Thank you....Patty

if they just flowered... and had no time for the seed to mature.. i doubt you will get anything...

but the reason i answered was for your default to TRY ... rather than run to the computer first ...

i tend to remember experiments.. a lot more easily than research ..

kudos ...

ken

Martha

Hi Patty,

"I was wondering what percentage if any, germination of seeds that come from deadheaded zinnias would be?"

The seeds that have viable embryos will germinate, and those that don't will not germinate. This picture shows some petals plucked from a maturing zinnia head, some of which are "fat" with a viable embryo and some of which are "empty" and will not germinate.

Notice that the petals still have color, and are not dead. Since the green seed coat is still alive, it is impervious to water and you need to expose the embryo in some way.

You can even go so far as to remove the embryo altogether and plant embryos instead of seeds. I planted two flats of embryos last year with good results. If you plan to store the seeds, don't breach the seed coat, but spread the seeds out on a newspaper to dry for about a week before you package them.

ZM