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I think we have the link fixed now. Thanks, jaynine.

Plants that come true from saved seed Database

The link River posted is the one that works- sorry for the glitch!
CMK

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CMK

CMK there are some plants I've grown that seed true - but I usually grow only that color for the whole year, so it doesn't get cross-pollinated with any other color. For example, Tithonia 'Aztec Sun' which is a golden yellow color does seed true for me. However I grew only Aztec Sun and purposely not the orange that year, so it wouldn't be cross-pollinated by the orange. I'm not sure if it would seed true if it were cross-pollinated. The same is true with Snapdragon 'Black Prince'. Would those get reported or not?

Thank you for contributing Terrene!!! Yes, I will go ahead and add those right away. Will also be sure to mention that the Tithonia cultivar was grown in isolation. That is such valuable information. Glad to hear that snap also comes true. I got some plants this year (naturally making sure to save the seed!) and love them. Thank you again ;-)
CMK

Hi CMK--
perennial--lupine regalis 'morello cherry'
came true in isolation
same red flowers
Duane

Hi Duane!
Thanks for the info...and seeds themselves in our trade ;-) Will add it to the database later today!
CMK

Doesn't seed from any non-hybrid variety (when grown in isolation) come true?

Hey Jaynine! I figured it wouldn't hurt to make a notation of 'grown in isolation' next to the plant if it was. Kind of just cements the fact that the plant listed couldn't have crossed and will come true (or look like) the parent plant. At least, that is what I figured. ;-)
CMK

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CMK

Hi christin-

I'll have to dig out my notes from previous years, but here's what I've got off the top of my head for now...

Perennials:
Campanula cochlearifolia 'Elizabeth Oliver' does not produce seed.
Lavandula 'ellegance sky' comes true (but grown in isolation).

Annuals:
Salvia farinacea 'Fairy Queen' seems to come true.
Salvia coccinea 'lady in red' self-seeds true each year in my garden.
Papaver somniferum 'Lauren's Grape Poppy' self-seeds true in my garden each year.

Fantastic Sharon!! Thank you so much for taking the time to post some of your findings.

I kind of suspected 'Elizabeth Oliver' was sterile, but still held out hopes since I have been unable to find a plant locally!! Boo! Lol ;-)

Thanks again- will add your findings to the database today.
CMK

I have been updating the list the last few days. Mostly I have been adding links to various garden and seed sites that have mentioned if a particular cultivar produces 'true' seed or not. If anyone else comes across a site or thread here that notes it feel free to add the link here and I will put it on the database.

Anyone have any more of their own findings to add??
CMK

bump?
CMK

A member (hey there ymaddox!) recently posted a thread about my database here, so I thought I would bump this up in case it was of any interest.

If anyone has any more seed findings feel free to post here or even email me privately ((only if you have seed info to share though)).
Thanks much!
CMK

Hi Christin,

Hope you had a happy holiday! Here are a few of my observations.

Annuals

Impatiens glandulifera, 'Wine Red' TRUE

Nemesia fruticans, 'Opal Innocence' (perennial treated as annual) SOMEWHAT TRUE
My plants had blue/white/pink blooms like mom but were somewhat darker.

Salvia coccinea, 'Coral Nymph' (perennial treated as annual) TRUE

Tropaeolum majus, 'Alaska' nasturtium TRUE

Biennials

Digitalis purpurea var. alba, white foxglove TRUE

Digitalis purpurea, 'Candy Mountain' foxglove NOT TRUE
My plants had some upward facing blooms and some downward facing blooms. -They sort of looked like they were tipsy.

Lunaria annua variegata alba, white-flowering variegated money plant MOSTLY TRUE Every once in a while I get a non-variegated plant.

Perennials

Amplelopsis brevipedunculata 'Elegans', variegated porcelain berry TRUE

Aquilegia vulgaris, 'Magpie' TRUE
Grown somewhat isolated

Aquilegia vulgaris, 'Ruby Port' TRUE
Grown somewhat isolated

Foeniculum vulgare, 'Purpureum', Bronze Fennel TRUE

Fragaria chiloensis x Potentilla palustris, 'Pink Panda' ornamental strawberry NOT TRUE
I got plants with white flowers, plants with semi-double pink flowers and one plant that had only one bloom, but it was pink and white striped. I have high hopes for its second year blooms.

Fragaria vesca, white alpine strawberry TRUE
All plants fruited white. Seeds were collected from plants grown in isolation.

Lychnis coronaria, 'Angel's Blush' TRUE

Hey there so glad u restarted posting on this will add this link to my favorites and keep watch, add when I can (going to keep close watch this year lol). I think I will mostly try some hand pollination of squash, gourd, tomato, pumpkin, etc... things in garden so I have that true seed. Thinking of hand pollinating few flowers but we shall see, maybe even crosses. Do know the only way hostas come true is by division but they ws so wonderfully I want to test some of those, think u get at least the structure of the plant true like twister for me had that overall appearance we need to keep this bumped to the top. Glad I refueled the fire :).

Hi there Susan! THANK YOU for taking the time to look over your notes and post your info! I got some of it on the database yesterday and should get the rest on it a little later today. And thanks for writing it so comprehensively and in order- very helpful!

I'm really pleased to hear that the 'Alaska' Nasturtium comes true. I actually collected a bunch of seed from my plants this fall and had been wondering if/what percentage came true.

