is there any reason why the zinnias i am growing from seeds are all the same color? although it was writen on the packet:all colors.
is the best way to ensure colors or variety is to buy the seedling and after it gives seeds to sow the next year and hope for var. is there any reliable company i can buy seeds from them abroad? Hete many people complain there seeds are fake

I've had that happen before. What company packaged the seeds? No way really to tell until they bloom. Sadly too late usually to start more if wrong color.

jvdubb said:I've had that happen before. What company packaged the seeds? No way really to tell until they bloom. Sadly too late usually to start more if wrong color.

Thank you. How about tsking the seeds of the flowers that o have now? Will i get different colors? Or the polinater has to have other color zinnias in the neighborhood? Someone pnce gave me an answer about sweatpeas that there is a radius of 1.5 kilometer of effective plants that contribute to the polination? Should i buy a zinnia plant and put it close to mine?

Zinnias can go from seed to bloom in less than 2 months. If there's that much time before you expect frost (if you expect it at all,) there's time to start more. They are true annuals anyway, unable to live indefinitely in any climate or location, an ephemeral treat.

David, have all of the plants that are growing opened some flowers? Sometimes one color will start blooming before the others.

purpleinopp said:Zinnias can go from seed to bloom in less than 2 months. If there's that much time before you expect frost (if you expect it at all,) there's time to start more. They are true annuals anyway, unable to live indefinitely in any climate or location, an ephemeral treat.

i did not understand your answer.sorry

Weedwhacker said:David, have all of the plants that are growing opened some flowers? Sometimes one color will start blooming before the others.

yes one color pinkish but from a few plants and as you asked........one yellowish is opening.
i think ill buy a few plants and try to let them polinate between them....whatever that means

purpleinopp said:Zinnias can go from seed to bloom in less than 2 months. If there's that much time before you expect frost (if you expect it at all,) there's time to start more. They are true annuals anyway, unable to live indefinitely in any climate or location, an ephemeral treat.

if i start a new set of sowing how can i be sure that i will experience good results this time?

Weedwhacker said:David, have all of the plants that are growing opened some flowers? Sometimes one color will start blooming before the others.

after the yellow one opens does that mean that now i have a chance that the seeds that will come from any of them will be a combination between the two?

I don't know much about cross-pollination especially in Zinnias but if a pink zinnia gets pollinated by pollen from a yellow one, it's by no means dependable that you will get pink, or yellow, or peach or orange Zinnias from the seeds that result. I think it might depend what the parents of the two plants were. Truly a gamble.

If you want to be sure of getting a mix of colors, next year buy seed packets of one color each i.e. a packet of pink, a packet of yellow, a packet of red etc.

When they say "mixed colors" on the packet, the seed company really doesn't know for sure what they're putting in there either. I'm sure the giant hopper of seed that the packet came from had seeds of many colors but who knows what gets into each packet.

"who knows what gets into each packet"

David, I totally agree with what Elaine wrote... a lot of gardening is a gamble, often full of surprises! Although at times it can be a bit annoying, for the most part I try to embrace the results -- especially when it comes to flowers.

What are you actually trying to achieve with your zinnias? Are you looking for a specific color?

dyzzypyxxy said:I don't know much about cross-pollination especially in Zinnias but if a pink zinnia gets pollinated by pollen from a yellow one, it's by no means dependable that you will get pink, or yellow, or peach or orange Zinnias from the seeds that result. I think it might depend what the parents of the two plants were. Truly a gamble.

If you want to be sure of getting a mix of colors, next year buy seed packets of one color each i.e. a packet of pink, a packet of yellow, a packet of red etc.

When they say "mixed colors" on the packet, the seed company really doesn't know for sure what they're putting in there either. I'm sure the giant hopper of seed that the packet came from had seeds of many colors but who knows what gets into each packet.

Great solution thanks

If you don't care about the exact variety, and want "random colors", there are a lot of traded zinnia seeds floating around that were "cross-pollinated by the regiment".

Let's say they have LOTS of genetic variability.

How tight are the regulations about mailing flower seeds INTO Israel? I always assume that "Israel is a desert", and that "nothing is invasive in a desert". If you'd like to try, I have plenty of "No ID" or poorly identified Zinnia seeds from trading.

But maybe lots of things are invasive in well-irrigated deserts!

RickCorey said:If you don't care about the exact variety, and want "random colors", there are a lot of traded zinnia seeds floating around that were "cross-pollinated by the regiment".

Let's say they have LOTS of genetic variability.

How tight are the regulations about mailing flower seeds INTO Israel? I always assume that "Israel is a desert", and that "nothing is invasive in a desert". If you'd like to try, I have plenty of "No ID" or poorly identified Zinnia seeds from trading.

