Hi, Bees will make random crosses as well as self pollination. Reds will not always produce reds. When you buy a packet of mixed zinnias, unless it is a "formula blend", it comes from a field of mixed open pollinated zinnias, with most of the pollination being done by bees, which is a commercial version of the very thing you described. If you want to cross two of your zinnias, simply take pollen from one zinnia and apply it to the stigmas of the other zinnia. The pollen is in the star-shaped yellow florets, and the stigmas are the yellow Y-shaped antennas at the base of each petal. The best time to pollinate is in the morning when the pollen is still fresh and the bees haven't "stolen" it yet. Zinnias are relatively easy to cross, because their pollen and stigmas are relatively large and easy to manipulate. Their stigmas can remain receptive for over a week, but when they are successfully pollinated, they wither and die within a day or two. Your hand-pollinated hybrid zinnia seed can be planted in only a few weeks, letting you see the results of your cross in the same year or even the same season. By crossing your own zinnias, you can get some new zinnias that you would never get from a seed packet. I enjoy growing and breeding zinnias as a hobby. ZM

Flowers form to make seeds for the survival of the species. Flowers have a life cycle: new, vibrant, fading, dried, seed head. What you did is correct: it is called deadheading. It stimulates new flowers to come out in order to create seeds for survival of the species. On zinnias, just cut the old flower stem down to where you see new buds or shoots (branches)developing on the stem. Your new flowers will appear there. Keep doing this all season to make bushier and more heavily flowered plants. Everything is normal, your instincts are correct. All the language you are unfamiliar with is superfluous and you will learn by doing: then you will understand the language as you see the results of your actions. No worries!

Well you can always try as no real expense involved, just time. ;) However immature seeds usually lack two things - the kernel seal that allows them to germinate without first dying from outside bacterial infections and most importantly, the nutrients need to survive until the first true leaves can develop. Those two stages of seed growth can only take place on the plant. So is it possible to cover/bag the heads in some way to protect them from the birds and let them mature on the plant? You don't usually have to wait for frost to do them in - just until that particular flower head is dry and brown. Hope this helps. Dave

Usually when you buy seeds, it'll list days to harvest or days to flower, it's really means how many days after you transplant a healthy seedling or small plant to soil. And they usually mean when the first fruit is ripe. They really try to stretch the number. I have seen claims of 45days to harvest for sungold tomato, which actually is more like 80days to get a decent harvest of fully ripen tomatoes. Before that, the germination and seedling stage could be 4 to 6 weeks depend on where you are, especially if you're starting indoor before the last frost. So you're looking at between 15 to 20 weeks total for tomatoes. Also they love to over saturate the color of the actual fruit or flower on their website.