Hi all,
I wasn't sure what I would get when I crossed the star-tipped mutant zinnia with my "regular" zinnias, but I thought I would either get tubular petals with star tips or regular petals if the start-tipped genes were recessive. As it turned out, the actual results were none of the above. They had a flower form that I had never seen in a zinnia before.
This is a side view of that flower.
This is a close-up of the "petals".
The star-tipped hybrids varied somewhat depending on which "regular" breeder zinnia I crossed it with.
Did you notice the little spider in the center of that last one? This is a close-up view.
This one showed at least one "petal" with a different form.
I wouldn't mind seeing some more of that last variation. Maybe this Winter (indoors) or next Spring.
I haven't seen zinnias with these flower forms, but there is a Gaillardia strain called Razzle Dazzle that looks quite similar.
http://www.bing.com/images/sea...
So I am calling my zinnia strain Razzle Dazzle because of the similarity. I will be back-crossing to larger zinnias to increase the bloom size of the Razzle Dazzles and to increase the color range as well.
I am also experimenting with crosses between Razzle Dazzles and other zinnia flower forms. This is new territory for me, and I have no idea what those crosses will produce.
ZM