But maybe lots of things are invasive in well-irrigated deserts!

first of all to all who are in contact with me you are very warmly invited to come to israel under any title you choose(religiuos.archiological.family.friends.....)ofcourse from the point of view of my little experiences on our three little porches +the compost heap and vegetables close to the garage.....there is little to see .but i personaly am learning alot.
i will send some photoes soon.
the seed story is quite sad.
you want to experience something cool.you buy a packet of a secret component and you discover you have been fooled.
and as i heard it has happened to many people.
so i want to go back to the primitive method.what you see you believe.
i dont know much of the mailing method ......i bought 4 different coleuses yesterday and iam going to plant them close to each other and hope they do something between them for next year sowing.
i hope to travel this year with my wife to the states.....or millvalley to my sister-in-law(sanfransisco)
or to her son in washington .so maybe i will buy some beautiful seeds.....who knows?

is there any place i can buy the tallest bean-climber(like in the story of the giant and his garden)so i can impress my students next year?i mean 4-5 meters high?
rick you have helped me alot.....the compost is working away ...good smell.....and as i wrote before i am growing allkinds ontop of the old heap.....i think to start a new heap because i want to let the compost work without me interupting it everyday with new garbage.i will air it once in a while

a few words to explain what is in the pictures
you can see the sweat corn it has really grown tall i helped to polinate with a paintbrush i hope it is o.k.
there are some cobs getting fat
the pumpkin on the porch is wild and demands huge amount of water
the old plumeria is flowering and the new one is sprouting and getting used to its new location
the zinnias as i said before ....allare pink beside one or two yellow
the sunflowers are soon going to open
i made a small greenhouse out of a discarded waterbottle i have fucias in side trying to root.its humid
in the back ground straw flowers i will make a dry composition with them
celosias are waiting to be transfered to thrive into early autumn in much bigger containers.
the raised planter is working o.k. for a start.i am aware of the shade obsticle.meanwhile my neighbours are liking the easthetics of the area and this encourages me to continue creating a little nature corner in our city.
i have some house plants cuttings in beerbottle(they are dark wich is good for rooting)

Wow, you sure are growing a lot in that tiny porch space, David! I am amazed that you actually have corn growing ears in your buckets. The plants look very healthy.

Going forward, though, I'd advise you choose your plants and seeds for smaller size before you start, eg. you can get a pumpkin plant that will stay smaller and not be quite so demanding, I think there is even what is known as a "bush" variety which just means it doesn't make a long vine and ramble for 15 ft.

Those do look like happy, healthy plants, and I'm glad your compost is smelling good now. Be sure to "keep it moving" - use it as soon as it's mostly ready. It can finish breaking down on top of the soil.


>> i hope to travel this year with my wife to the states.....or millvalley to my sister-in-law(sanfransisco) or to her son in washington .

Cool! I hope you enjoy the visit. San Franciso is a neat town. Is her son in Washington state, or Washington D.C.? (different coasts) I live in WA state, north of Seattle.

Washington D.C. is a city filled with criminals and rabid idiots ... but once you get past the Federal government, it isn't TOO bad. It just has a lot of slums.

dyzzypyxxy said:Wow, you sure are growing a lot in that tiny porch space, David! I am amazed that you actually have corn growing ears in your buckets. The plants look very healthy.

Going forward, though, I'd advise you choose your plants and seeds for smaller size before you start, eg. you can get a pumpkin plant that will stay smaller and not be quite so demanding, I think there is even what is known as a "bush" variety which just means it doesn't make a long vine and ramble for 15 ft.

thanks for your advice
sometimes i think i am like a vine that needs to change its bucket.......

RickCorey said:Those do look like happy, healthy plants, and I'm glad your compost is smelling good now. Be sure to "keep it moving" - use it as soon as it's mostly ready. It can finish breaking down on top of the soil.


>> i hope to travel this year with my wife to the states.....or millvalley to my sister-in-law(sanfransisco) or to her son in washington .

Cool! I hope you enjoy the visit. San Franciso is a neat town. Is her son in Washington state, or Washington D.C.? (different coasts) I live in WA state, north of Seattle.

Washington D.C. is a city filled with criminals and rabid idiots ... but once you get past the Federal government, it isn't TOO bad. It just has a lot of slums.

her son lives on the east coast.so it means coast to coast.
i have been to saN FRANSISCO BEFORE.....LIKED IT VERY MUCH.......REDWOODS......

davidsevit said:
thanks for your advice
sometimes i think i am like a vine that needs to change its bucket.......

You know, David I've been hesitating to say it, but you really need to move to a house with more garden space . . . change your bucket, man! You've got the gardening bug, bigtime.