hmmm.. how do i define the topic of genetics in as few words as possible ...

some things come TRUE from seed ... those seeds are worth saving presuming predictability is wished for . ... most of these are your plain old standards .. been around forever plants ... aka.. species e..g.

many genetic anomalies.. like ultra giant plants .. usually do not come true from seed ... ergo.. the next generation of seed... will probably not be ultra giant ... some might.. some wont.. etc ...

mom and dad made you ... lets say you are ultra giant ... then a bee comes along.. and adds genetic variable #3 ... and all of a sudden ... your progeny.. are not ultra giant .. because of all the new variations added by the bee ...

so.. bottom line ... you have to rebuy the seed every year ... if you want to insure the trait you wish for ...

and to be clear.. i dont think you leaving for 2 weeks had anything at all to do with it all ... its the genetics.. not the care provided ...

keep us posted on whether any squirrels attack soon ... lol..

ken

Hello Andrew,

I think I agree with everything Ken said.

" Is it worth saving the seeds from hybrids? I've read on some sites that the plants will never be the same if they even flower? or should i just let the birds feast away. "

The birds will feast unless you put some form of protection over the sunflower seed heads.

It is really a matter of personal preference whether you save seeds from you hybrid sunflowers. And that is assuming that your sunflowers are true hybrids--some things get called hybrids because they were of hybrid origin, but now. If they are true hybrids, they should be labelled F1 Hybrids. At least some sources refer to them as American Giant F1

If you save seeds from an F1 hybrid, they are called F2 (second generation) hybrids, and they will display genetic recombination, creating a variety of appearances. But they are not necessarily inferior, just different. They will flower and be reasonably good. Perhaps "better", depending on your personal preferences.

As an amateur zinnia breeder, I routinely save seeds from my home-hybridized hybrid zinnias, because it is interesting to see the new zinnia forms that can result. I even do hybrids between hybrids, just to get more extreme variations. This is an example of one of my current recombinant zinnias that you couldn't get from a seed packet.

If you want uniformly tall sunflowers next year, you should buy fresh F1 seed and let the birds eat the seeds on your current American Giant F1 Hybrid sunflowers. If you have the space to grow quite a few sunflowers, you might want to consider breeding your own sunflowers as a hobby. You could start that hobby by saving seeds from your American Giant F1s.

ZM

It's a little like purebred dogs vs mixed breeds. You can't get another labradoodle from breeding two labradoodles. You gotta go get the lab and the poodle and start again.