Growing hybrid plants involves cross-breeding two different species to produce a new plant that blends the positive attributes of the original breeds. Read on for a guide on how to grow hybrid plants of your own.
What Are Hybrid Plants?
A hybrid plant is a cross-bred plant that is a result of gardeners cross-pollinating two or more unrelated plant species. Hybridization is done by using the male part of one plant’s flower (the stamen) to pollinate the female part of a different plant’s flower (the pistil), then harvesting the fruit that the pollinated flower produces and growing its seeds.
The aim of plant hybridization is usually to marry the positive attributes of two-parent plants, but growers cannot control which traits will be passed on. However, hybrid plants tend to have more disease resistance, seasonal hardiness, and increased yield than their parent plants. Plant hybridization has also led to increased biodiversity.
Examples of Hybrid Plants
Many of the plants that you see today are hybridized in some form, whether they are cross-pollinated naturally or through human intervention. Here are some of the different varieties of hybrid plants that are the most popular.
Stargazer lilies
Stargazer lilies are a popular type of Eastern lily hybrids. It is a hybrid between lilium auratum and lilium speciosum. They have large bright blooms in pink, purple, red, and white, and they are hardy growers that can survive high temperatures.
Sweet corn:
- Sweet corn: Most corn grown for eating in the US are hybrid breeds, including sweet corn. The hybrid sweet corn is easier for home gardeners to grow and is sweeter than traditional corn varieties.
Pomato
- The pomato plant is a cross between a tomato and a potato. The plant grows small cherry tomatoes on its above-ground vines and white potatoes below ground.
Choose your male and female plants.
In order to prevent self-pollination, you will need to remove the stamens from your female plant.
- Once you've decided which plants you want to hybridize, you will need to choose which plant will act as the male and which the female in the cross-pollination.
In order to prevent self-pollination, you will need to remove the stamens from your female plant.
Cross-pollinate your plants.
Gather the pollen from the stamen of the male plant using a q-tip or cotton ball. Brush the pollen onto the female plant’s pistil. To prevent extra cross-pollination, cover your female plant in plastic or a transparent bag.
Grow and harvest the fruit.
The fruit that grows from the cross-pollinated female plant will be the first hybrid variety. The resulting seeds from the fruit are called F1 hybrids (for Familial 1), and you can plant these seeds the following year to grow your first new plant.Experiment.
Successfully growing cross-pollinated plants can take years of experimentation to achieve the desired effect. Try pairing plants that have complementary colors or foliage that you like. The first person who successfully grows a new variety of hybrid plant owns the rights to it.
Successfully growing cross-pollinated plants can take years of experimentation to achieve the desired effect. Try pairing plants that have complementary colors or foliage that you like. The first person who successfully grows a new variety of hybrid plant owns the rights to it.
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