This Garden Vocabulary series seeks to introduce and explain to you — and in many cases, myself — words and terms associated with gardening. Please let me know if there are any terms you would like me to explore. You can leave your ideas in the comments section and we can learn together!
Hybridization
“The process of combining different varieties of organisms to create a hybrid (biology)”
Wikipedia, Hybridization, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybridisation
Hybrid
“Offspring resulting from the interbreeding between two animals or plants of different species.”
Wikipedia, Hybrid (Biology), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_(biology)
When reading about gardening, we often hear of this or that “new hybrid.” Almost universally, this refers to hybrids created explicitly by growers around the world. Using a variety of techniques, they have caused flower or plants with the desired characteristics to cross-pollinate — either by placing them in close and exclusive proximity to one another — or more likely — using mechanical methods to transfer pollen from one species plant to another in hopes of producing a single variety (hybrid) that holds all the desired characteristics. This is how we have gone from the simple rugosa Rose to thousands of different roses of nearly every shape and size. (See Hybrid Tea Rose)
Further reading on Hybrid/Hybridization:
- Hybrid Tea Rose, Wikipedia
- Tips for Beginners: Mechanics of Basic Hybridizing, American Rhododendron Society
- How to Hybridize a Rose, Better Homes and Gardens
- Try Your Hand at Hybridizing with Irises, Fine Gardening
- Three Ways to Make a New Plant, Exploratorium