plantman, you are so kind to share, i'd love some asparegus. just telling my daughter last wk. how i wished i had some.you"re a wish granter! now, where do i send my enve, 5 loose stamps,and gw- name to? thanks amillion, molly

Dave, If they say "F1 Hybrid" versus just "hybrid" you can be fairly certain that it is a hybrid, although there are exceptions to that. For example, the Profusion zinnias are frequently referred to as F1 hybrids although they are, in reality, open pollinated. They were "created" by an F1 hybrid cross between two zinnia species, and then their chromosomes were doubled to make them fertile, thereby creating a new zinnia species called Zinnia marylandica. (A hybrid between two species with different chromosome numbers is usually infertile, because plants with odd chromosome numbers are usually sterile.) Another way to have a pretty good idea whether the "Hybrid" seed is truly an F1 hybrid is the cost of the seeds per seed. Frequently hybrid seeds cost a lot more because of the extra expense involved in their production. "The picture and description say that the flowers are all purple, so can more or less tell it is a hybrid from a true red with a true blue (unless there is a true purple gene)..." I think there is a true purple gene or genes, so you can't tell from the color alone. MM

I Love surprises, and am always happy with anything i receive. thank you! Adenium any Agastache any Aloe any Amsonia Anenome Anything for BUTTERFLIES Anything for SHADE Anything MINI Anything TROPICAL ANYTHING VARIEGATED or colors of BLUE, PINK or BLACK Aristolochia Asters any Baboon Flower Banana AE AE MUSA , pink banana - ANY Baptisa any Bat Plant Bee Balm /Monarda ANY begonia FLAMINGO Bird of paradise or Giant Bird black mondo grass bleeding heart WHITE blue alba Brugmansia double triple or variegated brunnera any BULBS any butterfly plants anything for butterflys Cacti any Calla Lily Campanula any canna WHITE, PINK, black, varieagated Carnivorious any Chinese Lantern chrysanthemum any clematis any coleus unusual Columbine doubles - crystal white coneflower unusual Corn Blue, chocolate, peaches n cream, hopi pink Cuban Oregano any Datura doubles or triples Daylily any and/or minis Daylily named please Echinacea anything except for the common purple Ferns any flamingo plant fushia Geraniums any scented Gingers any that flower Ginseng Gladiolus any Globe Thistle groundcovers any Heliconia any heliotrope Helleborus Herbs scented or for making teas Heuchera any Hibiscus any hardy or tropical is ok Hosta any Hyacinth Bean Vine pinks Hyacinth bulbs blacks or reds - any Iceplant impatients any Indian Pink Iris ANY really looking for MINI jack in the pulpit Japanese maple Tree Japanese Morning Glory any Lavender pink Lemon tree seeds Liatris any Lillies any Lilys ANY Lobelia any lobster claw Malva white Mandavilla pink or any Marigold white Medinilla Magnifica Milkweed any Mints any scented Morning Glory ANY JAPANESE Nasturiums night and day onions any Ornamental cabbage Ornamental grasses PINK Pansy black passiflora any - strawberry fields Penstemon any Peony any Peppers FLAMINGO - VEZENA PIPERKA- RED/or/YELLOW PETER Petunia any Petunia black or any Phlox any pineapple sage Plumeria any Portulaca any Pumpkin white - pink Red Hot Poker Rudebeckia cherry brandy Salvia blues or pinks or red or ANY Scabiosa any Sedum any Sedum BLACK JACK Sempervium ANY shrimp plant ANY , red, yellow or blue Snapdragon black - night and day Squash any pinks - unusual Succulents ANY Sunflowers ANY - would really like the BLACK - orange or reddish ones Thyme orange, silver or any Toad Lily any Tomato BLUES -PINKS -UNUSUAL- tree peony Trillium any turks cap lily Veronica Blue Weeping Cherry Tree Zinnia GREEN -CANDY CANE-CACTUS-UNUSUAL SURPRISE ME =) Thank you kindly! Jayeanne

First, I tried to answer the question about the definition of OP using the same genetic terms that pennyrile used. So that's an attempt to defione an OP based on genetic issues alone. What Trudi posted is a definition based more on a functional basis. Here's what Trudi quoted from her source: (In addition to their long history of use, the heirloom vegetables that are routinely grown from seed are open-pollinated, meaning that they set seed "naturally," often aided by wind, rain, or pollinating insects, and can thus be renewed by sowing the seeds harvested from each generation of plants. Known also as standard or non-hybrid, open-pollinated varieties tend to be stable and true-breeding. They differ from F1 hybrids, which in usual practice result from deliberate crossing of two distinct, highly inbred parent lines. (The term "F1" to describe the hybrid offspring indicates the "first filial" generation, with respect to the parent lines.)) Trudi, I know that definition well and used to use it when asked, but a couple of things about it started bothering me. (are open-pollinated, meaning that they set seed "naturally," often aided by wind, rain, or pollinating insects, and can thus be renewed by sowing the seeds harvested from each generation of plants. Known also as standard or non-hybrid, open-pollinated varieties tend to be stable and true-breeding.) Possible Problem #1; if cross pollinated by pollinating insects a variety is no longer genetically stable, as in true brreding. Possible Problem #2; nothing was said about spontaneous mutations which can also alter varieties. Possible Problem #3. What about all the varieties that were bred by individuals and done so deliberately? Would then one still consider all of TOm Wagner's varieties such as Green Zebra, Green Grape, Elberta Girl and on and on, as OP's b'c they didn't come about via natural means? Same comment for all of the ones bred by joe Bratka such as Snow White, Super Snow White, Ghost, Rabbit, Marizol Purple, aka Marizol Bratka, and all the Sara thises and that's that he bred. Since they were bred are they to be considered OP? s And what about all the ones bred by Joe's father, such as Box Car Willie, Mule Team, Red Barn, Great Divide and Pasture. Are they OP's using the "natural" definition? And there are more examples. ( They differ from F1 hybrids, which in usual practice result from deliberate crossing of two distinct, highly inbred parent lines. (The term "F1" to describe the hybrid offspring indicates the "first filial" generation, with respect to the parent lines.)) The purpose here is to produce F1 seed for sale whereas the deliberate crosses made by Tom Wagner, Joe Bratka, his father, Tad Smith and others is not to produce F1 seed, rather, to dehybridize the F1's that they create to develop OP's from selections at the F2, F3, level, for instance. I guess what I'm saying is that I've know that functional definition of OP for a long time and that goes back to the late 80's. But in more recent years we do have lots of folks making their own crosses, so it seems maybe a bit problematic now to say that an OP can only arise by natural means, forgetting the comment about X pollination by insects. Just something to think about. Carolyn