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Burpee Big Red zinnia not true to name

9 years ago

I picked up a few packets of Burpee Big Red at the Home Depot. Now I am discovering that all the plants are blooming orange--various shades of orange, not just dark orange. How in the world can a reputable company allow this to happen?

What are your suggestions for a reliable, large-flowered zinnia?

Featured Answer

zen_man

9 years ago

Hi mantis__oh,

I'm surprised that you were able to buy Burpee's Big Red zinnia at Home Depot. As far as I know, Big Red zinnias are not offered by Burpee. They are not in the Burpee mail order catalog, and they are not in the Burpee web site. As I recall, Big Red was in the Parks Seed catalog, but isn't in the current catalog. It's just kind of curious that Home Depot has some Burpee seeds that Burpee doesn't have.

"What are your suggestions for a reliable, large-flowered zinnia? "

I would suggest you purchase zinnia seeds from Johnny's Selected Seeds because they sell seeds to both home growers and market gardeners who grow zinnias to sell to florists or at farmers markets. People whose livelihood depends on the seeds they use won't buy bad seeds. Benary's Giants are probably what you want, although the Giant Dahlia Flowered might be to your liking also. Johnny's has a good selection, including many separate colors.

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

This post was edited by zenman on Fri, Jul 11, 14 at 1:22

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Comments (13)

Desirai
9 years ago
I bought a packet of Burpee's cockscomb celosia and ended up with some sort of amaranth plant.
lam702
9 years ago
I bought a package of Burpee pink peony poppy seeds and they are blooming in various shades of pink, white, red and purple. Very pretty though not what I thought I was getting.
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debbiecz3
9 years ago
Magellan Zinnias are a lovely big flowered variety and like all zinnias easy to grow from seed. There is a coral, scarlet red and dark pink.
wolala
9 years ago
I brought Burpee's intense red poppy seed. They turn out to be orange poppy.
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mantis__oh
Original Author
9 years ago
Burpee's clearly labels the packet "Big Red." I am sure that Burpee's is being paid for the use of its name on the pack, even though the package is fraudulent. Burpee's has many different zinnia packages at such places as Home Depot and Walmart. The company counts on consumers not caring what they get.

Yes, the Park Big Red are well known, but evidently that name is not exclusive to Park.
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Desirai
9 years ago
If you contact burpee with the lot # on your package they will replace it for you
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mantis__oh
Original Author
9 years ago
Alas, who keeps old seed packages? In addition, I found that Burpee's mixed Burpeanna seeds were disproportionately orange (almost 70 %). So the sloppiness is not limited to the "Big Red" zinnias. The solution for me is to not buy Burpee seeds.
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zen_man
9 years ago
Hi Mantis__oh,

" ...I found that Burpee's mixed Burpeanna seeds were disproportionately orange (almost 70 %). "

I grew a couple of beds of Burpeeana Giants this year, using 5 packages of seeds that I bought directly from Burpee's online store. I got a much better distribution of colors than you got. There were several shades of orange, but altogether they amounted to less than 30%. I got purples, reds, yellows, pinks, roses, whites and off-whites, and several hard-to-name pastel colors. There were several variations of the flower forms, from spikey petals to twisted "fantasy" petals.

I am going to save seeds from some of my favorite Burpeeana specimens and grow them next year in an effort to "improve" the strain. By saving seeds, I can get separate colors. And I am going to cross some of my "home brewed" hybrid zinnias (I breed zinnias as a hobby) with some of the choicest Burpeeana specimens. By doing that, I can get a greater variety of colors in my home-bred zinnias. I have several different zinnia breeding projects going at the same time. Some people might say that I "have too many irons in the fire", and they could be right.

I notice that my Burpeeana Giants zinnia seeds came from Holland. Did you happen to notice the country-of-origin on your Burpee seed packets?

ZM
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ladyrose65
9 years ago
Order from Hazzards or Swallowtail Seeds. They come true to color.
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waterBoB4
9 years ago
I purchased Candy Cane Red on White Zinnias under the Burpee label and they came out as small pink and yellow zinnia flowers with little streaks of red barely visible. I think that advertising one thing on the cover and having the contents be something else is unethical. I will have to think twice about using this brand again and I am glad to know I am not alone in reporting the unethical practices of this company. There is no excuse for false advertising.
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mantis__oh
Original Author
9 years ago
Burpee's did refund the "Big Red" zinnia after I sent a picture. At first, the representative suggested it was just color variation due to weather.
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HU-817821774
3 years ago
I bought big red this yr & they are perfect & beautiful and they are red
0

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