Hi ZM

Yes these are the Ones You Can eat....

Thank You for the Info, I'm asking because You are meant to get a BAD Winter this Year...

LOVE That Non Pink....

Would Buy That in a Heartbeat, or Your Non Pink Tubies....

Thank You for Sharing ALL of Your Photos Guys....

Ninecrow - unfortunately, I've been hearing that same rumor about the winter. Crossing my fingers that it's not any worse than last year, which wasn't exactly fun, but not as cold as some in my memory. I'd be curious as to how the weather changes are affecting England. Just went to research it, but am unwilling to sit through various half hour videos, but it doesn't look like anyone really wants to make strong predictions yet.

On the subject of mushrooms, you probably bought one of those box kits, right? Let us know how it works for you. Many years back, and then again 4 or so years ago, we invested in some initially rather labor-intensive shitake mushroom dowels which must be pounded into holes drilled in hard wood - oak and the like. The first batch pretty much did nothing for several years, and then in 2015 we had a bumper crop that I had to give away bags of because we had so many! This year we had a nice crop for the spring, and recently with the start of the rains, picked several more - enough for a good meal anyway. I have to fight the slugs, though, which is bothersome. I dislike slugs probably more than you dislike pink! Here's a pic of some of the logs. The white stuff you see is beeswax that gets painted over the dowels after they're pounded in. It's supposed to hold in the moisture. We bought our spore dowels from Fungi Perfecti, but there are other places specializing in mushroom cultivation as well, offering smaller kits, dowels, and for some kinds of mushrooms - sawdust that's been treated with spore. Have considered getting some oyster mushrooms - you don't have to drill the holes. Instead, you have your logs cut in round slabs and the sawdust gets sandwiched between the pieces of wood and stacked. (At least I think that was how the oyster mushrooms were done.) Just haven't gotten around to it, though.

Alex

ZM - that's a near perfect Razzle Dazzle specimen! And as it's larger, it looks like your incorporation of the California Giants genes is working. Hope you're pleased with your year's progress. It's a pity that the rain couldn't have been spaced out a bit more evenly, though, isn't it? Instead of all at once at the end of the summer!!!

Here's a recent shot of another lotus descendant. I do like that shape!

And a second pic of the salmon lotus with one of the monarch migrants:

The purple flower is what they really come for - liatris ligulistylus, Meadow Blazing Star. It blooms later than other varieties of liatris, and is very tall - it can be 5 to 6 ft. I took this shot yesterday. It's awesome watching them in mass like this:

Namaste,

Alex

Hello Ninecrow and Alex,

Yikes! I thought Climate Change was supposed to make things warmer. Oh well. They painted our propane tank, and the propane central air furnace works fine, and I have a good Snow Thrower, so I guess we are as ready as we can be for an extra cold and extra long Winter. In some ways the indoor zinnias are more enjoyable than the outdoor zinnias. It is more convenient to cross two of them because you can just set their pots side-by-side and you don't have to fight the bees and butterflies for the pollen.

Alex, your lotus descendants have an admirable flower form. They would make a great strain. I thought I had a lot of butterflies, but you have way more. And Monarchs to boot. Well, you won't actually kick them -- it's just a saying.

The new petals come in white on this "Cyanus" zinnia, and then turn pink.

It rained off and on all night and it is quite wet out there right now. I will probably turn some lights on in the basement and do some zinnia seed "shucking" until things dry off some outdoors. Technically we still have a drought, although there has been some flooding in the area. But we were over a foot of rain "behind", so we have to get some more rain to "catch up". More later.

Namaste.

ZM

Please Let me know how the Winter Turns out, When You get Your 1st Frost or Snow as Weather is Another Passion of Mine, Not that I Understand Some of it....

Maybe I should Stick to Plants, at Least I can Understand those...
LOL

Oh I LIKE Those Logs Alex....
Wish I was Closer to See them in Real Life.....

I've Ordered a Shitake Round as I think They are called Which as Far as I know is a Small Branch Seeded with Spawn that is Meant for inside Growing, So we'll see...

