One of my Zinnia plants finally matured enough to put out its first flower, and I finally learned what colour the flowers are – red. This plant was grown from the handful of seeds I got from DG’s garden, and was the sole survivor of that lot of plants grown, no thanks to the snails. 
On the bright side – and I do mean bright – take a look at these pictures:
The first bud forms.
The flower begins to open.
The flower opens - what a gorgeous red!
The flower finishes opening.
Zinnias are composite flowers. This means that the flower heads are comprised of many small flowers. Yes, even though you think you’re looking at a single flower, there is actually a cluster of smaller flowers in the centre:
Disc flowers in the centre of the zinnia bloom.
The outer petals comprise the ray flower and those in the middle are the disc flowers – and the latter are the ones that will yield me seeds. More flowers = more seeds! 8)
It’s always a good day when I learn something new!
© 2010 curiousgardener.com All rights reserved.
I love the orange ones the best! Lol.
@Sky: They’re all pretty to me, but can’t beat your portulacas!
What a stunning colour! Never seen Zinnias in this colour before …. Anymore seeds
???
@TRISH: I’m waiting to harvest the seeds from the plant. Want some?
Eh, no lah! The portulacas are so easy to grow I can’t even take credit for them! Except for watering them and occasionally fertilizing them with MSG and worm tea. Lol.
Very pretty flowers you have though! And great pictures too. =D
There you go, you can take credit too! I can remember to water my babies, but I’m not consistent with the fertilizers. Fortunately for me, zinnias are pretty hardy. LOL. I can’t wait for the plant to grow bigger and have even more flowers simultaneously. That would make an even better picture! 8)
I’ve mixed up all my zinnia seeds (red, pink and orange), but do you want some? Dad doesn’t want to grow them for now. Lol. He says the portulacas are enough.
I’ve never said no to getting more seeds yet! *evil laughter*
Haha. Let me know how I can pass them to you. I’ve run out of stamps for the moment. -_-
I’ll drop you an email shortly. cheers!
Yup … would love to give these a try in my garden. Hope it’ll be a success