Any problems with Purple Prince (disease, plant habit, etc.). Is the color really a vibrant color or are the photos misleading?

Thanks for any input!

ZM

Cameron

Karen

Lisa

Your afternoon shade may have contributed to the deep color and to the 5 foot growth. Zinnias need full sun for their best development. They may have been "stretching" for more light. And if they were crowded, they would stretch to compete for light.

ZM

Did you get your seeds from Burpee all three years, or were they from different sources? For some reason Burpee lists Purple Prince as an "exclusive" on their website, but Purple Prince is an old heirloom zinnia dating back to the sixties, and is available from sources other than Burpee. I think Thompson & Morgan package them, for example.

If you want a good purple zinnia, and are willing to pay the price for expensive F1 seeds, Uproar Rose is a uniform medium purple dahlia flowered zinnia. I grew it a year ago, and was impressed by its uniformity (and high seed price).

I grow and breed zinnias as a hobby, and one of my objectives that has eluded me so far is to breed a super-dark purple zinnia. I know that zinnias are capable of that, because many decades ago there was a small flowered zinnia called "Black Ruby" that was such a dark purple that it actually looked black in warm incandescent light. In the yellowish light, the deep purple actually looked black. I will continue to be on the lookout for extra dark purples in my zinnia patch. I think that a spider flowered black zinnia with white petal tips would look spectacular in any light.

For affordable purple zinnias, you might take a look at the Benary's Giant strain. Johnny's Selected Seeds carries them, and similar dahlia flowered zinnias, in separate colors, including purple and wine. The wine is a kind of dark cerise.

ZM
(not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)

Martha

Do you remember if you got your Purple Prince from Burpee?

ZM

Martha

Hi Martha,

" I've decided to save seeds this year. Can you save seeds from the outer edges where the petals have dried and turned brown, even though the rest of the blossom is still fresh-looking?"

Yes, you can save seeds even before the first petals turn brown. Pull a few of the lower petals out and inspect the seed on the end of each petal. If it is plump and kind of "heavy", it probably has a viable green embryo in it. Many of the seeds will be "empty" and not have a viable embryo in them. This picture gives you some idea of how the empty green seeds and viable green seeds look. Discard the empty seeds.

Notice that the petals still have some color to them. Unless you plan to plant the seeds immediately, you will need to dry them before you store them. You can spread them out on a newspaper, or something like that, and let them air dry for a few days. Obviously you would not want to dry them in the oven, because that would kill the living embryos. After they are fully dry, the petals will be "crispy" and easily removed from the seeds. I store my seeds in Snack-sized Ziploc bags with a 3x5 card identifying the seed in some way.

Keep them out of the sun. A cool dark place is probably best, but I keep mine in file drawers in the basement.

"Might these still germinate next spring?"

Yes. In fact, zinnia seeds can stay viable for 5 to 7 years when stored in a cool dry place. I'll be glad to answer any questions you may have about this process.

ZM