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HYBRIDS VS.
HEIRLOOMS
In recent years, there has
been a massive reawakening in using heirloom
plants in the home landscape. The are several reasons for this,
including nostalgia, but the main attraction is simply survival. It
seems folks
are turning back to the older varieties because they are hardier,
more drought tolerant, and generally resistant to insects and disease.
In
years past, the exact opposite held true as far as popularity is
concerned. Gardeners were scrambling to acquire the latest hybrids
in hopes that
these were somehow better plants. As a result, growers put the
old standard varieties on the back burner to make room for the new.
While
there are still a good number of folks who anxiously await the
new releases each year the love affair with heirloom varieties is definitely
blossoming so we are beginning to see growers offering these plants
once again. Understanding what this trend is all about comes with
knowing what plant breeders actually do and what their goals are.
The
term
hybrid refers to "high breeding" which is what happens
when you take closely related species and breed them together resulting
in a new breed or species. For example, a horse bred with a donkey
will create a mule. A mule is bigger and stronger than most horses
or donkeys therefore making mules better at packing or pulling
heavy
loads. The drawback is mules are sterile.  Keep this in mind as
we apply this to plants. Sterility is one of the things Nature
does to protect
the integrity of the genetic code of separate species. When it
comes to plant breeding, the term hybrid is often a misnomer as
plant breeders
are usually working with cultivars of the same species. In many
cases individual cultivars are bred back into themselves. This
is called
back breeding. When this happens in the world of humans and animals
it is called in-breeding. We all know the tragic results of in-breeding.
What happens when plants are repeatedly bred back into themselves is
quite similar to in-breeding animals. The gene pool becomes "shallow" as
certain traits dominate and others recede. The plant becomes sterile,
weak, and far less likely to survive without help from the gardener.
In the worst cases what you get is a really pretty plant that is an
absolute wimp. Up until recent times the goals of plant breeders were
to "improve" the plant by creating different flower colors,
growth habit, more flowers/fruit, bigger flowers/fruit, or leaf colors.
This was great for creating new cultivars but had nothing to do with
making the plant stronger or easier to grow. It was only during the
latter half of the past century that keen interest was shown in developing
plant cultivars for drought tolerance, cold hardiness, and resistance
to insects or disease. Of course in the beginning, attempts at selective
plant breeding usually gave positive results. Most in fact were quite
positive. Selective breeding of staple crops like corn and wheat were
likely begun by ancient peoples long before any written records were
kept.
The modern versions today bear little resemblance to their wild
ancestors. In fact nearly all the grains, fruits, and vegetables
we consume today are hybrids. On the other hand, in today’s horticulture
industry there are a frightening number of different hybridized
plants to choose from. There are literally thousands of different roses,
iris,
crepe myrtles, tulips, daylillies, tomato varieties, and so forth.
This can be bewildering to the average person who develops an interest
in gardening. All these different varieties are certainly not equal.
Which are best? Let’s use roses as an example since the rose
is quite possibly the all time favorite of most people and probably
has more existing species and cultivars in the trade. Common knowledge
has it that roses have become increasingly hard to grow. Some of
the new cultivars make bigger blooms but they have lost that wonderful
scent. Others smell great and bloom well but are continually consumed
by blackspot or powdery mildew. When we manage to cure that then
they
are attacked by aphids or some other critter.Still others have
been bred down to be cute, dainty little things but won’t
live outdoors without constant vigilance. While we are at it..........just
think
about how many "tree roses" you have seen that actually
lived beyond the first year or two. Been there.......done that.
So now we
have a new generation of gardeners who exclaim "I would love
to have a rose garden, but they are just too hard to grow!" Nothing
could be further from the truth. Our wild native roses are among
the toughest plants found in Nature. So what happened? In our lust
to create
more forms, more colors, miniatures, and what have you, we bred
roses into each other so many times that they lost a certain amount
of their
good genes that would have made them strong, vigorous plants. Enter
the "antique" rose. Antique roses are simply older roses
that still retain those stronger genetics from their wild ancestors.
In the earlier days roses were being selectively bred while new
species that were discovered in the wild were hybridized  (in the
true sense
of the word) into the cultivated forms. This means that in general
antique roses are inherently much easier to grow than their newer
in-bred cousins. They also tend to have more blooms, bloom more
often, resist
insects, shrug off disease, and most retain that wonderful aroma.
Many antique roses were "rediscovered" growing in old
cemeteries, abandoned farm houses, and along fence lines. These
had not had the
benefit of water and fertilizer for decades yet they not only survived,
they thrived. Due to the combined efforts of old rose enthusiasts
and a few nurseries that came to specialize in antiques, we now
have many
of our heirloom roses back in the trade. Another bit of good news
is that some of the roses that have been hybridized recently are
getting
bred with heirloom varieties to gain back that extra vigor.
Today
we can say that basically any rose that was bred before the 1900’s
or thereabouts is an heirloom and a good choice for easy care.
Also, a good number of the roses released since the 1980’s
are new cultivars of heirloom varieties. The roses that gave rose
culture a
bad name were the grafted varieties and in-bred wimps created by
the insatiable appetite for something different. The same holds
true of
most of our popular plant varieties. Whenever there are hundreds
or even thousands of named cultivars on the market, it’s
a safe bet that a certain amount of back breeding (in-breeding)
has occurred.
If you are lucky enough to acquire some old "species" tulips
you will find that they will return to bloom again for many seasons.
Unfortunately most of the tulips that will be bought and planted
this winter will do no such thing. Just as we have bred chickens
that lay
huge amounts of eggs but no longer have the basic instinct to set
and hatch those eggs, the nursery industry has bred thousands of
plants
that have no chance of survival without a greenhouse or a very
diligent gardener.
Now if all this is beginning to make sense then
the next
logical question is: " How does one know the difference?" The
answer is that without asking a lot questions you don’t.
A trusted gardening friend or a well informed nurseryman may know
the answer.
Otherwise you are stuck with trial and error or studying horticulture
yourself. The main point though is to simply realize that the true
native version of any cultivated plant species is going to be the
best choice when it comes to livability. I hope this article hasn’t
muddied the water but instead cleared things up a bit for some
of you. Many would-be gardeners give up too quickly and resign
to be a brown
thumb for life simply because the plants they found attractive
enough to attempt to grow are in-bred hybrids.
A rose is NOT a rose by any
other name, in this case. Some are easy to grow, others are not. Personally,
I’m mighty proud of my old fashioned orange daylilies, the iris
handed down from my grandma, and my reseeding petunias. Lately I’ve
acquired some of the old Byzantine gladioli. I can’t wait to
get some out to the house and turn them loose. At my house, the only
intensive gardening takes place in the vegetable patch. Otherwise,
if you are a rose (or whatever), you may get some extra water to get
established and perhaps during a serious drought, or some mulch going
into winter. That’s about it. If you die you are going to be
replaced............most likely with a tried and true heirloom variety.
-Paul Dowlearn |
