Transition Farm Developed Zinnias - Frequently Asked Questions

Our First Transition Farm Developed Zinnia Release

As we fill seed packets with our first Transition Farm Zinnias to be released, we can feel the shared excitement through the many questions and emails.

We thought it would be helpful to answer the most frequently asked questions, along with some information to help release day go as smoothly as possible.

These are the first Zinnias developed through our Transition Farm breeding work to be offered as seed, and we are incredibly excited to share them with you.

When is Release Day?

We are very busy trying to make sure everything is ready so we can begin shipping orders as quickly as possible. One of the last steps is re-germination testing the seeds and printing and packing the envelopes.

Release Day will be BEFORE 15 SEPTEMBER. Western Australian orders WILL BE included in the September batch shipment.

We expect to announce the exact release date and time by email within the next five days.

Please keep an eye on your inbox!

Why have we waited so long to release these varieties?

Over almost seven years of working with these Zinnia breeding projects, we have been continually amazed and surprised by the diversity that blooms each season.

Our zinnias are open-pollinated, and each season we select our stock seed from a diverse breeding population. This is intentional.

It also means that developing a variety with consistent or predictable colour, form and resilience takes many generations. 

What does a well-stabilised variety mean to us?

For us, evaluating a variety is about more than simply whether the flowers look beautiful.

We look for three things:

• TRUE TO COLOUR 
• TRUE TO FORM
• VIGOROUS, RESILIENT PLANTS

Colour and form, from our experience, are strongly influenced by the genetic characteristics carried within the plant.

Colour can be slightly nuanced and as we are trying to form lines great for floral design, we recognise that nuances matter when combining different flowers. 

We break form down into petal shape, bloom type and bloom size.

Through each season of seed saving and then growing the next generation, we have observed vigour as a very different characteristic to colour or form.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY VIGOUR

We believe that vigour is directly related to the growing experience of the mother plant — how strongly and resiliently she was able to form connections within her environment.

Over these years of seed work, we have observed that some plants simply seem to have more energy than others.

We observe things such as a robust root system, the plant's ability to work in relationship with the soil biome, overall strength, resilience under disease pressure and the ability to thrive without relying heavily on external inputs — most of which is expressed through vibrant health and vigour.

By continually selecting these plants, we are selecting for these characteristics generation after generation.

This has become a very important part of our breeding work.

When did we know they were ready?

Last year was the first year we felt we were very close to a predictable colour and form.

But rather than release the seed immediately, we wanted to grow out the next seed lot one more time and evaluate it before making the decision to release it.

We wanted to be sure.

And now, the results are in.

Before sharing these varieties, we also wanted to know how they performed beyond Transition Farm. Feedback from experienced flower growers gave us even more confidence that these lines were ready.

"These are really extraordinary zinnias. Yours have more doubles, larger blooms and the plants are more vigorous on both of our farms. The colours are great! After 37 years of growing zinnias, these are the best I've ever grown."

— Polly Gottesman - Pumpkin Ridge Garden - Professional Flower Grower

BLUSHING NYMPH

9 out of 10 fully double
9 out of 10 light pink

Off-colours presented primarily as peach.

VIOLET BLUSH

9 out of 10  fully double
19 out of 20 blue-pink

Off-colours presented primarily as peach.

MEAD

9 out of 10  fully double
19 out of 20 buff to antique peach

Off-colours presented primarily as pink.

Please note: Our breeding program is ongoing, and we continue to select each generation for colour, form and vigour. The figures above are based on our breeding evaluations. As with all open-pollinated seed, natural variation occurs between individual plants and seed lots, and growing conditions—particularly for zinnias—can also influence the final outcome.

How much seed do you have?

From the response we've received through email and social media, we expect demand for these varieties to exceed our available seed supply this season.

Last season presented some unexpected challenges. We experienced a late spring frost in the second week of November and an early autumn frost in April—two events we had never seen in our 18 years of farming here. The April frost, in particular, significantly reduced our seed harvest.

For this reason, we will limit purchases to ONE packet of each variety per household.

We know this may be disappointing for some growers, but our priority is to share these seeds as fairly as possible while we continue increasing our seed supply. 

Please note: If seed remains available two hours after the sale begins, we will remove the purchase limit.

Orders that exceed the purchase limit, or multiple orders placed to bypass the limit, will be refunded.

We kindly ask that you respect the purchase limit so as many growers as possible have the opportunity to purchase seed.

Will you sell these varieties again next season?

Yes!

We expect to have significantly more seed available next season from all three varieties.

Every purchase of these seeds directly supports our breeding program and helps us build the infrastructure needed to climate-proof our breeding work and increase future seed production.

Can we save seeds from these varieties?

We have based our seed and breeding work on the following values:

• Intention
• Etiquette
• Respect
• Permission
• Transparency

We embrace the generous nature of seeds.

Saving your own seed to grow again next season is truly one of the wonders of gardening, and sharing what you love with others is a gift of connection.  Seeds build communities!

For home gardeners, yes, save your own seed and enjoy growing these varieties again.

Can I sell seed or plants grown from seed saved from these varieties, or use them in my own breeding work?

If you would like to sell seed you've saved, sell plants grown from saved seed, or use these varieties in your own breeding projects (including selecting from them and releasing or renaming subsequent generations), we'd love to hear from you first.

Our current Transition Farm zinnia breeding lines represent nine generations of careful selection, with each generation building on the one before it.

We believe the commercial use of newly released varieties should be guided by the same values that underpin our breeding work—intention, respect, permission, transparency and open conversation.

Please reach out via email before you begin your project.

How do we give ourselves the best chance of securing seed?

Watch your email for the release date and time, and try to order early.

We are not completely online-shopping savvy ourselves, but we do know that our website can remember and store your information through SHOP.

If you establish a SHOP account ahead of time, this should make checkout quicker and easier on release day.

Can we use a gift card?

Yes! Gift cards can be used towards the purchase of Transition Farm developed zinnia seeds.

Can we use a discount code?

No. All discount codes will be suspended during the sale of Transition Farm developed zinnia seeds. 

About Transition Farm Zinnia Seed Packets

Each packet contains approx 35 seeds.

The germination rate for each variety is listed on the individual variety page and is also printed on each packet.

Shipping Seeds

We will begin mailing seed packets within 2 days of purchase, in the order that orders are received.

Our system does not currently allow us to combine multiple orders, so please keep this in mind when ordering.

Please check that the shipping address you enter is complete and correct. We are not responsible for parcels being sent to an incorrect or incomplete address

Will you ship internationally?

We currently DO NOT ship outside of Australia, nor do we ship to freight-forwarding addresses.

Please note: if an order is placed with an international shipping address or a known freight-forwarding company address, the order will be cancelled and a 25% restocking fee will apply.