What Are Hybrids?

Mention hybrids to a group of gardeners and you’re likely to get several reactions. Some shun hybrids, others embrace them, and some gardeners aren’t sure what they are.

To clarify:

• Hybrids (F-1 generation) are the result of a cross between two distinct parent plants of the same type.
• Open-pollinated (OP) plants are naturally pollinated and reproduce the same variety generation after generation.

For example, breeders might cross two tomato varieties to combine early maturity with great flavor. These traits are uniform only in the first generation of seed.

Hybrid vs. Open-Pollinated

We still grow many OP plants, but hybrids have become popular due to their improved characteristics. Some popular hybrid examples include:

• ‘Early Girl’ and ‘Celebrity’ tomatoes
• Many types of eggplants, peppers, and melons
• Some woody ornamentals and annuals

Vegetables like beans, peas, and lettuce are usually not hybridized, but hybrids dominate other categories.

The First Hybrids

According to Jim Waltrip of Seminis Garden:

• One of the first hybrids made available to gardeners was the tomato ‘Big Boy’ in the 1940s, developed by Burpee.
• Some hybridization (e.g., cucumber, broccoli) is bee-assisted, but tomato and pepper hybrids are made by hand.
• Hand-pollination is labor-intensive, making it initially impractical for commercial growers.

Benefits of Hybrids

Despite initial skepticism, hybrids quickly gained favor for their advantages:

• Superior disease resistance
• Uniform fruit and vegetable production
• Reliable yields and growth habits

Today, nearly all fresh-market tomatoes and 90% of processing tomatoes are hybrids.

Home Gardeners Embrace Hybrids

Renee Shepherd of Renee’s Garden Seeds notes that hybridization brought many wonderful varieties to gardeners, including:

• Long-blooming hybrid flowers
• Pollen-free, multibranching sunflowers

Expanding the Possibilities

Wende Proud from Monrovia Nursery highlights hybridization’s ability to overcome limitations of native species:

• Enhanced color range and compact growth
• Adaptability to new climates
• Disease resistance and aesthetic improvements

Monrovia’s Role

Monrovia markets many hybrids exclusively and searches for natural mutations, or “sports,” on existing plants that can lead to new varieties. For example:

• A branch on a plant with variegated leaves might be propagated to become a new hybrid.

Don’t Count Out Open-Pollinated Plants

Experts still value OP varieties:

• They promote diversity in the garden.
• They’re preferable in soils free of disease.

Shepherd suggests using both hybrids and OP plants for a well-rounded garden experience.

Preserving the Past While Innovating the Future

Despite the dominance of hybrids, the genetic material of old OP varieties is safe:

“At Seminis, we maintain all of the old OP seeds in our germ plasm bank,” says Waltrip. “Diversity is key to creating great hybrids.”