will zinna profusion seeds be true

I have tons of hot pink profusion zinna and wonder about saving these seeds. They were puchased at Lowes or some home center as plants. Are they likely to be true or even produce well?

If they will do well should I hang them upside down by the roots that I pulled out, in a dark dry place?

And if this works I will have tons to share. I pulled them up today because they are faded out and suffering from heat stroke! like the rest of us.

Kathy

Kathy, you don't need to do much to zinnias - just clip off the spent blooms and store them in paper bags. Make sure they're really finished blooming before you take them off; there's a certain amount of development that needs to happen before you can do that.

As for them coming true, I don't know, but I honestly have never met a zinnia I didn't like!

I agree, all zinna a beautiful. These should be well developed since they were faded out and the centers were browning. Their summer color was so vivid and made a great color punch in the yard.

Thanks for the info.
Kathy

The orange profusion I planted from last year's seed were beautiful this year Kathy. Hey would you care to swap a few seeds?

Would love to. I will have bunches. I pulled up the flowers yesterday, by the roots. How long should I let them dry before pulling off the seeds? Do you dry them that way? They are much more faded than you picture here, really pooped out.

Let me know your drying method so I don't mess them up. I know zinna is about as easy as it gets.

Thanks,
K

When you say "much more faded" I hope you mean faded as in brown, LOL. They have to mature on the plant Kathy in order for them to be viable. That's what Pagencat meant when she said to make sure they're really finished blooming before you take them off. The picture I posted above was taken Sunday so I have a ways to go before I start collecting my seed. I know they can get pretty unsightly, but when I want to save seed from a plant I just stop dead-heading after the blooms have died, often not untill after the first frost. When they're all dried up I know the seed is mature and I pull off however many I need (who am I trying to kid, I pull of waaaay more than anybody would EVER need need) and I toss the rest of the plant into the compost pile. I generally let the seed heads air-dry an additional week or 2 on a tray or paper plate, then pull them apart, bag 'em, and stick 'em in the fridge.

(Orange profusion on the far left....picture taken last weekend).

Here is the current profusion

Ooooh those ARE pretty.

Nice!!!

Kathy we're having a profusion zinnia discussion on the seed swapping board. Do you recall the name of yours? Were they Cherry Profusion by any chance?

I've never saved the seeds and sounds like from Lala that they come true. I have grown the profusion before and they really don't start their show until the fall from my experience anyway and I do know they don't reseed not for me anyway.

I would love to have some of your seed Kathy did you get your joe pye weed seeds? I also have some green envy zinnia that are starting to seed if you want some of those for a trade I haven't collected any yet and I have the 'Fire' profusion yet to collect seed on after they dry I'll save some seed it's been raining here thank goodness!

Lala did yours get bigger in the fall mine got to 3' around but mine were white last year.
Lea