2024 Zinnia Breeding Crowdfunding Project
EDIT: ZINNIA BREEDING PROJECT IS CLOSED FOR 2024 - NO NEW DONATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED
Welcome to the crowdfunding project!
Hello! Kee-ju here, thank you for showing interest in our crowdfunding project for our zinnia breeding program!
Here in hot and dry and sunny New Mexico, there aren’t a lot of flowers that do well in the summer here (most everything tends to wilt even with copious amounts of water). The one stalwart flower that has always done well for us are zinnias, but they’ve always come in garish shades and we’ve found ourselves limited in the past by the zinnias available from commercial growers.
After four years of saving seeds, crossing varieties, culling off-varieties, utilizing paintbrushes and organza bags and even bartering with a local apiarist to temporarily place beehives on our property to help pollinating, we are proud to announce the release of our first variety - The Kokoro Garden Mix!
These zinnias have been grown in isolation from any other varieties of zinnias for the past four years, but have the lineage of the several zinnia varieties (Oklahoma, Zinderella, Cresto!, Lilliput, Queen) which you may see in various traits and growth habits (and if I had to pick the most similar zinnia variety in terms of form and growth, they are most similar to the Oklahoma series in terms of productivity and vigor and habit)
A Few Quick Facts!
The ‘Kokoro Garden Mix’ comes in shades of pale snowy lavender, the faintest blush, dusky rose, ivory, buttercream, pale peach, buff and the occasional brighter or more saturated off-colors.
Bred specifically for use in floral design (specifically wedding work) they are excellent for supporting other flowers and blending with many color palettes (and have fulfilled a niche that for many years had been lacking for us)
They are quite prolific, with a natural branching habit and are a productive cut-and-come-again variety that will give quite a few stems over the season, growing to around 5’ tall x 2’ wide plants in our environment
Easy to germinate and grow, can be direct sown or started in plugs or soil blocks (as well as transplanted and grown from cuttings)
Can be utilized in installations - they hold up decently in the heat and aren’t prone to wilting or flopping compared to larger flowering zinnias
faq
How does the crowdfunding work? When will seeds be mailed out? How many seeds do you get?
Anyone who donates $25 or more within the USA to the fundraising program can opt to receive a packet of ‘Kokoro Garden Mix’ zinnia seeds (25 count). You can also choose to donate less than $25 and not receive a packet of seeds as well. And if you donate $50, you can get a larger seed packet (75 seeds)
Our seed supply is extremely limited due to our small scale, and seed packets from donations are sent in the order in which the donations are received (and we will update the website and social media as soon as the seeds have sold out).
We will begin mailing 2024 seed packets in the middle of February in the order in which their donations were received. You will receive a mix of disc and floret seeds (disc seeds have a higher chance of fully double and self-crossing that breeds more true than floret seeds) that have been rigorously germination-tested to ensure viability.
What is the money being pledged going towards?
The donations we receive will go towards ensuring that we can dedicate the space needed and make up for the opportunity cost of breeding and growing out these special zinnias for seed production. Your donation will continue to refine and hone our breeding efforts in growing unique and rare zinnia varieties that are advantageous for the flower farmer (especially the small scale flower farmer) by selecting for muted colors and good form that work well into arrangements (especially wedding work) and ensure the continuation and production of existing zinnia lineages for future years.
Isn’t $25 and $50 expensive for a packet of seeds?
Technically yes. And if we were just selling a packet of seed, that would be different because it would just be purchasing a commodity - a simple exchange of goods and funds.
We are offering a chance for you to grow these seeds by donating to our breeding program efforts. Since we are a working farm, dedicating our efforts to breeding these zinnias means that we cannot grow any other variety of zinnia on our farm and that we cannot harvest from these plants due to the need for seed production - this is why your donations are necessary for us to continue the work we are doing!
However, this is different than buying a packet of seeds in that you are pledging a certain amount of money to help continue the breeding program efforts going forward. The seeds are a way of us saying thank-you from us for helping us fulfill our passion for working with zinnias
Can you guarantee I will get a packet of seeds?
We have already confirmed the amount of seeds we have available (and the 2023 harvest was very good!) so you will be guaranteed to get a packet of seeds if you meet a pledge of $24 or $50
There are always some risks and challenges with growing and collecting seed, but having grown and collected seed the past four years (including this past year where we experienced 100+ F temperatures for over 30 days) we live in a perfect environment for growing and breeding zinnias!
