[dixiechicken_82]

I’m a garden newbie…. I have a eustis limequat tree (cross between a lime and kumquat). A couple years back I rooted a clipping from the tree (and that tree is actually doing better than the first tree it came from). I wanted to plant some of the seeds, but I heard that if you save seeds from hybrid plants, they will not produce the same plant and fruit. Is this true?

[Eric Vinje]

Hello dixiechicken_82,

When regarding hybrid seed the results do vary from generation to generation. The tree that you had got the clipping from probably has what is called hybrid vigor, this is when beneficial traits are enhanced as a result of mixing the genetic contributions of its pure breed parents. This is much like how dog mutts of two pure breeds can avoid the diseases common in pure breeds. This enhancement of the genetic traits are the strongest in the first generation. After that first hybrid generation (the plant you have now), the traits and variety of differences between the seeds increases dramatically. So if you were to plant the seeds and have gotten successful germination, it may not have the same traits as the parent. The differences, however, may lead to an even better plant than before, or they may not be as good. Also in some cases when plants are crossed, if they are crossed with a species that is close genetically but not close enough, the offspring may be sterile. This is much like how when a cross between a donkey and a horse the mule offspring can be sterile.

Everet

[dixiechicken_82]

Everet,

Thank you so much for explaining this to me! I guess it will just have to be a surprise in the end! 🙂 Either way it goes, it’s still fun to grow things, right?!

Thanks again,
Angie

[Author]

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