The info on the ornamental strawberry was very interesting. I had no idea that it was a cross with a Potentilla. From what I am seeing online the true 'Pink Panda' should have single dark pink flowers? Doesn't sound like it is such a bad thing that it didn't come true, seeing that you got a double flower and one with streaks! That one sounds awesome looking and so unusual.

-ymaddox, glad you stoked the fire too! I truly appreciate the interest and positive feedback! Your hosta experiment sounds exciting. Do you plan on trying any miniature hostas from seed? The ones at nurseries around here are soooooo $$ that I have been curious about the idea of growing them from seed. Even if they turn out only somewhat similar I would be thrilled!!

I've also been considering adding a row in the database to list the common name of the plant next to the botanical name/cultivar. Or even put the common name below the botanical name in bold or something. Opinions anyone? Do you think that might bight be helpful, including the common name?
CMK

Hi Christin,

Happy to have helped...

Re 'Pink Panda', I was actually hoping I would get something different than the parent as it propagates itself quite enthusiastically via stolons. What I wanted was a pink flowering plant with excellent berry production. -'Pink Panda' only occasionally produces fruit. I'll settle for striped and double flowers though!

What a great idea for a database, I've already found a couple from your list that I need to try! Here are a few more for you:

perennial
Actaea ramosa James Compton, not true, variable coloration
Actaea simplex Black Hills Beauty, not true, came up green
Asclepias incarnata Cinderella, true
Asclepias incarnata Ice Ballet, true
Dianthus amurensis Siberian Blues, true
Dianthus gratianopolitanus Bath's Pink, true
Eupatorium rugosum Chocolate Joe Pye, not true, variable seedlings, some as dark as the original but others vary to completely green.
Geranium pratense Mrs. Kendall Clark, true
Lewisia longipetala Little Plum, true
Lobelia siphilitica White Candles, true
biennial
Oenothera glazioviana Tina James, true

Hope this helps,
Jeanne

It surely does help Jeanne! I had been wondering about some of the things you listed as well, particularly the 'Cinderella' butterfly weed (just got some) and the dark leafed Bugbanes. So glad you mentioned them.

Speaking of the bugbanes...when you say 'James Compton' is variable, does that mean some turned out green and some were dark like the parent? Or they were similar to parent but not as dark?

Also, I couldn't find Actaea 'Black Hills Beauty' listed anywhere online?? Did you perhaps mean 'Hillside Black Beauty'? Or are they two different cultivars?

Really appreciate all the info! Take care ;-)
CMK

okay christin i have a question...

when you say true to seed does that mean that no matter how many varieties of the same plant you have planted close enough to cross pollinate that the plants listed will still come true to seed almost like they self pollinate? can you explain?

-yamaddox, I'm not the best at expressing myself (nor am I any expert in all this) so sorry if this explanation all comes out rather unclear...

I think any plant that crosses with another will result in producing offspring that are "not true" to the parent cultivar it was harvested from. That is because it will have the genes of both the plant you collected it from and whatever the second plant was that it crossed with (pollen parent). It will sort of be a whole new "hybrid" plant.

If a plant is grown in near (sometimes even far distances- think I read on the Growing Tomatoes forum that tomatoes can cross pollinate up to 1/4 mile away from each other) proximity to another of its kind there is a great probability cross-breeding will occur.
Now if they are the same genus (like Papaver/poppy) but all different species (like Papaver orientale and Papaver somniferum and Papaver nudiccaule for instance) there will be a less likely chance of cross-breeding, although there are few species of plants out there that do have the ability of crossing with each other. You are spot on with the 'self pollinating' I believe. A plant pollinating itself should come true, unless it is a hybrid that simply WON'T produce true seed/dehybridizes.

I've made a system on the database in case your seedlings look "off" and you think there might have been cross breeding going on (and not just look different because it dehybridizes). If you think crossing went on you can put three *** in front of the plant listing. Then anyone looking for that information knows to take the "Trueness" with an extra grain of salt because there was a chance the plant listed crossed and was not a 'pure' self pollination per se. And then if someone else has information on the same plant and KNOWS their plant didn't cross they can have the three *** removed.

The definition of "comes true" is sort of a separate issue. I think "comes true" from seed means different things to different people. To many 'comes true from seed' means that all the offspring look exactly like the parent plant/parent cultivar and seedlings are genetically the same to it.

My goals in seed starting are different than many I suppose. I don't care so much if the seed raised plant is genetically true to the parent plant. All I want in raising from seed is for the offspring look like the parent plant. That is sort of what I base 'trueness' on in my database, how similar all or some of the seedlings look to the parent cultivar.

Hope that wasn't too confusing. I've been known to confuse myself at times so it probably was, lol! ;-)
CMK

Hi Christin,

Oops, I meant Hillside Black Beauty. I planted out the entire container of James Compton without dividing it up so the one that was left after the survival of the fittest scenario ended up being variegated brown and green. I didn't even notice that it was variegation, I just thought it had crappy leaves, until I planted it next to a yellow hosta and the pattern popped out. It really isn't much to talk about though, most of the time it just looks like it has crappy leaves. I keep moving it around in hopes that I can find a spot where it will shine. No such luck just yet. :)

Jeanne

Hey Jeanne!! Thanks explanation on that. Your 'variegated' James Compton sounds kind of interesting actually, although I know what you mean about some plants just not looking "right" in many situations. I blush to say how many spots I tried my 'Mystic Mist' Tiarella in before I found the perfect spot. Poor thing, lol! Hope you find the pefect spot for your bugbane! ;-) Take care!
CMK

bump!
CMK