Hybridizers: It can be fun to breed your own zinnias - Part 5, 5 by Zen_Man

Zen_Man wrote:
Hi Sharon,

We are also rooting for the Royals. Since we are in a rural area we get our TV over-the-air with a directional antenna. The Royals playoff games have been blacked out here, but we listen to the games over the radio. The World Series won't be blacked out. Hope the Royals make the series, and take the series.

Hi Brenda,

Your zinnias are in amazing shape. I did make Fall plantings in mid and late July, and they are in fairly good shape, but their flowers may not have time to make seeds. Fortunately none of them have been "breeder quality" so that isn't an issue. l quit pollinating zinnias near the end of September.

I have planted several somewhat immature embryos from green seeds, and they have produced some weak plants that may or may not "make it". It's analogous to premature babies. But I have also planted some fully developed embryos from green seeds, and they seem to be developing normally in my indoor zinnia project. A green seed is reasonably well developed three weeks after successful pollination. At two weeks they are very marginal. I have lost several two-week embryos seedlings. Their roots and stems are very spindly and their roots seem barely able to absorb nutrients.

But the three-weeks-plus embryos seem to be doing fine. I am coming to believe (from reading and from observation) that green seed embryos need plenty of phosphorous to make new tissue, so I am going to switch from a normal growth formula to a blooming formula for my seedlings, because the blooming formula has more phosphorous.

One big goal of my indoor zinnia project is to develop some hybrids between the Razzle Dazzles and larger zinnias, to develop a larger version of the Razzle Dazzles. I also want to develop a strain of "needle petaled" zinnias, which are just a version of the tubular petaled zinnias with very narrow petals. In a way, they remind me of a dandelion seedhead, but without the parachutes on the seeds. I am attaching a few pictures of them. I hope to grow several examples of them indoors and do a lot of cross pollination involving them.

Keep on enjoying your zinnias. I am actually envious of your dahlia petaled specimens. I'll be on the lookout for some of those in my zinnia patch next year. In the past I have seen some similar ones in my zinnia patch, but I neglected to save seeds from them. I have so many different goals for my zinnias that I wonder if I might "have too many irons in the fire".

That last picture shows that some of my "toothy-tubular" zinnias, when they are "young", can have a similar look to the needle-petaled zinnias. The truest "needle petals" are #2 and #3. I hope to have some of those growing indoors this Winter.

ZM