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Re: Seed saving & progeny

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Phillip Allen wrote:

> Jill Zimmerman wrote about saving seeds from sweet peas (Lathyrus cvs.) and an
> annual lupin (Lupinus cv.)
>
> If the Lathyrus varieties you planted are described as 'F1' hybrids, you will
> definitely _not_ get the same plants as the parents.  This is not to say that
> the progeny of those plants will not be pleasing, but they will not be the
> same (they would be described as 'F2' plants).  Likewise, if you have planted
> seed strains that are selections, the progeny may or may not resemble the seed
> parent.  I am assuming that your seeds are the result of uncontrolled
> pollinations; therefore you cannot know which plant is the pollen parent, and
> cannot predict the results.  This is also not to say that the progeny will not
> be nice plants, but they will most likely not be the same as the seed parent
> -- or only a small minority will be.
>
> Some selected cultivars are very stable, and progeny reliably carry on the
> characters for which the parent cultivar was selected.  With the Lupinus cv.
> you have a better chance of getting progeny close to the parent, providing
> that you did not have other lupins blooming at the same time.  Still, there is
> a posibility that the progeny will revert to the original species type, again
> depending on how stable the genetically the selection is.
>
> All of this is to say that if you want to be sure that you get _exactly_ the
> same plants next year that you enjoyed this year, you will have to buy seed
> again.  I would recommend that you still save and plant your collected seeds
> -- you may have real gems among them!
>
> HTH,
> Phillip Allen
> Stratford, CT  z7a
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