Love Love Love Giant Cactus Zinnias

13 years ago

I posted these a week or so ago but they were so spectacular this morning I took a couple more pics. I love the cactus ones - they are huge I'd saw at least 5-6" across and so vibrant. I like the way the burgandy foliage on the celosia mellows the combination. That's angelonia and a few pink penta in there as well. My butterfly garden where these live is just full of the flutterbys. This is right off the drive where the visitors walk to come to the deck. A nice opening for the garden. :)

That's a weeping cherry in the background in the first picture - I cannot quite figure out why that thing grows like it does but I prune it all the time and it is still HUGE. I wish I could move it to a different place in the yard.

That's a nice deep pink phlox and a few surprise lilies in the background toward the deck. :)

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Comments (13)

cindysunshine
Original Author
13 years ago
Also note the huge tower of morning glories to the left - I have decided that they are not the lovely ones I planted but wild thankfully annual ivy leaf ones. I started last night but in the next two days I shall dismount the admittedly lovely tower of foliage to try to prevent trillions of seeds next year! it is mostly foliage. Somewhere hiding under there are the clematis I planted. IF they have survived the morning glory beast.
schoolhouse_gw
13 years ago
Why don't I plant more Zinnias? Yours really look great. I'm going to try the Giant Cactus next year.
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"Any comments on Purple Prince?" It's a nice open pollinated dahlia flowered zinnia, a rather old strain. Actually, it isn't too different in color from Uproar Rose. To me, Uproar Rose is a medium purple color, and I wouldn't have named it "rose". I just don't think Uproar Rose is rose colored. I am not a fan of the classic dahlia flowered zinnia flower form, because I don't like it that the petals all lay on top of each other. That creates tight spaces where aphids can lurk and you wouldn't see them. Overlapping petals are also a disadvantage for zinnias that have two or more colors on each petal, because you don't get a very good view of the "underneath" petals, like in this specimen. That zinnia could have looked spectacular in a more open flower form, but the dahlia flowered petal arrangement hides the effect to a large degree. A few decades ago there was a strain of zinnias called "Crown of Gold" that had a unique bicolor effect. The base of each petal was a golden yellow, while the outer part of the petal was any of the many zinnia colors. But Crown of Gold was dahlia flowered, and effectively hid its remarkable coloration and the strain was discontinued. If I had access to Crown of Gold today, I would change its flower form to a very open form that would display the golden bicolor for a dramatic effect. "$4-5 a pkt is a pittance when I think in terms of the joy the Uproar Rose bring" I am glad you feel that way, because the quality of zinnias available in the marketplace today has been hurt by a popular preference for low seed packet prices. But price can be a limitation, even for people who are willing to pay for quality. For example, Parks sells a packet of Uproar Rose for $3.95, but the packet contains only 15 seeds. That is about 26 cents per seed. If you were wanting to make a large landscape planting of Uproar Rose, the seed cost could quickly become prohibitive. ZM (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)
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prairiemoon2 z6b MA
13 years ago
Cindy, my favorite Zinnia are the Giant Cactus too. I haven't grown them for awhile. I'm going to have to try them again, too. Mine have gotten powdery mildew in the past. Yours look really healthy. Do you ever have trouble with them?
girlgroupgirl
13 years ago
Yours look wonderful Cindy! That is a really pretty garden area. I also love the celocia (which does not grow well here for me).
I have a Cactus Zinnia growing well for the first time, it's from a packet of seeds from Baker Creek. The zinnias come all the same color of pink but there's a mix of types. It's lovely! And I've used some Safers fungicide so they are looking good.
Cactus zinnias here, are the least heat and humidity tolerant for me. So in the past I've only had a few flowers from each and then had to pull them out...

I have vowed also to take better care of zinnias and grow many more next year. From these gorgeous big ones to the smaller pom poms. So pretty. And this time of year the butterflies appreciate them so much!
cindysunshine
Original Author
13 years ago
They are not overly problematic for me with powdery mildew - we have had a horrid hot, humid, rainy year and so far they look great. I really should get out and spray them once to keep them that way.

I have planted numerous ones around my gardens but these are my absolute favorite. There is something about the casual-ness of the cactus blooms that sings to my soul. I like dahlias in this form better than the formal decoratives, too.

I think it is Park that sells all the individual color packets of the large ones but they aren't cactus. I'll have to see if anybody sells the cactus in individual colors. I actually love them all - there are a lot of orange in this group, further down there is another big patch that is dominated with pink and white. And there's a few yellow in there someplace.

Next year I am growing more of them. :)
newyorkrita
13 years ago
Those are just stunning and especially so the way you have them in the mixed border. I have been growing STATE FAIR and CUT AND COME AGAIN zinnias for the past three years and haven't had Castus Flowered ones in years. I don't know why, I used to grow them each year and they are just so striking.
cindysunshine
Original Author
13 years ago
You know it's interesting, mine have really stiff stems but they tend to rather sprawl and the stems on the flowers then curve back up - but then they sit firmly planted on the ground and I rather like the overall effect - they form almost zinnia shrubs if you know what I mean.

My lesson learned this year is they are undisputeably my favorite - I have others that don't have near the impact from a distance and since I have such big expansive gardens in this country location - it works better for me.

It is Burpee that carries them for sure but I'm going to do some searching before I order next year and see if anybody has them split by color.

If not - the mixed are great. :)
alisande
13 years ago
I love them, too--and yours look fantastic!!
Thyme2dig NH Zone 5
13 years ago
Cindy, those are great! I started a few different varieties of zinnia this year but not any of the cactus type. They're on my list now for next year! Thanks for sharing!
hosta_house
13 years ago
I agree their on my list for next year too, always love to see views of your garden.
luckygal
13 years ago
Gorgeous flowers, all of them, and the color combo is wonderful! I really must seed some of these next year.
lily51
13 years ago
Beautiful! Zinnias are one of my favorites, either by seed directly or started first in greenhouse. My mother-in-law (a very dear lady) always planted these, so when I see my zinnias growing, I think of her.
organic_kitten
13 years ago
Beautiful zinnias, Cindy. I need to plant those.
kay

Love Love Love Giant Cactus Zinnias

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Love Love Love Giant Cactus Zinnias

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