Looks like a zinnia to me.

I agree. Looks like Zinnia 'Orange Profusion'.

Thanks for responding! I googled "Zinnia Orange Profusion" and sure enough, it looks just like it. I'll have to find some seeds now...

BTW this plant is an annual, not a perennial as the homeowner thought.

Ask the neighbor if the plant has set any seeds that might be shared. It has come true from collected seeds for me.

Spoke too soon! We had record breaking low temps (20's) here in Myrtle Beach last night, and when we walked by them this morning, they were "finished"! What a shame!

rocklandguy

Profusion Zinnias and the cultivar that followed them (can't remember the name) are spectacular, but they are still recent enough introductions (last decade) that buying seeds is almost not worth it. I think you get 25 seeds for three or four dollars, and the germination rate never makes the purchase very rewarding. I just buy the plants each year.

Thanks MulchMama! I found that out when I went online to get some. I found that same thing out with "Dusty Miller". It is easier to buy the plants, than it is to grow them from seed!

Mulchmama, is the germination rate on these really that poor? I've never grown these, but have done other zinnias and for the most part have pretty good germination.

$3 - $4 a packet seems high for 25 seeds, but even at 50% germination you'd have a dozen plants for $4 or less. Not too bad, IMO, if you could get at least 50%.

Can you give a bit more specific info on your germination rates? I start a lot from seed and these have caught my eye, so I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to try wintersowing these.

Thanks!
Dee

rocklandguy - diggerdee brings up a valid question. The germination rate with winter sowing is generally 95% or higher. A packet of 25 seeds would give you nearly a full flat of plants for under $5 and, since winter sown plants are considerably more robust than nursery-grown specimens, it could actually prove to be more cost effective. That assumes you're willing to put the effort into growing from seed in recycled containers which I admit isn't everyone's cup of cappuccino.

diggerdee - it might be worth posting the question over on the annuals & WS forums: what germination rates can be expected of profusion zinnia seeds? Other gardeners may have some interesting experiences to share.

Good suggestion, gardenweed! Ask for germination rates and experience.

Rocklandguy could still get seeds, could he not, if the homeowner agrees? He could ask the homeowner if he could clear out his bed for him in return for keeping seeds that he finds? Do you think that seeds are available now on the frost bitten plants?

Here is an old GW thread called âÂÂProfusion zinnia seed not germinatingâ that is mostly on how to store seed with a link to another GW thread on Profusion. Lots of info on the Profusion zinnia itself, but nothing much on getting seed to germinate. What I notice is that the posters are saving Profusion seed and getting it to germinate the following year.

I agree with you, rocklandguy. Buying plants locally might make more sense for you if you only need a few plants and can find them cheaply in your area. But if you need a great number of plants or you want something that is not available in your area and can get the seeds mailorder, often sent very cheaply by first class mail, seeds are really wonderful to have!

I've just ordered seeds for Laura Bush petunias from wildseedfarms.com in Texas for winter sowing. Fragrant, self-seeds! Excited! Good luck, rocklandguy.

GW thread: Profusion zinnia seed not germinating

FWIW, âÂÂThe fire and orange Profusions attracted very small butterflies.â Tho a variety of plants that attract different butterflies sounds very useful. See kr222 on Feb 11 09:

GW thread: Best spring blooming perennials & best zinnias for butterflies

I'm assuming the profusion zinnias produce viable seeds based on the fact that Swallowtail Garden Seeds sells them (see link). Normally the seedheads need to be completely dry on this year's plants prior to harvesting. While I confess to being a seed addict & have harvested seeds from every perennial in my garden that produces them, I don't grow annuals and thus can't speak from experience as to the optimal methods of harvesting & storing annual seeds. With most perennials, the seeds are ripe when the seedpods turn brown or tan and split open.

Here is a link that might be useful: Swallowtail Seeds - Zinnia

Coincidentally, when the price of these seeds was first mentioned, I did a quick search and saw that Swallowtail sold them. I checked the price and sure enough, was surprised to see how expensive they were, at least there. I say that because I have gotten packets of seeds from Swallowtail for a reasonable price which contained enough seeds to share with the entire country, lol! Perhaps their pricing/packet sizes have changed over the last couple years, but in my experience, if they are selling them at this price, most places are as well.

Good suggestion about posting to other forums regarding germination rates.

The other thing I'm pondering.... I can't say I've ever seen these for sale as plants in my local nurseries or garden centers. I can't say for sure, as I've never specifically looked for them, but I truly don't recall ever seeing them "in person", so to speak. I think I've only ever seen them in photos in seed catalogs. I see rocklandguy's neighbor bought them at Lowes so maybe I'll have to widen my circlel of places to shop for annuals!

Will be checking my seed catalogs for these in the meantime. The onslaught has begun! Got my first seed catalog Friday. Yay! (no Profusions in that one though!)

:)
Dee

It's been a few years since I've grown these, but when I did there was one negative that kind of bugged me and I haven't planted them since.

I was involved in a community garden project and one of the local nurseries donated a few flats of these to our garden. We did a large, mass planting of 'em. They grew fast, were extremely uniform, survived a lot of neglect, heat and drought and bloomed like crazy.

However....

The flowers age really poorly and stick out like a sore thumb once past their prime. With some annuals or even perennials I guess, that isn't all that big of an issue. The new flowers quickly outshine the spent blooms even if you don't dead-head on a regular basis and you don't noticed the spent blooms all that much. I certainly noticed them with these zinnias.

With the large bed of Profusions we grew, the old blooms were really a distraction and made the plants almost ugly IMO. Deadheading these wasn't top on our list of priorities for the garden, so it rarely got done. Had we dead-headed regularly, it probably wouldn't have been an issue, but we didn't. We simply didn't have the time.

So my advice: If you grow these, be prepared to do a lot of grooming unless of course ugly, spent flowers don't bug you that much.

Kevin

So my advice: If you grow these, be prepared to do a lot of grooming unless of course ugly, spent flowers don't bug you that much.

Isnt there a variety of zinnia that is of course still very floriferous but at the same time requires none or little dead heading?

rouge

I've only been growing zinnias for a few years and only in my Blvd. garden, so I am by no way very knowledgeable as to what is available and characteristics of each. Also, I've only been growing the taller varieties - 2 1/2 - 3+ feet, but I rarely dead head any of mine. I start out with good intentions of doing so, but midway through the season, I just kind of give up. With the ones I grow, the new foliage and blooms seem to cover up most of the spent blooms.

The main thing I didn't like about the Profusions was the fact the old flowers kind of bleached out as they aged and became almost a white-ish color which really stuck out amongst the brilliant orange flowers. With the taller varieties I have grown, as the flowers age, they simply turn dull before they die completely. So something that starts out as a brilliant yellow flowers ages to kind of a dirty yellow flower which isn't nearly as noticeable as something that bleaches out completely.

I realize, I really should dead head regularly, but my plants really don't slow down that much in flower production until late in the season (mid October or so) and by that time I'm tired of them anyway, so I just pull them out. For me zinnias are hot weather flowers and by the time the cooler temps of fall arrive, they just don't seem appropriate any longer, so I'm ready to get rid of them.

I'm still experimenting with colors and varieties, but this was my zinnia garden in 2012. I didn't like what I did this last summer, so I didn't take any photos.

Kevin

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