The terms “hybrid” and “open pollinated” plants are used as if every gardener knows what they mean. Further, people seem to engage in passionate debate about which type of plant is better and the shortcomings of the other type. I will not attempt to solve that debate. I will attempt to explain what the terms mean.
Open pollinated plants are plants that breed with others of their species with the help of anatomy, the wind, insect, birds, bats, and other pollinators. While “heirloom” and “open pollinated” are often used as if they mean the same thing, they do not. Open pollinated variaties are being developed every day.
When one travels through some areas of the country, particularly California, the seed companies are growing vast fields of plants. The seeds will be harvested from these and sold to gardeners. However, once planted, no further action is taken towards mechanical pollination. The plants pollinate each other or themselves.
Occasionally in nature, a plant cross pollinates with a close relative and forms a hybrid. Usually, such a hybrid is sterile, much like a mule. Sometimes, however, the hybrid can propigate and a new variety is formed. If the new variety can compete better than the parents, it continues. If not, it is bred out of the line.
In a more radical form, a hybrid plant is developed when a human deliberately breeds two closely related varieties to obtain a plant more to his liking. Many vegetable plants are grown this way, although some new open pollinated varieties are still being developed. Hybrids are usually grown each year, yeilding F1 hybrids. No attempt is made to breed F1 hybrids together and develop the line further.
The proponents of hybrids say that crossing two healthy plants that compliment one another yields a plant that is healthier and better than either. Hybrids are responsible for being able to produce more food on less land all over the world. New varieties can be developed to address a specific need.
They are, however, expensive to produce since the parents must be crossed by hand, in a sealed greenhouse that excludes insects or other pollinators. Sometimes, hybrids fail to improve over the open pollinated varieties and are abandoned. Further, a company can patent a hybrid variety, which means they sell it at a premium.
Even if the hybrid produces seed, it will not “reproduce true” or grow a plant exactly like it. The plant will vary in unpredictable ways toward one or the other parent. New seed must be purchased each year. The pollen from the hybrids can spread to nearby open pollinated plants, contaminating them as well.
Only you can decide whether to plant hybrid plants, open pollinated plants, or a mixture of both. Please, however, stay civil in the comments.
