Tammy,

I notice that most seed companies deliberately omit mentioning that Swizzles are Fl hybrids, although the high cost per seed is a tip off. But Swizzles are an F1 hybrid zinnia and, consequently, they will not come true from saved seed, because your saved seed will be an F2 generation. Some of the F2s may be very similar to the parent, but most will vary in some way, including the height of the plants.

Even open pollinated zinnias are somewhat variable, because they are bee pollinated and a percentage of bee pollinations are random F1 hybrids, since bees visit all of the zinnias in the vicinity, including nearby neighbor's zinnias, and they carry a mixture of pollen from all of the zinnias they have visited.

I wouldn't hesitate to save seeds from Swizzles myself, because breeding zinnias is a hobby of mine, and I enjoy variations and surprises. But if you are trying for a uniform looking landscape bed, use the original F1 seeds.

ZM

I bought 2 six packs of Zinnia seedlings from HD in 2008. At the end of the season in October 2008 I crushed the dry flowers and spread the seeds on the soil.

In april 2009 the seedlings came up and I have about 20-30 plants. The Zinnias look the same as last year.

Needless to say I am extremely happy, that I have alot of free flowers.