Hybridizers: Post Your Most Memorable Previous Experiment , 1 by Zen_Man

Zen_Man wrote:
My most memorable recent experiment is developing a successful scheme for growing zinnia seedlings directly from embryos rather than waiting for seeds to mature. That cuts nearly a month off of my bloom-to-bloom time, and I am now growing seedlings of my second generation of zinnias this year. I will be setting those second generation seedlings into my garden in about three weeks, and start cross-pollinating my third generation in about six weeks from now.

By germinating embryos from those crosses, rather than waiting for seeds, I will be well on my way toward my third generation of zinnias this year, with a lot of year left. I am kind of curious now how many generations of zinnias I can grow in a year by using embryo culture. It's not tissue culture yet, but embryo culture shifts my zinnia breeding into a higher gear. My zinnias will multiply a little bit like fruit flies.

ZM