Hi Nancy,
lilyfan said: Question: do you ever get any 'dogs'..I am thinking you must and that you just cull them..correct?
Yes, I get plenty of "dogs" and lots more that are just run-of-the-mill. In order to make reasonably fast progress, I cull very heavily. Sometimes as many as 90% to 95% of a bed will be pulled up or snipped off at ground level. That leaves more space for the "good" specimens, and makes room for planting some new seeds.
My outdoor zinnia garden is laid out like a trial garden, with many rather smallish 6' x 30' beds, separated by 4'-wide paths for easy accessibility. Each bed contains 4 rows of zinnias, spaced 16 inches apart. The trial garden layout is suitable for me, because essentially all of my zinnias are "on trial".
lilyfan said: I just started this thread so not sure if you showed any photos of how you actually go about breeding them...if not, can you post some photos or directions about when to breed etc. ?
I haven't showed any photos about zinnia breeding techniques in this thread yet, but I will in subsequent messages. (I did cover the cross-pollination techniques somewhat in the "My encounter with a "star-tipped" mutant zinnia" thread. ) Incidentally, you have done some great work with lilies.
Compared to breeding lilies (or iris or daylilies or other perennials), zinnia breeding goes much faster. Their seedlings bloom in only 6 to 7 weeks from planting, and set growable seeds in only 3 to 4 weeks. "Fat" green zinnia seeds contain a fully developed embryo, and can be planted immediately. If you are really in a hurry, you can remove the embryos from the seeds and just plant the embryos. I and other hobbyists have done that. So if you have a reasonably long growing season, you can get two generations of zinnias outdoors in a single year.
I also grow some zinnias indoors during the Winter, which gives me another two generations. Indoor zinnia growing has its challenges, so I don't recommend it for the casual hobbyist.
But even a casual approach to the hobby can produce 2 generations in each year, which is much faster than with most ornamentals. I can't really address your question adequately in a single message, but I will cover some details in subsequent messages.
The first step in breeding zinnias is to purchase a selection of commercial zinnias and start them. There is a wide variety of zinnias available commercially, and if you have some general goals in mind, that can serve as a guide in selecting which zinnia cultivars to start with. More later. And I welcome more questions from you.
ZM
