what is the reason height is important??? ..

it is either that you want long cuttings.. or you are space limited .... and that might matter in suggestions on what to grow ..

ken

I'm looking to grow flowers for personal use, I grew Cut and Come Again last year. I'm growing them again but they're on the small side.

Sate Fair and Benary's Giant Mix look similar as far as height and flower size. Oklahoma is a little short.

Any thoughts on State Fair and Benary's Giant or am I totally off base here?

Thanks!

Dale

Also...there's California Giants that I just discovered...anyone familiar with?

Hi Dale,

Oklahoma is just an improved version of Cut and Come Again. At 35 inches, Oklahoma isn't extremely short, and like Cut and Come Again, is very floriferous. If you need really long stems or big blooms, it is a pass.

" ...there's California Giants that I just discovered...anyone familiar with? "

Yes, I have been growing them for a couple of years. Big flowers, long stems, and big plants. Actually, in their case, I think the "giant" really referred to their taller larger plants. I have been growing them to get some large-plant genes in my zinnia gene pool (I breed zinnias as a hobby.) I also like their uprolled spoon-like petals. Some are better than others. Individual zinnia specimens vary some, even within a specific color in a specific variety. These are a pictures of a couple of California Giant specimens that I used as breeders. You can click on the pictures here to see larger versions. Clicking your F11 key will increase them further. (hides your browser's headings -- click F11 again to restore the headings)

"Any thoughts on State Fair and Benary's Giant or am I totally off base here?"

State Fairs are so old (nearly a century old) that they are kind of "run-out". Benary's Giants are possibly the current favorite among market gardeners who grow zinnias for sale to the florist trade. They were bred especially to be cut flowers. (Big blooms on long, strong stems.)

The Giganticas are a variety that are mainly grown by market gardener zinnia growers. As far as I can tell, they are essentially the same as Benary's Giants, but cost less. You can get a pretty good idea of what zinnia seeds are available for cut flower growers by clicking on this list of zinnias at Hazzard's Seed Company. There is actually a second page to that list that you can click on. The list is in alphabetic order.

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

Hi ZM

What do you mean by State Fair is 'run out'?

I'm not sure...are you recommending California Giants?

Thanks!

Dale

Hi Dale,

" What do you mean by State Fair is 'run out'? "

The quality of the original strain has seriously degraded over time.

" I'm not sure...are you recommending California Giants? "

No. California Giants are also a very old strain. Only a very few seed companies have spent the money necessary to maintain the quality of the strain. White is one of the standard zinnia colors. Yet I had to shop extensively before I found a source of California Giants that even included whites. And that was several years ago.

If you make a purchase of California Giants at random, you will probably get low quality seed. You probably won't get any whites. Or any of many standard zinnia colors. You will get mostly pinks and oranges, because those are dominant colors, genetically. And now those fully double strains have become semi-double and singles, because those put out more pollen, and that gives them the advantage in a field-grown situation.

To maintain a strain you have to grow the colors in separate fields and hire people to go into those fields and kill the off-type plants. That is sometimes referred to as "roguing". (Removing the rogues.) Seed growers formerly spent the money to do that. Now they skimp on it, or skip it altogether. So formerly high quality zinnia strains are now low quality zinnia strains.

And, in the final analysis, we the consumers are probably the ones to blame for that. Given the choice of buying a $1 packet of zinnia seeds or a $5 packet of zinnia seeds, we will pick the cheap one nearly every time. And we go nuts when there is a clearance sale at a dime a packet.

ZM

Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I'm still not sure what variety you recommend

Hi Dale,

" I'm still not sure what variety you recommend "

Benary's Giants.

ZM

Great! Benary's Giants it is.

Thanks!

Dale