Purdue
University
Consumer Horticulture
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
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Purdue
University
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Reviewed 16 September 2002
by B. Rosie Lerner, Extension Consumer Horticulture Specialist
Collecting seeds from garden plants to plant next year may seem like
a good way to save money, but you may be in for a surprise. Some
seeds can be saved from year to year with good results, particularly
the old-fashioned cultivars. But modern hybrid cultivars rarely breed
true from collected seed.
To get that disease-resistant tomato or that frilly double petunia, two or more plants that have desirable characteristics were crossbred. The seed from these hybrid plants will produce variable results due to recombination of different genes. Thus, the resulting plants may not be as productive, attractive, disease-resistant or flavorful. Each seedling could be quite different from the parent and from each other.
As long as you're prepared to accept this variability, it can be fun to experiment. You never know when you might actually stumble across an improvement!
Some gardeners are tempted to propagate fruit trees from seed--either from fruits grown in the backyard or from purchased fruit. If you're interested in serious fruit production, resist the temptation. Most fruit trees are grafted by splicing a piece of the desired fruiting cultivar onto a seedling rootstock. It is usually the rootstock that makes the plant disease-resistant, hardy, vigorous and perhaps dwarf. Plants grown from seeds of grafted plants may not only produce inferior fruit, but also huge, unmanageable trees for the home landscape that can take 10 years or more to be mature enough to fruit.
In recent years, there has been renewed interest in old-fashioned varieties, including those that are "open-pollinated." Because these plants have a non-controlled, more diverse genetic makeup, they tend to breed true to type. Although many of the advantages of hybridization, such as disease resistance, heat or cold tolerance, and uniformity, are lost, some gardeners find open-pollinated types to be better flavored in the case of vegetables or perhaps more fragrant in the case of flowers.
Many seed companies specialize in open-pollinated garden vegetables and flowers, and many of the larger seed companies carry both hybrid and open-pollinated seed. For those interested in learning more about open-pollinated seeds and preserving old-fashioned varieties, there is a well-established organization known as Seed-Savers Exchange that includes seed trading programs as well as excellent publications. For those interested in collecting seed from their own garden, refer to the publication "Seed to Seed: Seed-Saving Techniques for the Vegetable Gardener" available from Seed-Savers Exchange, 3076 N. Winn Road, Decorah, IA 52101, http://www.seedsavers.org/.
Last updated: 27 March 2006
Questions about this site should be sent to homehort@purdue.edu.
The URL for this page is http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/savingseeds.html