I have wondered the same thing. The closest to purple I have seen in zinnias is more of a red violet or magenta color. I hope someone can comment from experience.

The "Deep Purple" dahlia flowered zinnia packet on this website looks exaggerated to me.

ZM

That is very pretty - thanks for posting!

I grew them from seed a few years ago and I think they were more of a pale lavender than the posted picture. And tall- about 5'.

Karen

I grew ÂPurple Prince last year. The flowers were as vibrant as the pack when they first bloom then faded to a lighter purple as they aged. Some blooms were 4 inches across. They grow at least 5 feet tall so I had to stake them. Mine had afternoon shade. I wonder if that had anything to do with the vibrant color.

Lisa

Lisa,

Your afternoon shade may have contributed to the deep color and to the 5 foot growth. Zinnias need full sun for their best development. They may have been "stretching" for more light. And if they were crowded, they would stretch to compete for light.

ZM

I grew them the first time last year also. Mine were in full sun - some of them were easily 5 feet tall. The flowers looked like the photo above. I would call it magenta rather than purple. The blossoms were big, too. I did not pinch them - which might have kept them shorter. (I will next time.) Also, we had about 14 inches more rain than the average last year - so that probably contributed to the height as well.

Thanks for the replies. I ended up ordering the seed, hey seed is inexpensive, might as well give it a try. I'm hoping they turn out to be magenta rather than lavendar, but if not, no big loss or money wasted if they don't work out. :0)

I had posted elsewhere on this forum regarding Purple Prince Zinnias. The first year the Burpee Purple Prince were gorgeous. They were huge rounded purple blooms. The next year I again tried them and they were large flat red blooms with a large brown center. This year I tried them again and they are large flat purple blooms with a large brown center. I don't know why they are so different every year. I don't know if it's the heat or my soil or the Seeds.

Hi helend,

Did you get your seeds from Burpee all three years, or were they from different sources? For some reason Burpee lists Purple Prince as an "exclusive" on their website, but Purple Prince is an old heirloom zinnia dating back to the sixties, and is available from sources other than Burpee. I think Thompson & Morgan package them, for example.

If you want a good purple zinnia, and are willing to pay the price for expensive F1 seeds, Uproar Rose is a uniform medium purple dahlia flowered zinnia. I grew it a year ago, and was impressed by its uniformity (and high seed price).

I grow and breed zinnias as a hobby, and one of my objectives that has eluded me so far is to breed a super-dark purple zinnia. I know that zinnias are capable of that, because many decades ago there was a small flowered zinnia called "Black Ruby" that was such a dark purple that it actually looked black in warm incandescent light. In the yellowish light, the deep purple actually looked black. I will continue to be on the lookout for extra dark purples in my zinnia patch. I think that a spider flowered black zinnia with white petal tips would look spectacular in any light.

For affordable purple zinnias, you might take a look at the Benary's Giant strain. Johnny's Selected Seeds carries them, and similar dahlia flowered zinnias, in separate colors, including purple and wine. The wine is a kind of dark cerise.

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

I have both Purple Prince and Uproar Rose Zinnias growing in the same bed this year and they are almost identical. The Uproar were about a week behind the Purple Prince as far as bloom time, and the Uproar are very slightly paler than the Purple, but no one would notice if they didn't know they were different varieties. Both are a beautiful, rich magenta color with very long lasting blooms. The blooms do fade slightly as they age. Mine are in full sun. I will probably buy seeds for the Purple Prince again, if I can find them, and fill my entire front bed with them.

Martha

Hi Martha,

Do you remember if you got your Purple Prince from Burpee?

ZM

ZM,
I do not remember where I got my Purple Prince seeds. I grow so few zinnias that I've been planting from the same pack for several years and didn't store them in the original packaging. I've decided to save seeds this year. Can you save seeds from the outer edges where the petals have dried and turned brown, even though the rest of the blossom is still fresh-looking? I'm sure I saw a thread about saving green zinnia seeds, but I can't find it when I search. Might these still germinate next spring? TIA

Martha

Hi Martha,

" I've decided to save seeds this year. Can you save seeds from the outer edges where the petals have dried and turned brown, even though the rest of the blossom is still fresh-looking?"

Yes, you can save seeds even before the first petals turn brown. Pull a few of the lower petals out and inspect the seed on the end of each petal. If it is plump and kind of "heavy", it probably has a viable green embryo in it. Many of the seeds will be "empty" and not have a viable embryo in them. This picture gives you some idea of how the empty green seeds and viable green seeds look. Discard the empty seeds.

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Notice that the petals still have some color to them. Unless you plan to plant the seeds immediately, you will need to dry them before you store them. You can spread them out on a newspaper, or something like that, and let them air dry for a few days. Obviously you would not want to dry them in the oven, because that would kill the living embryos. After they are fully dry, the petals will be "crispy" and easily removed from the seeds. I store my seeds in Snack-sized Ziploc bags with a 3x5 card identifying the seed in some way.

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Keep them out of the sun. A cool dark place is probably best, but I keep mine in file drawers in the basement.

"Might these still germinate next spring?"

Yes. In fact, zinnia seeds can stay viable for 5 to 7 years when stored in a cool dry place. I'll be glad to answer any questions you may have about this process.

ZM