The One I have Now are the Type that You can Grow in an Old Paperback, I've Got Buttons and Yes I do have Some Oyster's Which You can Grow in an Old Book Too But I forgot to Label Which is Which,So Things Could Get Interesting When the Time Comes to Shock {Fridge for 2 Days} Them to Fruit....

Ninecrow - interesting about shocking them with cold to make the mushrooms fruit. Of course, I can't do that with the logs (unless I had a walk-in cooler LOL), but I did force them to fruit year before last by putting a few of the logs into a big plastic bin that I'd filled with water. I'd read about it and wanted to see if it worked. Well, it was messy, and the logs were cumbersome, but it DID work! And I have never heard of growing the button mushrooms in a book - cool! I have lots of books. :) Will let you know how the weather goes; I find it fascinating myself.

ZM - I like that cyanus form with the white center petals. Do you think that's whirligig genes doing that? Enjoy your zinnia shucking - I have some really colorful litter in a couple of spots where I've thrown all my petals! Did we talk about this before - don't remember - but flower petals would be much better to use at weddings than rice or confetti. :)

Namaste,

Alex

Ninecrow -- I will let you know when we have our first killing freeze. For the last couple of years it has been somewhat later than average, near or on the last day of October. If we have an early freeze, I will just start my indoor project sooner.

Alex -- Probably most of my unusual zinnia characteristics are due to inter-species recombinations from my Whirligig-Burpeeana Giant crosses. In later years I have added scabiosa flowered and California Giant genes. Some of that white may have been just a natural lag in forming pink coloration, like in this specimen.

We have a heavy overcast now, and at least a "threat" of rain. I will probably do mostly cage-making and seed-shucking today.

Flower petals would be better than rice at weddings. Problem is, there isn't a commercial source of flower petals. You can buy butterflies, but I don't approve of butterfly releases at events. More later.

Namaste.

ZM

ZM - Good God - do people really do butterfly releases at events? That seems very decadent, unless it was the right season, I suppose, and you were releasing them in an area where they would find food and host plants for egg laying. Which leads me to another whole train of thought - sabotaging some disagreeable neighbor's cabbage patch by letting loose a whole... flock? squadron? cloud? of cabbage butterflies - hee hee! Bad me.

Om Ganapati - I was just kidding; don't send me any more bugs!

Namaste,

Alex

Hi Alex,

Om Ganapati -- You do realize that I don't know any Sanskrit at all ? My guess is that it translates roughly as "Good God". I learned Namaste from you, although I now hear it more frequently than I expected on TV. Namaste has effectively been adopted as part of our language.

Yes, butterflies have been released at various events, including the occasional wedding. You can buy them in bulk for the purpose of a butterfly release at an event. And they most likely do just fly off and die, because the releases are frequently in urban areas inhospitable to butterflies.

This is another current specimen similar to a Razzle Dazzle.

As I continue to cross everything with everything, you could think that they might mix down to some standard intermediate flower form, but genetic recombination seems to continually produce separate different forms from the mix. Apparently repeated crossing is actually increasing diversity in my zinnias. And I like that. More later.

Namaste.

ZM

This question is a bit far removed from most of the zinnia conversations that have been ongoing. I have had a life shift that landed me in a high rise apartment in St. Paul. But, I have a passion for gardening for pollinators. There is space around my parking lot at work that is full sun, but sandy soil. There also isn’t access to irrigation. Do you think that there is any chance that zinnias could survive if I provided some soil amendments, and/or started them under lights, and transplanted them? I would have to depend on rain for irrigation. I have collected seeds from various locations, and could direct sow, or start some under lights and transplant. Any thoughts?

