To the plant, pollination is pollination. To the gardener who wants particular results (such as wanting to keep an heirloom variety pure), cross-pollination (cross-breeding) is something to avoid. To a grower or scientist who is trying to create a new variety, cross-pollination is desirable. It's all on your point of view. Like Dave said, some varieties are very genetically stable, like his Nantes carrots. Others, like curcubits, are notorious for cross-pollinating. If you're growing certain kinds of decorative gourds, and zucchini or other squashes, insects will cross-pollinate them very easily, and if you saved the seeds from your wonderful zucchini and planted them, they could end up being something almost unrecognizable and tasteless. "Does cross pollination always create a hybrid?" Yes and no. Technically, every pollinated plant is producing a hybrid, because every plant from every seed has a tiny, microscopic difference from the plant next to it, although it is, for most purposes, the same. Only cuttings, cloned or tissue-cultured plants are exactly the same as the parent stock. Plants labeled 'hybrids' have been crossed from plants with noticeably different qualities. If you crossed two of these 'hybrids', they would most likely revert back to the qualities of one or the other of the 'parents'. Granny Smith apples came from crabapples. If you planted a Granny Smith seed and nutured it for several years, you would probably end up with some sort of crabapple or similar variation. Two additional bits of info (just to confuse you a little more ;-) ): 1) You can be growing two similar plants near each other, but if they flower at different times, they won't (can't) cross-pollinate. Corn is a good example: there are early, mid-season and late varieties of corn. Corn cross-pollinates easily because it's wind-borne, but if they tassle (the 'flower') at different times and there is no other corn around (esp upwind), they won't cross. If Alfie's apples (above) needed a pollinator variety, and he accidentally planted a variety that bloomed a month after his Macintosh, he wouldn't get any apples. 2) OP varieties can be 'manipulated' even within the variety. You can have a packet of seed of a single variety of an OP plant, and each seed inside will have a tiny difference about it. Many people will grow a particular variety that they like, and they will watch for 'special' ones among that variety: a tiny bit earlier, a slightly larger fruit, a sweeter flavor, a slightly higher yield, etc, and they will mark it and let a few fruits of that plant mature and collect the seed. The next year, they plant that seed, and again look for 'special' plants. Every year, they keep doing this, and end up (hopefully) with localized variety within a named variety that is especially suited to their local conditions. It's still the same variety, it's still OP, it's just an improved variation within that variety. If you bought seeds from a grower in BC, and you bought the same variety from a grower in ON, the local seeds might produce plants that had a slight edge on local conditions, concerning earliness, adaptibility to hot summers, or ability to grow with a bit less water. The seeds from BC might adapt better to cooler summers, more humidity, and a longer season.

Hi Antoinette, We seem to be on parallel paths! I moved from California (SF bay area) to Pennsylvania late last year and this is my first year with a really large garden in a totally new climate. I also went completely overboard with Heirlooms, particularly squash, beans and hot peppers. And tomatoes. Oh, lets face it, I went overboard with everything. Really, who needs six different kinds of onions? Apparently, me. Partially, this year is to trial different heirlooms, partially to save seed for next year. I hate to be the barer of bad news, but you (and I) will have a tough time keeping your varieties seperate unless you have a REALLY large plot. I don't, so I'll be doing a lot of blossom bagging/taping. I believe everything you listed will cross (including carrots, onions, etc) to some degree or another. Your best bet is to buy the book "Seed to Seed" by Suzanne Ashworth. It is AWESOME. It will tell you the distances you need to seperate varieties by and other methods if you don't have distance. From your list, corn in particular will be difficult (but not impossible). Squash is relatively easy, just tape the blossom and hand polinate (details in the book). Beans can sometimes be seperated by tall flowers to limit crossing, but your scarlet runner and painted lady will cross very, very easily with each other (but not your other beans) Buy the book! You'll be happy you did. And best of luck with everything. I had to smile - your list looks so much like mine. I think the limited space in California has made be go a little nuts now that I have room :) Bellatrix

I have been raising hybrid iris from seed since I was a wee tad... The offspring are usually healthy plants, though they will often have specific faults, which a breeder wants to cull. Also we run out of space if we keep the ones which are 'nice' but not an improvement on existing cultivars. That's the source of the 1 in 5000 type of odds that you will read about. If you are just out to have fun I think you will find at least 1 or 2 keepers from each pod of iris seeds that you grow. The golden rule is to use the best parents you have available as it is rare to get progeny which are superior to their parents. Some fun things to try - self an Iris (cross with same) - this form of extreme in-breeding will uncover good and bad recessive traits - true freaks like flatties etc. Cross two similar Iris from the same hybridizer - often a single breeders lines are related and the results of line crossing are usually better than "wide" crosses of unrelated cv. Chad

I've read your posts and the FAQ and have found them very helpful, but I have a lingering question about timing. You see, I didn't think about saving seed until now, and many are rare/heirloom varieties. All of my plants are blossoming and many have fruit growing already. Is it too late to try and "bag" the blossoms to ensure purity? ****** I assume you're talking to me when you say you've read my posts since you posted after I did. Whatever. LOL Cindy, you can read/see from the FAQ that blossoms need to be bagged when they are in bud, well before they open. So if you have any that are still in bud you can bag them. Out of curiousity, what are the rare heirloom varieties that you want to save seeds from? I can see someone being concerned about finances, but I'm just curious to know what you consider to be rare. it may well be that if things don't work out for you that I or others would know a source for your rare ones that might be available commercially or otherwise. And there are places where a pack of seeds costs way less than $2. And those packs would have way more than the standard 20-30 seeds that most places pack. Carolyn