Topic: cross pollinated acquilegias

[Garden Manager]

McKana hybrid Aquilegia are not true hybrids in the modern sense of the word. They were released in 1954 when truly hybridised plants were just entering horticulture so it could be the breeder was trying to attract some of the glamour.

Im curious John, could you enlighten us further please?

[john_miller]

Which part? Or both?
  McKana aquilegia are not true hybrids. They have been selected in the normal fashion of plant breeding. This also applies to 'Russel' hybrid lupins (I tend to see them referred to recently as a strain, which is more accurate) and also to 'Pacific Giant' hybrid delphiniums.
 The breeder trading on the word hybrid? The horticultural world is full of people with something to sell trying to associate their product with something else that is successful. Probably the most famous tomato over here is Burpees's 'Big Boy'. So what else is available that sounds similar? 'Better Boy', 'Big Girl', both available from Burpee's, last time I looked, but both with significant differences from 'Big Boy'. Marketing is the name of this game. Like the rest of the world?  

[john_miller]

Forgot something. Referring to your comment about your hybrid aquilegia passing on some of it's genes. Some seed producers rely upon the transmission of genes from F₁ hybrids into their progeny. These are referred to as F₂ seeds. They are seeds from F₁ plants that are open pollinated. The seedlings will, hopefully, be very close to their parents but the chances that they won't will be the same as any other seeds collected from F₁'s by a home gardener.
 Tying that into my previous post, this is a marketing tool-'hybrid seed without the cost' is a common implication that I have seen in catalogues.

[Garden Manager]

Thanks for clearing that up for me. All this breeding lark gets me a little confused sometimes.

I take it that the fact that Mckanna aquilegias are not true hybrids explains why you can grow them from seed? I have recently received free with a magazine a packet of McKanna Hybrid seed. That is perhaps the source of the confusion.

Thanks again

[john_miller]

Not trying to confuse you but F₁'s are only produced by seed unless the plants are subsequently propagated vegetatively. F₁ hybridisation results from years of in breeding of OP plants to make sure that the genetic material is stable and then controlled cross pollination (by removing half the reproductive organs of each parent) takes place between two selected parent lines.
  Aquilegia McKana hybrids will have been developed from years of rigourous selection of parent plants to achieve the desired characteristics and achieve stability. Because of the promiscuity of Aquilegia this would be re-inforced by making sure that cross pollination couldn't occur by using a physical bariier or by spatial separation. However, they are truly OP, not hybrids.