keithp2012 said:How many Zinnias do you actually grow a year, does it take up a lot of space? and do you have a greenhouse?
Hi Keith,
I do not have a greenhouse. We rent a farmhouse and grounds and there isn't a "good" place for a greenhouse here. In lieu of a greenhouse, I do grow some zinnias indoors under T8 fluorescent lights in the basement utility room during the Winter.
I grow approximately 2000 zinnias outdoors and 100 or so indoors. When it comes to breeding zinnias, the more, the better. But those figures represent the approximate maximum populations that are practical for me. All zinnias are highly variable, so I cull them severely. Sturgeon's Law applies to a lot of things, including zinnias, and I keep it in mind when culling my zinnias.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
My primary culling occurs at first bloom. Heavy culling lets me plant a lot more than 2000 zinnia seeds. Knowing that I am going to cull a lot of zinnias, I plant my zinnias closer together than would normally be good cultural practice, but removing the rejects thins the planting. I pull up the culls and discard them in the trash (I don't put them on a compost pile to avoid spreading disease.) If a reject is too close to a "good" zinnia, I snip the cull off at the ground surface with a hand pruner.
I look my zinnias over carefully and pick the very best ones (in my opinion) as "breeders" and I assign a unique alphanumeric code to each breeder, and I attach a label to the plant. I hand pollinate or cross pollinate my breeders. I do not depend on bees for pollination. I take my own advice, "to be the bee."
Growing and "improving" zinnias is a fun hobby for me. Some of my "improvements" might be a bit questionable, but they are unique enough to be of interest to me, if only as curiosities. This "onion flowered" zinnia is an example of that.
By making hybrids between hybrids, a lot of things are possible in zinnias.
ZM