Martha

Hello Martha,

" I have had a life shift that landed me in a high rise apartment in St.
Paul. But, I have a passion for gardening for pollinators. "

I very much sympathize with you in your situation. I am fairly certain it is too late to plant zinnias outdoors in the St. Paul area now. Here in east central Kansas I have verified by trying that mid August is too late to plant zinnias outdoors. Zinnias start to bloom in about 6 weeks from seed, but that is just opening a bloom. It takes at least another two weeks for that bloom to interact beneficially with pollinators. And in my case I am trying to produce viable zinnia seed as opposed to feeding pollinators. I grow two generations of zinnias indoors in my upcoming indoor zinnia project, but my indoor zinnias don't interact with the usual pollinators -- I am their pollinator.

" There is space around my parking lot at work that is full sun, but sandy
soil. There also isn’t access to irrigation. Do you think that there is
any chance that zinnias could survive if I provided some soil
amendments, and/or started them under lights, and transplanted them? "

Sandy soil is good for zinnias, and many other plants, for that matter. You would need to get permission to garden in that area at work, and being in a public place, your plants would be subject to unknown hazards. That soil may have already been treated with herbicides to suppress "weeds". But you have time now to explore possibilities for using that space at work beginning next Spring. It probably gets some natural rainfall and, during a dry spell, you could carry some water to plants there. Other employees at your work might be interesting in helping with the project.

" I would have to depend on rain for irrigation. I have collected seeds
from various locations, and could direct sow, or start some under lights
and transplant. Any thoughts? "

Like I said, you could supplement the rain by carrying some water. It doesn't rain in my basement, and I grow a lot of zinnias there.

You probably have a lot of hungry butterflies in your area right now. I suggest you consider feeding them now, or in the next few days. They are not interested in pollinating anything. They just want to drink some sugar water (nectar). They are hungry now! They make feeding stations and special food for hummingbirds, but they also make feeding stations and special food for butterflies. I suggest you take that direct approach now. Put up a butterfly feeder and hope that some hungry butterflies find it. Amazon has a butterfly feeder and special butterfly nectar.

That can get you started feeding butterflies. It also helps to put some pieces of fruit on the feeder. Like I said, butterflies aren't interested in pollinating anything, but they are hungry.

ZM (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)

ZM - good thought about the butterfly feeder.

Martha - it might be enough right away to set some pie tins out with orange slices and sugar water - weighted down with rocks. Of course, that could also attract possums, so maybe not! You'd need to pick them up at night.

"OM Ganapati" is me entreating the Hindu elephant god - Ganapati, otherwise known as Ganesha - to come to my aid. Ganesha is The Maker and Remover of Obstacles; in other words, a personification of Karma, both good and "bad". I am being both somewhat facetious and irreverent, and paradoxically serious in my obeisance to the Powers that Be, Zensama Sensei.

And I share your distaste of butterfly releases. I have to admit, I have been to a butterfly release at Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, MI, but they were releasing them into the conservatory, which is HUGE and climate-controlled. Still, it made me wonder how many of the exotics just died afterwards, since it's hard for me to imagine that they would allow them to lay eggs and then have the subsequent larvae feeding on the display plants.

Namaste,

Alex

Martha - another thought: maybe just pick up some bushel baskets or other large containers and do container plantings - something that you could hand water, without too much difficulty. I think you're just letting yourself in for disappointment to try to plant any zinnias in an area that you can't irrigate.

Thank you both for your thoughtful replies. Of course, I am planning for next spring. I have already considered containers, but the neighborhood lends itself to objects disappearing, if not chained to concrete.

I have requested permission, but was denied for reasons of “liability.” Apparently, gardening is a dangerous activity. I have decided to flout their decision and deal with consequences. What can they do, arrest me? I would have a field day with the press. And they can’t fire me, because they can’t run their organization without me. Fortunately, I am almost irreplaceable.

Hand watering would be a challenge, since the area is at the far end of the parking lot. It’s probably 80 yards from the building, and water would need to be carried through two security doors and up a stairway. Even use of a cart is difficult, because the lot is in such poor repair.

