Izhar, "I was lurking here for quiet long but unable to gather courage asking so many questions... I hope they'll be replied & answered..." Welcome to our discussions. We are glad to have you. I'll try to answer some of your questions and hopefully others will add their responses and opinions as well. "1) I start my seeds in pots with up to 30 seedlings in a single pot, transplant them in bed at a distance of 6-12" from each other (Dwarf ones on the lesser side), my question is do this technique lowers the percentage of double blooms? I do get many double ones but less then 50%.. is that normal? (the plants I am referring to are Super Yoga & Magellan)" Zinnias do resent the disturbance to their roots that occurs when you separate them out from a closely packed planting. I have heard it said (in the Parks seed catalog, for example) that such root disturbance can make them single, but I can't confirm that. However, the root disturbance does "stunt" them and set them back, and I try to avoid that by planting only one or two seeds per small pot. This is a picture of one of my zinnia seedlings in a 3-inch square pot. I used to use 2.5-inch square pots, but they weren't big enough for my zinnia seedlings. That particular plant had been "pinched" for branchiness and was about to be re-potted in one of the 5-inch pots behind it. If two or more seeds germinate in a 3-inch pot, I usually snip out the weaker one(s) at the first true leaf stage, to leave only one zinnia plant per pot. I use pointed scissors to cut off the discarded plant at the soil line so as not to disturb any roots. As the zinnia plant grows, it becomes root-bound enough to create a coherent root ball, the same square shape as the inside of the pot. It will hold together on its own and drop out of the pot when it comes time to transplant it into the garden or re-pot it to a bigger pot for continued indoor growth. That avoids disturbance to the roots, and has the advantages of a peat pot without the added expense or delay for the peat pot to disintegrate. I re-use my plastic pots from year to year. "2) I've grown (in the same fashion as above) Scabious flowered Zinnia bought online from T&M(UK), the percentage of actual scabious flowered ones ware merely 10% of the total, where I went wrong?" Nothing went wrong. The commercially grown scabious flowered strains are typically only 5% to 20% true to type out of the seed packet. You can improve on that by saving your own seeds. I cull out the many off-type ones and enjoy those that are on type. There is more information on improving your zinnias by saving seeds from selected specimens in the It can be fun to breed your own zinnias message threads here in the Annuals forum. "3) Is that true that seeds with petal attached (or its part attached) produces double blooms and seeds obtained from the mid of the bloom have a 50-50 chance?" I hadn't heard that, and haven't run any experiments on that. The petal seeds are more likely to be cross-pollinated (by a bee or by you) while the floret seeds are more likely to be selfed. "4) How long is the blooming season and how can we increase it? My zinnias planted in spring have an average 5 months period from seed till death, but I have seen zinnia in my area which were blooming before August and are still blooming.." That is an interesting question, and the answer depends in part on which strain of zinnia you are growing. The Super Yoga strain is bred for cut flower production, and normally produces just the central stem flower which is harvested for sale. The Yogas are bred to be non-branching to focus all of their energy on that main-branch flower. I would guess that they would branch if you pinched the main stem at an early stage, but they aren't bred for continued bloom. The Magellans are an F1 hybrid low-growing strain for extended bloom in a bedding situation, but probably would benefit from dead-heading and would suffer if seedheads were allowed to mature. Many ornamentals suffer if they are allowed to "go to seed", but I think there is a possibility that some zinnias might have the capability to continue putting out new branches with new flowers even though older branches have set mature brown seedheads. I think that is the exception, but I have seen that in several of my home-hybridized zinnias involving a scabious-flowered parent. However, zinnias need warm or hot weather to thrive, and as the days shorten and cool weather approaches, natural conditions tend to end their blooming season. "5) I use large amount of composted dairy manure as fertilizer tilled in the bed up to 6", a week before transplanting the seedlings and a light sprinkling of 17-17-17 fertilizer every month. This is more or less the same procedure for all of my annual plants, do I need to do differently for zinnias?" I really can't answer this one. I don't have access to dairy manure or compost, so I rely pretty much exclusively on soluble commercial nutrients like Miracle-Gro and Better-Gro. Zinnias are heavy feeders, so if your zinnias look healthy, they probably like what you are giving them. I do supply some supplemental silicon to my zinnias in a diluted soluble form as potassium silicate. The silicon is supposed to aid in forming strong cell walls and increase disease resistance. ZM

Hi leafy. I have bunions and a slight beginning of enlarged joints on my second toes with the accompanying "hammertoe" trying to begin. I have inherited most of this complex of problems from my Mom's side of the family. It is called Morton's syndrome, in my case. The pulling of the tendon's and ligaments in your foot are what cause the humping that you are concerned about. The only treatment for this is a very good custom orthotic to support your arch and prevent the foot from rolling slightly inward ( pronation) which pulls the tendons out of line . Also the orthotic will address the metatarsal area ( the soft area beneath your 2nd and 3rd toes) and you will get a pad behind that area to support the forefoot. Nothing that you put between your toes will stop the progression of the disorder. You can get individual soft gel cushions to wear when you have on shoes to prevent the toes pressing into each other, if that is a problem . I have them for my toes. The "yoga" toes do absolutely nothing to correct or delay the problem you speak of. You can do exercises to strengthen you feet, place a towel on the floor and put your foot on it and then wrinkle the towel toward you by bending the toes into the towel and pulling it toward you. You can also sit with your feet out in front of you and concentrate on stretching all of your toes out and away from each other ....like a cat does its paws. There isn't anything passive other than the orthotics which will correct/slow the progression of this problem. My Mom had surgery a total of 3 times on her feet. Always they returned to the dysfunctional position. One has to correct the arch and strengthen the tendons with exercise and orthotics. No surgery or passive between the toes pads will correct it. Hope this helps you. I worry about my feet all the time and have just gotten the final pair of new orthotics that I was fitted for in May ! They are really working but it has been an arduous process. I am fortunate to have excellent BCBS and they have covered it , after deductible. I am going to get a 2nd pair made so that these will last longer. Good Luck and let me know if you have more questions. The exercise I mentioned is also for anyone with plantar fasciitis. c

When I used TG, the edges weren't sharp. Did you use the tempered glass from car windows? To save your hands, get the rubber palmed garden gloves to grout. I want to prepare a yoga ball too, but it isn't high on my priority lise yet. Show us pictures of your WIP, please.

Robo - just think of the fun you'll have designing your new necklace. I like the graceful lines of the settings on your inspiration photos and the sapphire will look lovely. I didn't realize that you lost your original engagement, that is a shame. With the exception of my eternity band all of my rings have prongs and I've never caught one. I do take my pieces to my jeweler regularly to have them checked and cleaned.