The Practiced Perennial Gardener

I have been getting quiet a few emails from folks wanting to know how to buy seed for several of the new perennials out this year…. especially the new echinacea varieties.  Instead of answering all the email I thought it would be quicker to just add a quick post to explain hybrid plants. Hybrids are developed by breeders  by crossing  two different plants with the hopes that the cross will produce a new plant that has both of the valued traits of each of the parents.  The goal of the breeder is to develop a new variety that has better or unique flowering,  greater disease resistance, size and to come up with new flower or foliage colors. Most all of the new plants being introduced are hybrids.   

The seed that is produced by these new hybrids will not reproduce the plant it came from and therefore would not be considered true to name.  This is not to say that you would be wasting your time collecting seeds from hybrids. The seedlings you produce may not resemble the parent but you just may come up with a very interesting new plant.   

Hybrids are reproduced from the parent plants by taking cuttings. The cuttings have all the “DNA” needed to be exactly like the variety it was taken from. This process is know as “asexual reproduction” which means only a few licensed growers can reproduce the new hybrid.  If you have ever wondered why new plant varieties are expensive when compared to older selections the limited asexual reproduction is the reason… the new plant is in limited supply.    

So now you know why the seed for Echinacea Tiki Torch or Tomato Soup or Shasta Daisy Banana Cream is not available. These plants are reproduced by vegetative cuttings not seed.   

One more quick tip – don’t think about taking cuttings your self as this is considered stealing and is against the law.  Look closely at the tags that come with hybrid plants and you will see the phrase “Asexual Reproduction Prohibited”  If you want to grow new perennial varieties but don’t want of pay the prices being charged just wait a few years and the prices usually go down.   

Happy Gardening

Filed under: Uncategorized on February 16th, 2010