I think I will focus on the most drought-resistant annuals I can. Verbena boniarensis, Monarda punctata, Monarda citriodora, Nepeta, Cosmos sulphurea and others. I will plant some zinnias and see how they do. I have plenty of saved seed to “waste.” This is as much a mental health activity for me as anything. Also, “Well behaved women rarely make history.” I believe that was Eleanor Roosevelt. I am getting too old to follow other people’s rules. We need to preserve our pollinators, or we will lose the foods that we depend on for life. The City of St Paul is eager to have residents install pollinator friendly habitat. So, I need to do what I know is right, despite obstacles.

Sorry for the rant.

Martha

Hello Martha,

" Hand watering would be a challenge, since the area is at the far end of
the parking lot. It’s probably 80 yards from the building, and water
would need to be carried through two security doors and up a stairway.
Even use of a cart is difficult, because the lot is in such poor repair. "

If you brought the water in your car, you could avoid the doors and stairway and just drive to near the growing area. Of course, that would subject your car to the poor repair of the lot. It seems if they were so concerned about "liability" that they might keep their parking lot in better repair.

This photo was taken a few days ago. I was just snapping photos and if I had been willing to spend a little more time, I could have gotten a Monarch. Male and female Monarchs are in the area, and even mating. This one is an "Admiral" or something like that. They are also numerous.

ZM

Martha - he's got a good point there about the car. You could have gallon milk jugs of water in your car that you keep replenishing. To me, it seems like it would be a better bet than trying to sow seed that must rely on rain only. The idea of plugging in plant starts, might work, but you'd still need to give them water in the beginning, unless you were able to time it with a rainy period. Wishing you luck with your endeavor!

ZM - I like butterflies, too. And it's too bad they don't eat mosquitoes as well; I'd like them even more! :)

Here's a nice orange bloom that I took today:

Namaste,

Alex

Hi Alex,

" "OM Ganapati" is me entreating the Hindu elephant god - Ganapati,
otherwise known as Ganesha - to come to my aid. Ganesha is The Maker and Remover of Obstacles; in other words, a personification of Karma, both
good and "bad". "

That is a good explanation. From time to time I hear someone say, "Karma is a bitch".

" I am being both somewhat facetious and irreverent, and paradoxically
serious in my obeisance to the Powers that Be, Zensama Sensei. "

That's an excellent combination. You impress me as being spiritually uncommonly well evolved. I am not surprised that you get along well with your Amish neighbors despite your differences. But you continue to surprise me.

Your orange bloom is quite nice. This is a current "orange" breeder of mine.

Namaste.

ZM

That is a very nice orange tubular; and those hands even have opposable thumbs. How handy - hee hee.

Thank you for the kind words! I wistfully envy the discipline of our Amish neighbors, and, of course, the sense of community they all share. But I couldn't live that life; I am much too selfish. :)

It has looked like rain all day, even though it wasn't in the forecast. And it didn't. Supposedly it will warm up now for the next few days; no rain predicted. Just fed the felines and now I am using the last of the day's light to try to put the greenhouse in some sort of order. Cups and pots thrown willy-nilly all over the place, that I have never put back after the spring plant-out. Now what was I saying about discipline?...

Namaste,

Alex

Hi Alex,

Sunny or partly cloudy and no rain here, but none needed. We have had 2 inches in the last few days. There were some areas in Kansas that had flooding. I am saving a supply of seeds to start outdoors early next Spring. I have several of these narrow petaled tubular specimens.

There are advantages to not having internal anther bundles, in that blooms without them and without regular pollen florets don't need deadheading. That is sort of like having the advantages of triploidy without the triploidy. I am starting to think about starting my Indoor Project, but right now I am just saving indoor seeds from the last Indoor Spring phase. More later.

Namaste.

ZM

ZM - when you say: "but right now I am just saving indoor seeds from the last Indoor Spring phase" do you mean that you've had blooms indoors all through the summer? Somehow, I had it in my head that the indoor phase would end just as the outdoor phase was beginning, but I guess that's not right? And you have things indoors almost without a break. That's so much to take care of! And there's never a lull in which you rest, if that's the case. I need my rest time after the garden is done in the fall. Normally, I wouldn't have anything going again until March, but now with the daylilies, I start things at the end of January. Though I've decided I won't grow as much this next season, and instead concentrate on the daylily seedlings. I was happy to see how quickly the zinnias grew from direct seeding, so I'll probably do that again, and not start things indoors, just to cut out more of the work.

