Hi Ronnie,
" I am presuming you grow your zinnias under lights in the house? "
I do. Zinnias are not houseplants, so they require more attention than the average houseplant, but for a zinnia hobbyist like myself, indoor growing lets me get as many as four generations in a year. Two generations indoors and two generations outdoors. Which is a big advantage when you are breeding them and doing home hybridizing experiments. My indoor zinnia project will produce some "interesting" seed to start my outdoor project this Spring. I am much less space limited outdoors, so that is where I do my big growouts. The more zinnias you can grow, the better your chances are of finding something "good".
I get a great deal of pleasure out of growing zinnias indoors, even though they can require a lot of attention. Cross pollinating indoors is especially advantageous, because you can set the pots of the two plants involved side-by-side at some convenient location, have the advantage of good wind-free bright fluorescent lighting, and no worries about bees getting your pollen. Growing zinnias can be a fun hobby.
ZM
