Lichtkeimer

Saatgut, das Licht zur Keimung benötigt und daher nicht mit Substrat bedeckt werden sollte.

How SAART™ Seeds Are Bred

Flower Breeding at SAART™ – On Zinnias, Dahlias, and Conscious Selection

I do not breed flowers with the goal of maximum uniformity, but out of an interest in diversity, development, and adaptation.

At SAART™, zinnias and dahlias emerge from my own selection work, observed over several years and continuously re-evaluated.

Not every beautiful bloom is propagated further, and not every line is maintained.

For me, breeding means selection – in the field, throughout the season, and in the way genetic diversity is handled.

Location, climate, and soil along the Saar play just as important a role as the respective breeding goal.

This page explains how I work with zinnias and dahlias, why conscious selection matters more than uniformity, and why variation is not a flaw, but an essential part of the process.

Origin and Location

My breeding work does not take place in an abstract space, but in a specific location.

The plants I work with grow in Kanzem along the Saar – on soils that are not standardised and under weather conditions that vary significantly from year to year.

These conditions influence growth, flowering behaviour, and vitality far more than catalogue descriptions might suggest.

Rather than adapting plants to idealised conditions, I observe which individuals are able to assert themselves under the given circumstances.

Selection here does not mean optimisation toward perfection, but choosing plants based on adaptability, stability, and development over several years.

The location is therefore not a backdrop, but an integral part of every breeding decision.

Open Pollination & Genetic Diversity

Zinnias and dahlias cannot meaningfully be reduced to complete uniformity.

A large part of my work is based on open pollination, as it preserves genetic diversity and makes development possible in the first place.

Open pollination does not mean randomness, but a controlled framework in which traits can emerge, shift, or stabilise.

Within this diversity, I observe flower form, growth habit, vitality, and structural strength over multiple generations.

Variation is not a flaw, but an indication of genetic potential.

Uniformity does not arise from excluding variation, but from repeated selection under real growing conditions.

Especially with zinnias, diversity is a prerequisite for robust lines that can adapt to changing seasons and locations.

Field Selection

Selection does not take place at a desk, but in the field.

Over the course of the season, I observe each line repeatedly: during early growth, throughout flowering, and into seed maturity or tuber formation.

What matters is not a single spectacular bloom, but the overall performance of the plant.

Growth habit, structural stability, health, and flowering behaviour carry more weight than colour or form alone.

Plants that only perform under optimal conditions are not propagated further.

Those that remain are plants that show stability over weeks and remain viable under changing weather conditions.

In this context, selection means restraint: not everything that is beautiful is kept.

What Breeding Means – and What It Does Not

For me, breeding does not mean guaranteeing results or promising repeatability.

Plants respond to location, weather, and care – even when they come from the same line.

Variation is part of the process and not a deficiency, but an expression of living development.

Anyone working with my zinnias or dahlias is working with genetic material, not standardised products.

This openness requires attention, observation, and a willingness to engage with differences.

Breeding is not a promise of uniformity, but an invitation to accompany development.