ZenMan said:
"Just out of curiosity, where are you reading those posts?"
Social media - mainly from the admin of a Zinnia Growers group. That group is not a breeding group but the poster asked the question in the Zinnia Breeders group so it definitely sparked my interest. They seem to feel strongly that zinnia seeds produced from indoor growing produce weaker seed genetics.
ZenMan said:
"So you disagree with all those posts you have been reading?? "
I don't have enough experience to support and stand for my own disagreement but I see others who are successfully growing indoors, cross pollinating and producing seeds that grow thriving plants even when those seeds are planted outside. I recently communicated with two other breeders that stated essentially the same as what you did: they want seeds that produce plants that thrive. And you all certainly have that.
My indoor plants have done well too and produced last year seeds that had thriving plants. The plants I started indoor and eventually planted out once they seemed strong enough also thrived. The social media zinnia breeding group has an indoor grow along where members grow indoors and update the group members throughout the fall and winter. They have issues for sure (like my aphid infestation last year!), sickly plants, smaller blooms, etc but their crossed plants are producing seeds that produce thriving plants whether those resulting seeds are grown indoors or outdoors.
So the successes of experienced breeders, other hobbyists like myself and my own limited experiences are what I have to go on with regard to indoor grown plants that produce seeds that can thrive when said seeds are grown outdoors.
The poster grows primarily for outside aesthetic (and they are amazingly beautiful! Seven looonnnggg "strips" with each strip producing approximately 30k blooms!) They do harvest a small amount for their own cut flowers but no breeding.
They promote that seeds should be scattered, there should be little to no watering throughout the growing season (after the plants are established) The location is in Wisconsin where they say they provide no protection for tornado force winds and the plants are not affected in the least. These practices and are the basis for presenting a case that indoor grown zinnias must produce seeds with weaker genes.
Since my goal is to learn about breeding zinnias as a hobby (through reading your history in these threads, a social media group exclusively for learning Zinnia Breeding and books, etc) I am concluding that the main poster of this thesis is basing the conclusion as well as advice to others from a standpoint of, to use your own words, "survival of the fittest". After hearing from me that others' outdoor successes in growing their indoor produced seeds outdoors, including that those other growers' plants withstood high winds with protective measures, they pointed out that their zinnias withstood Wisconsin tornado force winds without protection. My take on that is that this only shows me that the poster's zinnias withstood that wind. It doesn't tell me that the plants that needed protection have weaker genes or if any weaker genes are due to seeds produced from indoor grown plants. Even if my assumption is incorrect, from what I have been told by others is we would need to know what was actually considered weaker genes when specifically referring to zinnias and why it is significant if the plants are thriving anyway. π€·π»ββοΈ
I have pretty much dropped that part of the discussion but I do feel there has been nothing I have said that helps to really support what my hunch is. It would be helpful to others in the breeding group but, again, other breeders are successful so that's what the members should probably go on.
Now, I have moved onto the next parts. They say they have NEVER had powdery mildew and that PM is a direct result of starting inside and planting out later. Same with watering. Not just overwatering. Water at all. They say we do not need to water if we're doing this correctly. I know not to over water but my plants do end up needing water and regularly. Also, their plants have no pests and no preventative measures are taken. Any soil will do. No need to fertilize and NEVER pinch.
All my questions here and to others are to be able to be clear on what successful breeders are doing but also what their thoughts are on these new comments. Maybe the poster is on to something since they have described a "flawless" zinnia plant. A super hero. π Hearing what experienced zinnia breeders think about this is important to me. It will keep my head facing in the best direction (for me) So that is what is with all my questions here. I am getting the impression I may be asking them incorrectly or not catching on quickly enough (that seems to happen with me the older I get!) so it may be time to drop it and see if I learn past all I've been told. Againβ¦..π€·π»ββοΈ
I sure do appreciate the time you spend reading these messages and even more that you take the tone to respond.
As I said previously, I'm going to get busier here so I'll be out of your hair during that time π.
