Hybridising.
By Llew
Lincolnshire,
United Kingdom 
Just out of curiosity, if you want to hybridise your own plant, which way round do you do it?
Not sure how to phrase this really. If you want your plant to be a particular colour, is that the plant you leave on the main plant, pollinate and cover or is that the one that you collect the pollen from and take to another plant?
No, that doesn't make sense.
Plant A is red climber. Plant B is strong trailer.
I want red on strong, trailing plant.
Does that make sense?
10 May, 2009
Answers
as moon grower says not as easy as it sounds. if the parents are already hybrids there will be years of mixed features and it is trial and error.
As many plants are both male and female you could take pollen from each plant and transfer to the other. then you remove the anthers from both plants to stop self pollination and paper bag the flower to stop cross polination from other plants.
out of curiosity which plant were you thinking of?
11 May, 2009
I just thought it might be an interesting experiment and see what comes out. Probably nothing, lol.
I'm thinking of fuchsias, SBG.
11 May, 2009
Not necessarily the best plant to start with as it will be years before the seed grows into a viable flowers size shrub. Most fuchsias are propagated vegetatively. If you really want to have a go Llew try a perennial flowering plant - but remember you have to make sure the pollen you want to get to the plant is the only one that can. This means you will have to work within a greenhouse and keep the plant you want to pollenate covered so that insects can't pollenate prior to your trying to do so. As SBG says once you've pollenated cover with a paper bag. We have a friend who does this seriously with some of the alpine bulbs - takes him years to get something worthwhile
11 May, 2009
A perennial flowering plant? You mean like one of the herbacious perennials we put in the border? I have a few I could try, but only one of each and I think they have to be the same family don't they?
11 May, 2009
yes they need to be closely related preffereably the same species different varieties or the same genus.
11 May, 2009
Yes as SBG says same species... thinking about it though most border perennials are too big to have in a greenhouse, so not sure what to suggest.
11 May, 2009
you bag the flower buds just before they are due to open and when they open get in there with a dry paint brush before any insects can do it for you. remove the anthers and rebag. you get interesting comments from people who want to know what the bags are for :o)
11 May, 2009
When you hybridise you don't know what you will get specifically in terms of colour of vigour you just keep trying until you get what you want.
11 May, 2009