fresh spin on zinnias, “Mazurkia” is a Fleuroselect Winner with good cause. A lively, campy double blossom with lipstick-pink centers and gentle blush tips is produced by the medium-sized plant.
Types with tiny flowers: The traditional “Lilliput Mix” (seen above) belongs in every cutting garden. The simple-to-grow, heat-loving plants bear an abundant crop of pleasant blooms in hues of rose, carmine, orange, coral, white, yellow, and violet on long, sturdy stems. They are perfect for floral arrangements because of their small flower size.
I adore “Lilliput Salmon” in particular (pictured growing above). All summer long, this delightful bloomer produces a profusion of small, completely double, salmon dome-shaped flowers.
The Sunbow Series has been around for a very long time and is available from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. It features tiny 1- to 2-inch (2.5 to 5 cm) double blooms that are supported by long, robust stems. It is available in a bright assortment of colors, including white, red, orange, pink, scarlet, and golden yellow. Plants are perfect for flower arrangements since they have long, wiry stalks.
Cactus-flowered varieties: These amusing novelty flowers come in a variety of hues, including orange, pink, red, yellow, peach, and white, and have the coolest twisted, shaggy petals.
My favorite variety is “Seora” (seen above), which has warm salmon-apricot quilled blossoms and yields an abundance of big flowers with sturdy stems. It must be grown!
Mexican zinnias: Although the plants themselves are small, from July to early fall, they produce an abundance of stems for cutting. They are more like a bedding plant than a cropping variety due to their small stature, but I believe they belong in every cutting garden.
The charming gold, cranberry, orange, and cream flowers in the “Persian Carpet Mix” (seen above) work well with these colors.
A wide variety of small bicolor flowers in the vivid, eye-catching “Aztec Sunset” combination come in tones of buttercream, gold, crimson, rust, and merlot. These dependable bloomers are a wonderful complement to the flower border’s front and the cutting garden.
Your experiences with this lovely set of plants would be greatly appreciated. Do you cultivate zinnias or do you have any plans to include them in your garden this year? If so, what kinds do you prefer or what new items are you adding to your wishlist?
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Do tall zinnias exist?
It could be time to change your mind if you regard zinnias to be average, stiff, or garish as gardeners. With the traditional daisy-like flowers of Zinnia elegans, breeders have had a field day, creating amazing variations of its form that come in almost every hue possible (apart from genuine blue) and that have increased disease resistance. These cultivars’ advancements enable them to produce single, semi-double, double, dahlia- and cactus-flowered blooms in a range of hues, sizes, and heights. There are even bicolored variations.
The varieties of Zinnia elegans have hairy stems and ovate leaves that from 8 to 48 inches tall. Those from the Benary’s Giant series, originally known as the Blue Point series, are some of the most popular at the tall end of the scale. These dahlia-flowered beauties have sturdy, multibranching stems that are 36 to 48 inches tall. The double, 3-inch-wide blooms come in 13 dazzling shades that span the entire color gamut. They are more resistant to mildew than older, larger varieties with dahlia flowers. Some seed producers combine various Benary’s Giant varieties into specialty color-scheme blends, such Berry Basket, which combines flowers with grape, pink, and raspberry hues, or Hot Crayon Colors, which combines warm tones of red, yellow, and orange.
Because of their unusual, slightly bent and twisted petals that resemble quilled chrysanthemums, cactus-flowered zinnias are frequently a preferred option. They typically reach a height of 36 to 48 inches and produce 4-inch-wide, semi-double or double blooms in a rainbow of vivid hues, including white, canary yellow, gold, orange, crimson, scarlet, apricot, coral, and carmine. They are typically offered for sale under the umbrella term Cactus-flowered mix. Cactus-flowered zinnia seeds are packaged by seed growers into unique color mixtures, such the vivacious, jewel-toned Raggedy Ann, just like some of the dahlia-flowered types.
A notable heirloom cultivar known as “Cut and Come Again” is 36 to 42 inches tall and produces blooms in a variety of colors, including cream, salmon, rose pink, scarlet, butter yellow, magenta, crimson, and orange. It’s an oldie but a goodie with flowers that range from semi-double to fully double in size and bloom for the majority of the season. Although plants are strong and well-branched, excessive humidity makes them less disease resistant.
Look at the Thumbelina mix for a dwarf cultivar with a nearly same color combination to “Cut and Come Again.” Only approximately an inch wide, the semi-double flowers have stalks that range in height from 6 to 10 inches. This pick works well for planting edges, although “Cut and Come Again” can be positioned farther back. Both types work nicely together in beds and vases with tall verbena, sunflowers, and black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia spp. and cvs., USDA Hardiness Zones 311, 59). (Verbena bonariensis, Zones 711).
The novelty bicolored variety “Candy Cane” features 2- to 3-inch-wide double blossoms that are either yellow with red or pink splotches, or white with bronze, red, or pink streaks that resemble peppermint candies. Plants reach heights of 18 to 24 inches. But a better bicolor is the 30-inch-tall hybrid Zowie!TM Yellow Flame. This colorful plant, which won the 2006 All-America Selections award, has semi-double, 3- to 4-inch-wide scarlet-rose blooms with warm golden margins and is extremely mildew resistant like other zinnia hybrids.
‘Envy’ is a chartreuse zinnia that transitions from being wild to being moderate, and has long been a favorite among flower arrangers. On the other hand, the enhanced variety “Green Envy” (also known as Benary’s Giant “Lime” and “Envy Double”) is a must-have zinnia for any grower. It only provides the identical strange, vibrant hue in a consistently totally twofold shape. The 36 to 48-inch tall plants have long, branching stems, and the 3-inch-wide flower heads are perched atop them. “Green Envy” complements gentle pastels and stands out against vibrant summer blooms.