Hybridizers: It can be fun to breed your own zinnias - Part 3, 0 by Zen_Man

Zen_Man wrote:
StarLight,

"If I go ahead and hybridize the blooms that are open to get some seed, will the side blossom continue to grow and bloom and if I cut the hybridized bloom off as soon as I see the seed it set, will the plant continue to send out more branches and blooms or stop blooming at that point?"

You don't even need to cut the hybridized blooms off. Just leave them on to develop their seeds. If you harvest and plant those seeds at the green seed stage, you can accelerate your second generation by several weeks. The plant will continue to grow and develop even though you have pollinated and are saving seeds from the original blooms. The ongoing development will not be as fast and extensive as it might have been if you had pinched the first bud or buds, but since your zinnias have bloomed "behind your back", you had just as well go ahead and use those blooms for cross pollinating.

The attached picture of one my breeders confirms that. I took that picture today. I pollinated the original bloom and have already planted several green seeds from it and I will continue to pull green seeds from the older blooms while pollinating the new blooms as they develop. Don't worry about pinching your buds now. Just pollinate and cross-pollinate to your heart's content.

ZM