Well, you certainly rose to the challenge! The flowers really are beautifully done. Or am I just easily impressed? (I can't be trusted not to injure myself with needles and thread )

TYVM! I can't say if that particular piece might be a challenging one for someone else, but gladly accept your impressed-ness!

Tiffany, I'm impressed, too -- I haven't done any cross-stitch in years, that is an inspiration to get back to it...

Do you have computer software to convert a design to a cross-stitch pattern?

Anyway, I think it's beautiful -- something any gardener would love to have!

TYVM, Sandy! I have a stack of old cross stitch magazines with more patterns than I could ever finish. The Zinnia seed pack was in one of them. You're (or anyone else) welcome to send me a PM if you want more info about it. I've also stitched designs I created myself, on graph paper, and some on an Excel spreadsheet. I'm aware of the kind of software you mentioned but have never investigated buying/using any.

@Zenman, Thanks for the welcome. Sorry I missed your question. ("I am a zinnia hobbyist. Just out of curiosity, what kind(s) of zinnias did you start this year?"). I started Big Tetra Mix, Cactus flowered mix, Cut and Come Again, Benary's Giant: wine, yellow, white, Benary's Giant Mix, Zowie yellow flame.

Usually I just take the hoe and lightly make a fairly wide row, abt 4-5 " and abt 1/2 " deep, drop my seeds, and then cover with garden soil sifted through a small screen I built, then tamp it down with hand or back of hoe. Water almost every day.

Tiffany that is a beautiful cross stitch.

Pandora said:@Zenman, Thanks for the welcome. Sorry I missed your question. ("I am a zinnia hobbyist. Just out of curiosity, what kind(s) of zinnias did you start this year?"). I started Big Tetra Mix, Cactus flowered mix, Cut and Come Again, Benary's Giant: wine, yellow, white, Benary's Giant Mix, Zowie yellow flame.

Usually I just take the hoe and lightly make a fairly wide row, abt 4-5 " and abt 1/2 " deep, drop my seeds, and then cover with garden soil sifted through a small screen I built, then tamp it down with hand or back of hoe. Water almost every day.

Hi Pandora,
Thanks for the details about your zinnia planting technique. That small screen sounds interesting. I don't have a screen (I may acquire one), so I just draw a furrow about an inch deep, drop the zinnia seeds in individually and partially fill the drill with a hoe. And immediately sprinkle the bed. I sprinkle daily until the zinnia seedlings emerge, which is only three or four days in this hot weather we are having. You have a good assortment of zinnias, which could be the basis for a zinnia breeding project.

ZM

For the screen, I just used 4 PCs of scrap board 1"x4" abt 14" long. Screwed the ends together to make a frame 4" deep. Laid frame on garage floor, cut square of screen to cover frame and extend to middle of boards. Then hammered little U clips abt every 4" to hold screen tightly to frame. Voil`a! a screen. ☺

Would any of my choices, come true from collected seeds?

Probably not, if they're planted close enough that they can cross-pollinate. But you might end up with some interesting flowers!

Or weirdos.

Thanks woofie. I might try that as a partial back row. I grow a wide row of zinnias to add depth and put plants/seeds in a zigzag along the whole row so some are a little in front and some in back.

Interesting, weird, same diff.

TYVM, Pandora!

You're welcome, Tiffany

Pandora said:Would any of my choices, come true from collected seeds?

Hi Pandora,

As Woofie said, bees can cross-pollinate zinnias, which would yield random F1 hybrids, which would not be "coming true". However, bee activity can also shake pollen off of pollen florets such that it selfs the stigmas that it falls on. So a fairly large fraction of your naturally pollinated zinnia seed will be selfs, and yield progeny that resemble the mother flower plant.

So I wouldn't hesitate to save seeds from any of your favorite specimens. The majority of saved zinnia seeds will be reasonably representative of the maternal parent. And you might even like some of the hybrids that appear.

ZM

You can make really FINE screen from Fiberglas window screening and a large "embroidery hoop", I think they're called.

Window screening is usually around 24 mesh, so it can be used to clean medium-small seeds, or sieve soil and pass only medium-sand and fine-sand grains.

Sometimes with small seeds, I'll make a drill in the soil, then add a little medium vermiculite, drop some seeds, then add 1/4" or so of vermiculite on top of that. Firm down, water.

Usually I only bother with that if
- I think my clay soil is likely to form a crust,
- or I might not water every day,
- or I only have a few of those seeds yet don't want to start indoors,
- or I just feel like experimenting.

My zinnias today. They've been blooming a few days. Getting bigger and stronger. They bloomed about 3 weeks earlier than past years. They are short so far. Certainly not 40-50 inches and a lot of singles. Hope they change or Vendor is going to hear from me.

But they are pretty.

Pandora said:My zinnias today. They've been blooming a few days. Getting bigger and stronger. They bloomed about 3 weeks earlier than past years. They are short so far. Certainly not 40-50 inches and a lot of singles. Hope they change or Vendor is going to hear from me. But they are pretty.

Hi Pandora,

So, which zinnias are in the picture you showed? Are those from seed you saved? I guess not, or you wouldn't be thinking of complaining to the vendor about them. Incidentally, it really helps to click on that picture to see the larger version.

ZM

Hi Zenman,
Those were freshly ordered this Spring packed for 2016 from Johnny's Selected Seeds. There are some Cosmos on the end.

Supposed to be
Big Tetra Mix, Cactus flowered mix, Cut and Come Again, Benary's Giant: wine, yellow, white, Benary's Giant Mix, Zowie yellow flame.