That's interesting about the semi-tubular leaves; had you observed that before?

Namaste,

Alex

Hello Alex,

" when you say: "but right now I am just saving indoor seeds from the last Indoor Spring phase" do you mean that you've had blooms indoors all through the summer? "

No, my basement utility room has been dark for several months. This Spring I had a lot of indoor breeders develop flower heads with seeds in them. Some I saved in the green stage and planted outside, and some plants I even transplanted into the garden. But I deliberately let a lot of mature indoor plants die and remain in their pots through the Summer. I anticipate re-starting the indoor project in about a month, so I am now doing a housekeeping clean-up of that basement area, which includes harvesting all the seeds from those dead and dried brown plants.

" That's interesting about the semi-tubular leaves; had you observed that before? "

No, that is totally new. I hope it is genetic, and can be passed on in their seeds. You can sort of see one in the lower left corner of the picture above. This is one of my current outdoor Razzle Dazzle blooms.

Namaste.

ZM

ZM - glad to hear you aren't keeping both projects going at the same time; that seemed a bit too intense. I remember you're saying recently that you might actually prefer the indoor phase as it was easier to maintain. I can see how that would be, certainly. Still, a break, if only a short one, from both is not a bad idea.

Yes, I see that rolled leaf now that you point it out to me. It makes me think of those rolled Japanese morning glory leaves that our friend - Geri, is it? - was seeing on many of the indoor plants she (she is female, correct? Not male as I originally supposed?) was raising in her highrise. Have not been on the Annuals forum much except to this thread, so I don't know if she's still posting all those beauties.

I once saw a "regular" zinnia that had some pollen florets with 11 arms. Those were a sight to behold. I now wish I had saved individual seeds from those pollen florets.

That would have been interesting to see - am having difficulty imagining it. Question: on the RDs, are all of those florets actually what you would call pollen florets, and you have bred the plants not to produce ray petals? Or are they modified ray petals?

Namaste,

Alex

Hi Alex,

" Question: on the RDs, are all of those florets actually what you would
call pollen florets, and you have bred the plants not to produce ray
petals? Or are they modified ray petals? "

That is a good question, and the answer is partly just semantics. The RD petals have the anatomy of a pollen floret, including an internal stigma and an internal anther bundle, and they have the basic shape of a pollen floret with the possible quibble of how many arms they have and how many arms a pollen floret can have.

The one difference is that the stigma inside a pollen floret actually pushes pollen out (of the anther bundle that surrounds it) up and out so that it can fall onto any petal stigmas that are "in range". The stigma inside a Razzle Dazzle floret apparently doesn't push any pollen out, but just fertilizes itself. Which is just as well, because there aren't any ray petal stigmas to receive it.

There is also a partial difference regarding the yellow "fuzz" on the pollen florets. That fuzz exists only as tiny "bumps" on the RD petals. So the Razzle Dazzles don't have any "ray petals", but I didn't intentionally breed them out.

More later. It is wet outside from a very heavy dew, so I will do some more seed sorting this morning.

Namaste.

ZM

ZM - heavy dew here this morning as well. Supposed to hit 80 later. Mosquitoes have been horrendous, so I'm not much interested in working outside anyway, and I've got stuff to keep me busy inside. Though I do want to remember to check if that yellow and orange whirligig has some green seed now.

More later,

Alex

Hi Alex,

It is overcast and dewy here this morning. That overcast reminds me how lucky we are not to have to contend with Hurricane Florence. I feel sorry for those people. Some experts predict Florence will be worse than Katrina in losses, and possibly the worst hurricane ever here in the US. Climate Change, as well as Karma, can be a bitch.

