Flowers A to Z - Zinnia

Zinnia

Botanical Name :	Zinnia elegans
Common Name :	Zinnia
Product Use :	Cut Flower
Pronunciation :	ZIN-ee-a EL-e-ganz
Family Roots :	Member of the Asteraceae or Compositae (aster family). Native of Mexico. Common relatives include sunflower, yarrow, chrysanthemum and dahlia.
Personality :	Fully double, dahlia-shaped flowers, 2-3 inches across, with one flower per stem. Stems have a few coarse leaves, up to 24 inches long. Plant is an annual, classed as a dicotyledon, leaves not parallel veined. No fragrance.
Availability :	Summer-early fall.
Flower Color :	White, pink, red, purple and yellow.
Decorative Life :	5-10 days.
Ethylene Sensitivity :	Low
Ethylene Comments :	Treatment with 1.0 ppm ethylene had no effect.
Post Harvest Care Opportunities :	Remove bottom foliage if present, recut stems under water and place in flower food, hydration or bleach in water solution. Flower foods can greatly extend flower life but leaf damage can result if the solution is made too strong (over 1%), too weak (0.5%) and/or if the wrong flower food brand is used. Sugar can also stimulate ethylene synthesis but this should be of little concern since this species is not sensitive to this gas. Leaves decay and/or dry out easily and this can be hastened by some brands of fresh flower foods. One antitranspirant (Cloud Cover) offered some protection against powdery mildew. The use of floral foam can reduce vaselife.
Storage Specifics :	They can be stored wet at 36-38 F up to 5 days. Storage for seven days at 34F can be detrimental. Some data suggests that this species is chill sensitive and should be stored no lower than 41F.
Preharvest & Harvest Factors:	Harvest when flowers are fully open.
Tidbits :	Named for Johann Gottfried Zinn (1727-1759), a professor of medicine at Goettingen, Germany. The specific epithet name "elegans" means elegant. In its native Mexico, the zinnia was called "mal de ojos" by the Spaniards, who considered it ugly to the eye. However, Chain of Life Network member Terri Doyle reports that the "mal de ojos" meant they were so bright they hurt your eyes! Most modern zinnia cultivars are the result of crosses with the descendents of a single plant (known in the trade as "Old 66") found in an experimental planting at the Burpee Seed Co. Often grown in home gardens for cut flowers. Smaller types can be used in border gardens and planter boxes. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology lists this species as an allergy-safe pollen producing plant. Harvest flowers when fully open. The Compositae or aster family is vast, with over 20,000 species, and is also one of the most developed families. It was named Compositae because the flowers are actually a "composite" of many individual flowers into one head. Hence, when children pull one "petal" off at a time, saying "she/he loves me, loves me not", they are actually removing a complete flower, not just a petal. See More at Hoogasian Flowers A to Z: http://www.hoogasian.com/FlowersAtoZ.html