Hybridizers: It can be fun to breed your own zinnias - Part 5, 2 by Zen_Man

Zen_Man wrote:
Hi Brenda,

I mark my zinnias with Velcro tape, like in the first picture. I use the 1/2-inch wide tape to label individual blooms on a bush, telling what that bloom was pollinated width. For the basic plant labels, I prefer the tape to be a bit wider. For that I use 2-inch tree holding tape, and split it three ways to get 2/3-inch tape. I write on the Velcro tape with Sharpie markers. I use the Ultra Fine Point Sharpies to write on the 1/2-inch tape and the Fine Point Sharpies to write more boldly on the 2/3-inch labels. The light green color and texture of the Velcro tape blends nicely with the green color of zinnia leaves.

You are right, the first and fifth breeders above have at least one Scabiosa Flowered grandparent. Sometimes the scabiosa flowered zinnias occupy several spots on their "family tree". Scabiosa flowered zinnias are what got me started with zinnia breeding. I crossed a scabiosa flowered zinnia with a large flowered Burpeeana Giant zinnia, and got an amazing large hybrid that had a very full scabious center. It was like no commercially available zinnia, and it showed me how easy it is to get zinnias that are beyond what is commercially available.

I probably should buy some more commercial scabiosa flowered zinnia seed to grow next year, just to add to my gene pool. But I have had several distinctly different results from cross-pollinating with scabi pollen.

ZM