From the Old to the New
Creating New Varieties of Pelargoniums
Hybridizing new varieties of plants involves the cross pollination of existing varieties using the pollen from one parent plant (the male) and the egg from the other parent plant (the female) in order to create a new plant which will likely carry some characteristics from each of it’s parents.
Why Bother?
Tightened Regulations
The ever-increasing border restrictions are making the import and export of plant material nearly impossible. Once we lose a variety from the collective club’s collection, it may never may it back into Canada. If we do not create new verities of plants, we will lose the invaluable diversity of specimens, which we count on for our gardens, displays, and shows.
Seedling/Plant Vigor
All new seedlings/young plants have what is known as ‘seedling vigor’, which basically means they are free of disease (usually) and therefore typically grow strong. Once mature, the new plant may also be of better health, and just simply a stronger grower than older varieties. Some seedlings also go through a ‘sorting out’ phase where they actually change shape, foliage, or bloom type, and this is not only interesting to watch, but valuable as one seedling may lead to two or more new varieties if you successfully clone off a side-sport from the seedling.
Unique New Plants
Sometimes it is worth making new plants just to create ones with a different blend of characteristics. Growth habits, foliage colours, bloom-type, etc, are all features that can be improved upon. Combining several different rarer characteristics into a new plant is also an interesting challenge (i.e. a miniature tricolour stellar with double bi-coloured blooms!).
Self-Actualization & Trading Purposes
It is always fun to create something new because it will give you a sense of accomplishment and also perhaps put you on ‘the map’ or radar amongst other collectors. There is no better way to acquire new plants than to trade new varieties that you have created. With enough new varieties being introduced from a particular location (or nation), it helps brand us as an active spot for growing pelargoniums.
How is it Accomplished?
All ‘perfect-flowering’ angiosperms have both male and female parts. The key parts for breeding purposes are the anther (male) and stigma (female). Pelargonium flowers have their male parts (anther/pollen) mature before their female parts (stigma/eggs), so timing can be critical if you are trying to breed 2 specific varieties with each other. First they need to both be in bloom, but secondly, the male and female parents have to be ideally ‘ripe’ or receptive for fertilization to occur. The male anther is ready when the pollen ‘puffs’ open and the grains will be orange in colour. At this time, the female part (stigma) on the same flower is typically growing and developing into a 5-armed dark pink fork. When the stigma is receptive, the 5 arms of the fork will be curled open, thicker, and sticky with a resinous liquid. While perfect-flowering plants can most often fertilize themselves, great vigor is usually accomplished through using two different parent plants, so this staggering of male and female part maturation helps encourage cross-pollination (bee, fly, human, etc) by a time differential. In summary, when crossing 2 different plants, you want fresh, dark coloured pollen, and a sticky open-curled fork stigma.
The actual pollination process is dead easy. Forget about the paintbrush method. Grab sterile tweezers, and sever off the male anther. Then press it onto a ripe stigma. If indoors, don’t bother putting a bag over the flower head as the pollen will travel down to the egg very quickly and prevent further ‘bee-pollination’. Mark each flower stock with the male and female plants used in the cross, and the date. If fertilization occurs, a seed beak will begin in a few days, and after 5-6 weeks the seeds will develop, darken, and harden. Five good-sized seeds is the goal, but don’t be surprised to get fewer. And always make sure to sterilize (rubbing alcohol) the tweezers well between crosses.
Other Tips
v If not under grow lights, do this on a sunny day (stigma is stickier).
v White envelope stickers make great labels for the parentage.
v After 6 weeks harvest before the feathery seeds blow away.
v Shell your seeds from the feathery casing using a needle.
v Store your seeds in labeled containers or envelopes in a cool dry place.
v Keep a journal as not all crosses work…why waste your time and effort again?
v Scarify & soak your seeds prior to planting them.
v Use a heat mat.
v It is more important to use a hardy female plant for seed formation than the male/pollen parent.
v Variegation is not a stable characteristic at first and needs to be ‘groomed’ along.