As experienced breeders and flower farmer and floral designers, we can be very certain that these seeds are of good quality, are a useful and beautiful variety with good vase life, versatility in design and are great flowers to grow. If any challenges arise (i.e. natural disaster or supply chain issues) we will contact you ASAP.
What if I can’t afford to donate?
If you’re not able to donate at this time, you can still sign up for our newsletter for the chance to be involved with the breeding program as a whole - we may be able to potentially donate some packets of seed if there is enough quantity left over.
Can you guarantee that the seeds will grow and have good germination?
First of all, we performed multiple germination tests on the 2023 harvest to ensure good germination rate (93%!) utilizing randomized selection of seeds harvested at multiple times throughout the year.
The seed that you will receive from this fundraiser will be a mix of the existing Kokoro Garden Mix (in aforementioned colors of blush, soft pink, pale peach, buff, buttercream and pale lavender) and were harvested in the fall of 2023 and individually counted and packed for you.
We cannot guarantee germination or viability of the seeds once they get to you, as there is so much variability in terms of seed starting and growing conditions - however, following the general growing advice for zinnias should work well for a high germination and growing out rate.
You can read more on how to grow zinnias here: How to Grow Gorgeous Zinnias (for Floral Design)
Note that zinnias may revert to singles or perform poorly if stressed, over watered or under watered or are grown in non-ideal conditions and these may not give you the ideal form and appearance if grown in such conditions. Please do your research to give them ideal conditions and to give them the best chance at doing well (but they are still very tough plants that do well under a wide variety of environments and conditions!)
Can you guarantee that the zinnias will look like the photos? How high is the fully double form percentage? How many singles?
This strain has been selected specifically for the pale, muted colors that were mentioned and you can see in the photographs. Color may vary based on exposure to sunlight, soil conditions, moisture and precipitation, time of year and hours of daylight and individual specimen variance, but they have proven to be mostly muted pastels in color.
In terms of form, the flowers are mostly semi-double and double in form, with around 20-25% singles and are around 2-3” in diameter with pink centers. Stems are long and straight and they have a natural inclination to start branching on their own (even without pinching).
Please note that this is not a finished mix (we’ll continue to refine the form and colors) so we cannot 100% guarantee or predict color, form, growth habit or other traits because it is an open-pollinated variety and has a genetic lineage that is quite wide. You can expect that there will be some genetic variability that may influence traits like color, form, growth habit and height, but the strain is generally pretty uniform.
How many flowers can I expect to get from my Kokoro Garden Mix zinnias? Are they good cut flowers? How long will they bloom?
Our yields from 2023 reveal each plant on average produces around 27 stems, but in many cases will produce more under ideal circumstances.
Zinnias love the heat and full sun, and will flower more quickly and readily if grown in those conditions. Humidity doesn’t seem to bother them quite as much, but can lead to increased risk of powdery mildew and other fungal diseases, so you may want to plant successions if you live in a very humid environment during the summer.
As mentioned previously, they are excellent cut flowers that last a long time in the vase. If kept in clean water and cool conditions out of direct sunlight, they can last a full week if not longer. Because they are also smaller-petaled zinnias, they do not flop or wither as readily as their larger-flowering counterparts.
Ideally if planted in good growing conditions, zinnias will continue to bloom all summer long. Due to our extremely arid environment and complete lack of powdery mildew and fungal issues, we only do one sowing in spring that lasts us until the first freeze!
If you are concerned regarding successions, you can also take cuttings of your zinnias to extend the harvest period and plantings.
Do you ship outside the USA? Can you guarantee your shipping?
Shipping Restrictions and Considerations: We are unfortunately unable to ship outside the continental US at this time. We also cannot guarantee anything beyond when the seeds leave our hands for mailing including but not limited to lost packages/mail or other errors via carrier, theft, vandalism or other complications. We will do everything we can to ensure the seeds come safely to you including shipping in sturdy mailing envelope that is protective and water resistant.
IMPORTANT: By participating in this crowdfunding, you are agreeing that you have read and understand and agree with the expectations and conditions
REWARDS
TIER 1: Make a pledge without a reward or donate what you can
TIER 2: $25 pledge: 1 small packet of ‘Kokoro Garden Mix’ zinnia seeds (25 count)
TIER 3: $50 pledge: 1 large packet of ‘Kokoro Garden Mix’ zinnia seeds (75 seed count)