One advantage of my Razzle Dazzle strain is that crosses between it and "regular" zinnias can yield some unusual flower forms, like this South Garden specimen.

Based on previous years, it could come as early as the second week of October. I need to be thinking about restarting my indoor project. You mentioned a possible "vacation" from that, but I actually look forward to my indoor gardening. It has several advantages over the outdoor gardening, not the least of which is not having to fight the weeds. I notice that this wet season has produced some fresh weeds in my South Garden. I will also be sharpening my hoe today. More later.

Namaste.

ZM

Wow - that South Garden RD is wonderful! The thistle flowered one has the advantage of being a lovely white, but my money's on that full-petaled orange. A bed full of those would be something to see!

I didn't realize your frost date was so much later than mine, though who can say anymore when first frost is? I'm hoping it won't be till October, but traditionally it's 3rd week of September.

The mosquitoes were even worse when I was out just a little while ago. Kind of makes me wish for cooler weather - but only 'kind of.' Don't you know it will be horrible in the aftermath of the hurricanes. Hoping our government has been shamed into giving more aid this time. Miracles do happen.

Namaste,

Alex

Hi Alex,

The mosquitoes literally ran me inside this evening. I killed two of them. Tomorrow is supposed to be clear and sunny, which should keep the mosquitoes at bay through the day. There are sometimes a few wild ones that will hop on you in full sunlight, but they are the exception. We have several species of mosquitoes here, and they differ quite a bit. The kind I killed this evening were a cautious species that light on you as gently as they can. I saw one light, so didn't need to feel it. The second one was cautious, but touched a forearm hair, which I immediately felt.

This is another orange specimen with those branched petal ends.

" I didn't realize your frost date was so much later than mine, "

Our "official" killing frost date may not be that much different from yours. I suspect our late first frost dates the last couple of years were "outliers" or symptoms of actual climate change here. I have much more to do in my South Garden tomorrow. More later.

Namaste.

ZM

Please re Indoor Garden ZM....

News From Me

Nothing that Exciting Apart From that I've Started Light Control on My White Poinsettia...

And I have Buds on My Ipomoea sloteri which is growing on My Windowsill Not Outside...

Hi Ninecrow,

Oh, yes, I will repeat my indoor Zinnia Project this Fall. Here we are, two weeks into September, so indoor zinnias are only a few weeks away. I do have some housekeeping to do in my basement room though. It currently has a lot of dirty pots and still some dried out zinnia plants that have seeds waiting to be harvested. This yellow exotic zinnia bloom is in my South Garden. Just ignore those pink zinnias around it.

ZM

Hi

This My White Poinsettia that I'm doing Light Control on.....

Can You Beleive that I've been doing it for a week Already...

I will Post More Photos when thing Start to Happen, I have About 7 More Weeks of in the Box at 4pm and Out at 8am the Next Morning.....

Hello Ninecrow,

That is a very nice photo. So I assume you are doing the "light control" to control the photo-period and cause them to bloom, or maybe keep them from blooming until they grow bigger, or just change their leaf color? I don't think I knew there was such a thing as a "White Poinsettia". I guess your goal is to have your poinsettias develop their color well before Christmas.

ZM

Thanks ZM

That's Right, as I Never had a White One get this far before it is more of an Expriment than anything else...

There are ALL Sorts of Coloured Poinsettia now, These are the Ones I can think of off the Top of My head, Red, White/Cream, Jingle, Marble, Salom and Lastly Icky Pink....

My Mushrooms are coming alone nicely, I 'Think' They'll be ready to Shock into Produceing the Mushrooms in About 2 maybe 3 more Days...

Hi Ninecrow! Do you know that after all the rain we got a week or more ago, I only harvested 2 more mushrooms, and one had a hole eaten in it from slugs - those evil denizens of the underworld. They probably all wear pink when they're lounging around on their days off.

Nice poinsettia. Unlike ZM, I've been around the block a few times and have seen other colors of poinsettia. I have not ever tried to grow them, however, so keep posting those pics!

