If there was a dating app for flowers, what would it be called? Plenty of Nectar?
Single-petaled zinnia seeks an open and honest relationship with insects who have a hunger for nectar. I am a colorful flower who likes nothing more than making seeds with the right pollinators. My ideal date would be making seeds in a sunny garden with industrious insects by my side. In the spirit of openness and honesty, it is only fair to tell you that I am looking for an open relationship. In fact, I am really only looking for a summer fling.
This Black Swallowtail did not linger long–it could not find any nectar beneath all those petals and quickly flew off in search of sustenance.
Bright yellow disc flowers feed nectar to a Silver-spotted Skipper
Since flowers have yet to master language as we know it and have no dating apps that we know of, flowers cannot make their pollination needs explicitly known. But for interested humans, there are seed catalogs that can give us clues about zinnias and their pollination possibilities.
Dahlia-like, pompom, and fully double are just some of the flower descriptions found when thumbing through the zinnia section of a seed catalog. All refer to the flower shape or petal number. There is, however, one flower type that seed catalogs often overlook, or even omit entirely, so much so that we might call it the zinnia “wallflower.” This is the single-petaled (also called single-flowered) zinnia. Part of the reason for its omission may be quite simple. As a cut flower, zinnias are a staple of summer bouquets with fuller, fluffier, and even furrier looking flowers being preferred by flower growers rather than the simple, daisy-shaped single-flowered blooms.
Forecast zinnia with bright orange ray flowers and yellow nectar-filled disc flowers
All zinnias are beautiful but when growing for butterflies rather than bouquets, single-petaled flowers have a lot to offer. The single row of petals provides a stable landing platform for butterflies to perch on. Giving butterflies a more solid footing often means that they will linger longer, drink more nectar, and allow us more time to observe and marvel at their beauty.
Zinnia flowers that display the largest yellow centers are the best choice if you are planning to provide nectar for butterflies. A zinnia flower head is made up of two types of smaller flowers: ray flowers, which are the colorful “petals” that we love, and disc flowers, which comprise the yellow central part of the flower head. Nectar is produced in the yellow (disc) flowers. Zinnias that are bred to have more petals–those fluffy, frilly, and fuller looking flowers–may have fewer yellow ray flowers, or often the extra petals obscure the yellow, nectar-producing center. To make it easy for nectar seeking butterflies to find food, choose single-petaled zinnias!
Two single-petaled zinnias that are loved by butterflies and are easy to find are Forecast and Profusion Series zinnias. Forecast zinnia seed is exclusive to Burpee Seeds. I often find Forecast at Burpee Seed displays in the hardware store. The plants do grow tall, up to three feet, and flower colors are deep and vibrant. Profusion Series zinnia are short, spreading plants that are resistant to powdery mildew. You can find them as both seeds (in seed catalogs) and often at nurseries as starter plants. They are available in a number of solid, rich colors, but be sure to check the label, as Profusion Series zinnias are available as single- and double-petaled varieties.
Forecast zinnias in Burpee Seeds 2020 catalog
Profusion Series zinnias have small flowers but attract large butterflies.