Hybrids and heirlooms
This is a quick article on hybridization because it's come up in more than one community and there seems to be some misinformation given especially to new gardeners about what hybridization is and how it affects your garden.
Most of the hybridization you will encounter in your garden is intraspecific hybridization, which just means two plants of the same species with different traits are crossing. These plants will generally be fertile and show a mix of the traits of both parent plants. Think of it like crossing a poodle with a cocker spaniel.
Most of the plants in your garden are hybrids, even the heirlooms. The difference is that the heirlooms were hybridized a very long time ago and have been bred and re-bred together until they created a stable variety that produces the same traits in each subsequent generation. Heirloom varieties are open-pollinated and when two plants of that variety are crossed they produce seed that will grow another generation of that variety. There is great value in that, because it means if you follow good cross pollination procedures you can save that seed every year and get the same plant that you know and love.
Modern hybrids are most often recent crosses and will usually be labeled F1 or F2 on the seed packet:
F1 hybrid means that this is a first filial generation hybrid. Two plants varieties with desirable qualities have been crossed to produce this seed. The resulting plant will have the traits described on the packet, but if you save seed from this plant it will not necessarily grow more like this plant. The resultant seed brings in genetic variables from 4 "grandparent" plants, and greater genetic variability means no guarantee that the traits of those 4 grandparents will be significantly apparent in this generation.
F2 hybrids are second filial generation hybrids, which means the F1 hybrid was bred together and created this generation with desirable traits, but they are not consistent (as described above) and you'll usually find them marketed as a mix, indicating that you could find any colour combo (or other trait combo) from the grandparent generation.
Are heirlooms better than hybrids? That's debatable. The benefit to heirlooms and open pollination is that you get consistent traits in your plants generation after generation and if you save seed carefully you don't ever have to buy that seed again. Some seed companies have tried very hard to push early generation hybrids in order to make the buyer a repeat customer. If they are the only place to get your hybrid seed, and they have a patent on the hybrid then they make money off you year after year. However, there are many good hybrids that offer qualities that don't currently exist in open pollinated or heirloom varieties including disease resistance, early fruit set for climates with short summers or better performance in areas with low rainfall. Each option has pros and cons.
I've included a few links at the bottom for further reading, and there are many other sources for investigating the terms I've used above, and the current debate on the roles of heirloom and hybrid varieties in your garden. Don't let any one source (especially this short and simplified article) make up your mind about what you want to put in your garden.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intraspecific_hybrid
http://botanydictionary.org/f1-hybrid.html
http://gardening.about.com/od/vegetable1/f/Heirlooms.htm
(and if anyone else thinks there's a bit of info that could help just let me know and we'll add some post-scripts.)
Most of the hybridization you will encounter in your garden is intraspecific hybridization, which just means two plants of the same species with different traits are crossing. These plants will generally be fertile and show a mix of the traits of both parent plants. Think of it like crossing a poodle with a cocker spaniel.
Most of the plants in your garden are hybrids, even the heirlooms. The difference is that the heirlooms were hybridized a very long time ago and have been bred and re-bred together until they created a stable variety that produces the same traits in each subsequent generation. Heirloom varieties are open-pollinated and when two plants of that variety are crossed they produce seed that will grow another generation of that variety. There is great value in that, because it means if you follow good cross pollination procedures you can save that seed every year and get the same plant that you know and love.
Modern hybrids are most often recent crosses and will usually be labeled F1 or F2 on the seed packet:
F1 hybrid means that this is a first filial generation hybrid. Two plants varieties with desirable qualities have been crossed to produce this seed. The resulting plant will have the traits described on the packet, but if you save seed from this plant it will not necessarily grow more like this plant. The resultant seed brings in genetic variables from 4 "grandparent" plants, and greater genetic variability means no guarantee that the traits of those 4 grandparents will be significantly apparent in this generation.
F2 hybrids are second filial generation hybrids, which means the F1 hybrid was bred together and created this generation with desirable traits, but they are not consistent (as described above) and you'll usually find them marketed as a mix, indicating that you could find any colour combo (or other trait combo) from the grandparent generation.
Are heirlooms better than hybrids? That's debatable. The benefit to heirlooms and open pollination is that you get consistent traits in your plants generation after generation and if you save seed carefully you don't ever have to buy that seed again. Some seed companies have tried very hard to push early generation hybrids in order to make the buyer a repeat customer. If they are the only place to get your hybrid seed, and they have a patent on the hybrid then they make money off you year after year. However, there are many good hybrids that offer qualities that don't currently exist in open pollinated or heirloom varieties including disease resistance, early fruit set for climates with short summers or better performance in areas with low rainfall. Each option has pros and cons.
I've included a few links at the bottom for further reading, and there are many other sources for investigating the terms I've used above, and the current debate on the roles of heirloom and hybrid varieties in your garden. Don't let any one source (especially this short and simplified article) make up your mind about what you want to put in your garden.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intraspecific_hybrid
http://botanydictionary.org/f1-hybrid.html
http://gardening.about.com/od/vegetable1/f/Heirlooms.htm
(and if anyone else thinks there's a bit of info that could help just let me know and we'll add some post-scripts.)