Alex

Hi Ninecrow,

" Icky Pink ? "

I'm pretty sure that isn't the name of the pink poinsettias. Grin. I'm glad you are making progress with your White Poinsettia. Keep us posted.

Hi Alex,

" Unlike ZM, I've been around the block a few times and have seen other colors of poinsettia. "

Ummm. What am I going to say here? You should have a T-shirt with that message on it. Either "I have been around the block a few times" or "I have seen other colors of poinsettia" You pick. Grin.

More later.

Namaste.

ZM

ZM - I think I'll go with "I have been around the block a few times" - LOL! Excuse me, I have a mosquito to swat...Later, Alex

My Mushrooms are Out of the Fridge so now the Wait for Mushrooms Starts....

Hi Alex,

Here's hoping you killed that mosquito. Occasionally one escapes me. Many of our mosquitoes are kind of "skittish".

Most, if not all, of our Monarchs seem to have migrated on. But we have a lot of these little guys in the garden now.

It is overcast and warm here, so I will be working in my South Garden again today. That photo was taken in my South Garden yesterday. More later.

Namaste.

ZM

I think they are Silver Spotted Skippers also. Their larval host plants are ZINNIAS! Just kidding the caterpillars eat only various species of legumes like locust. Zen_man, your Zinnias look very tempting as usual. I love the orange/yellow one. Jay

Hi Jay,

You had me going when you said their host plants were ZINNIAS !

I am glad you switched that to legumes. Sometimes I forget that locust is a legume. Presumably there are some locust trees in the area, although none in the immediate area, as far as I know. There is a native vine that is also a legume, and it is a minor weed. Some have even grown on my sand pile. This is a current South Garden zinnia specimen.

I will be working in my South Garden again today, chopping weeds and pollinating breeder blooms. We are expecting warm to hot weather most of this week, with some rain and some welcome cool-off for the weekend.

ZM

Starting tomorrow, we are supposed to have 3 days of rain/thunderstorms and a cool-off. Thankfully, I don't see any temps lower than 42* predicted. Maybe we will make it to October without a killing frost.

Long day today driving to buy books; back now loaded down with 18 bank boxes full of booty - arrggh, maties! Oh, sorry - I forgot that Talk Like a Pirate Day isn't until tomorrow. You think I'm kidding - google it.

ZM - yes, most of our monarchs have moved on as well. Mind boggling to imagine the journey that lays before them, flying to Mexico and other points south. How can a butterfly manage that?

Later -

Alex

Hi Alex,

I'll take your word for that "Talk Like a Pirate Day". My question is, should the actual pirates talk "regular" tomorrow?

We are in for a couple more hot and humid days, with a possible cool front Thursday night and a cooler possibly rainy Friday and Saturday. This is a current South Garden specimen.

Namaste.

ZM

Ahoy, you landlubbers! I can legitimately say that, as I was born within sight of the sea. Or I would have been if they'd lifted me up to a window, and if, in fact, I could have seen much of anything as a new born. Mere technicalities.

Anyways...I'd like to know where in the heck is the rain they promised me?! I've got 3 days worth of inside work to do, and I'd just as soon it rained now - and drowned as many mosquitoes as possible at the same time. Otherwise, I might feel the need to go out (appropriately attired in an environmental suit to prevent the inevitable blood loss) and water the daylily seedlings. I'm very protective of my babies; given all the time invested in them, it would be pleasant to actually see them bloom next summer.

ZM - that tubie has an elegance of shape with the upward curving petals. What a pity to have to break the petals open to pollinate. A pruned, shaped plant covered in those blooms would be very effective in landscaping. Don't think you've ever said, but about how tall are many of these variations?

Namaste, arrgghh!

Alex

Hi Alex,

Arrgghh matie ! (I like your improved spelling of Arrggh -- that extra "h" adds something.)

"Don't think you've ever said, but about how tall are many of these variations?"

They vary a lot in plant height, and plant width. The original Razzle Dazzles were virtual miniatures, about a foot tall, but now I am using pollen from a Razzle Dazzle bloom that is 4 feet tall. Repeated crossing, recombination, and re-selection are working well for me.

