Zinnias are popular annuals native to Mexico and Central America, celebrated for their ease of growth and ability to produce vibrant blooms throughout the summer. These flowers, primarily from the species Zinnia elegans, display an extensive color spectrum, making them a favorite for cutting gardens and ornamental borders. Decades of cultivation and hybridization have expanded this palette, ensuring zinnias can provide almost any desired hue for a sunny garden space.
The Standard Zinnia Color Range
The most commonly encountered colors cover the warm and bright end of the spectrum. Red cultivars range from intense scarlet and true cherry tones to deep burgundy, often providing a striking focal point. Shades of pink are highly diverse, encompassing electric magenta, rose pink, and softer pastel hues.
Sunny colors like yellow and orange are also standard. Yellows include brilliant lemon, deep gold, and buttery cream shades. Oranges span from fiery tangerine to warm, salmon-colored blooms, frequently seen in species like Zinnia haageana. A pure, crisp white is also a consistent offering, providing a cooling contrast to the more saturated colors.
Specialized and Uncommon Zinnia Shades
Breeders have developed specialized and less common shades by focusing on unique pigment combinations. Deep purples and lavenders provide a rich color option, often appearing in tall varieties like ‘Purple Prince’. These colors lean towards the violet end of the spectrum, offering intensity that contrasts well with the standard bright hues.
Unusual shades of chartreuse and lime green have also emerged, most notably in the ‘Queeny’ series, such as ‘Queeny Lime Red’. These green-toned varieties offer a subtle, sophisticated color that acts as a bridge between the bright flowers and the garden foliage. Many cultivars also feature bi-color and striped patterns, such as the ‘Pop Art’ variety with its red-flecked golden flowers, or the ‘Swizzle’ series, which displays vivid color combinations.
The Search for True Blue
Zinnias, despite their extensive color range, are genetically incapable of producing a true blue flower. This absence is due to the lack of the necessary enzyme pathway required to synthesize the specific pigment, delphinidin. Delphinidin is the anthocyanin responsible for blue coloration found in other flowers like delphiniums and cornflowers.
Because of this genetic limitation, commercially marketed “blue” zinnias are typically deep lavenders or purples that merely appear blue under certain light conditions. These shades result from manipulating existing pigments but remain spectroscopically distinct from a true blue. For a flower to be genuinely blue, it must possess the genetic machinery to produce or modify pigments in a way that zinnias do not currently possess.