Hi David,
" i actually pinched the male with the tweezers is it not aggressive for the plant? "
The tweezers probably didn't hurt the plant.
" i did not feel confident with the paint brush...a feeling that the material would not transfer. "
That is understandable. I don't use a artists brush unless I can see visible pollen in the florets.
" ...is there any similarity in the propagation system between the dahlias and zinnias? "
I suspect not. I have never seen a picture of dahlia blooms that had any visible stigmas at the base of their petals. That makes me think the female parts are in the center of the dahlia bloom. But I have never grown dahlias, so I can't answer your question for certain.
" my dahlias are from seeds.....you mean now they have developed a rhizome? "
Dahlias can develop both seeds and rhizomes. There is a good chance that your seed-grown dahlias will have developed small rhizomes by the end of your growing season.
" or there are different types of dahlias? "
There are different types of dahlias, some of which are propagated from rhizomes nearly exclusively.
" do you think i can still sow [zinnias] this year? "
That's a good question. We can have a killing frost here in this part of Kansas anytime in the month of October. So for me, there is considerable risk involved with planting more zinnias at the present time. I could get blooms, but it would be uncertain whether I would have time to develop viable seeds in them before frost. I don't know what the details are about your growing season there in Jerusalem.
ZM