" A pruned, shaped plant covered in those blooms would be very effective in landscaping. "

I want good plant shape without pruning. I want the plants to produce an optional harvest of cut flowers and retain a good shape as the plant continues to develop. I want my zinnias eventually to be competitive with roses, but without the thorns. The original Burpee's Burpeeana Giants had nice bushes as plants, and that and big blooms were their main selling points. Unfortunately, the re-invented Burpeeanas have less good plant bushes, but are still better than average.

So I pay as much to attention to the plants as to their blooms in my current breeding selections. And that includes their leaves, as well as their stems, limbs, and stalks.

Ironically, I am probably farther away from my eventual zinnia breeding goals today than I was two or three years ago, because my goals are now more developed.

More later.

Namaste. Hot here today. Aaarrrggghhh !!!

ZM

Okay Update Time on the Mushrooms....

Nearly Time for Them to show Themseleves....

Just Wish I could Remember Which Ones These are.....

Hi Ninecrow,

So, is that white stuff cotton balls? What is the brown stuff?

" Just Wish I could Remember Which Ones These are..... "

You need a Sharpie pen. (Everyone needs a Sharpie pen.)

Maybe when they "show themselves" we can identify them. Keep us posted.

ZM

Hello everyone,

hhggrraa !

That is "aarrgghh" spelled backwards, signifying the transition from "Speak like a Pirate Day" back to the "Speak like a regular person" days.

Today should be our last hot day here in East Central Kansas for a while. Late tonight or early in the morning a "cool front" is supposed to come through, with some possible rain. This is a current specimen in my South Garden.

Namaste.

ZM (not associated with Physan 20, but I do buy it by the gallon)

Hi ZM

If You are Refuring to what I think You are, That's what's left of the book and The 'white stuff cotton balls' is the Mushroms starting to form....

I Will, I Promise....

Whoa - what have I missed?! Cotton balls, 4 foot Razzle Dazzles and Physan 20, and - backwards-talking pirates! I think someone must have put something in my drink...

Ninecrow - are you telling me all that white stuff was a book?! What book was it? And ZM is absolutely right - everyone needs a Sharpie pen; I always have at least 2 in my garden apron pocket. (I hope the book wasn't the mushroom identification guide...)

Well, it just rained buckets out there and now it's stopped again. But I'm hoping it's not finished yet. Very odd weather is what I'm thinking. Think it's giving me a sinus headache, and I rarely get headaches. Will talk with you guys later.

Namaste,

Alex

Hello everyone,

Well, we did get that expected rain. It came with some winds, but I don't see any obvious wind damage. It is now comfortably cool outside, but very wet. I will shuck zinnia seeds indoors until things dry off a bit. This is one of those current narrow petaled specimens.

In the more likely probability that the embryos are not fertilized at this stage, the cells in the petal flares are produced by mitosis and are genetically the same as the cells in other parts of the bloom, so the variations in the petal-end flares would be developmental and not genetic. Which raises questions as to which of the many variations we see in zinnias are developmental and not genetic.

At some time during the coming Winter I hope to purchase a stereo microscope with a camera mount, so that I can take micro-photographs of some of my indoor zinnias. It will not be capable of seeing chromosomes (that takes a serious high-power laboratory grade microscope), but it will hopefully be capable of seeing details like leaf stomata or leaf hairs, from which you can hopefully deduce whether the plant is diploid or tetraploid.

That is because I want to develop the capability of producing some triploid zinnias, and to do that it is almost a requirement that I be able to determine the "ploidy" of a zinnia by observation. And the microscope will let me study and photograph my zinnias in more detail. I continue to see little creatures that I refer to as "micro insects". I am curious about them. More later.

Namaste.

ZM

Hello everyone,

I see that this message thread has exceeded 100 messages, so I have started a new continuation of this series, It can be fun to breed your own zinnias - Part 50

I hope to see you all over there.

ZM