Ornamental Plant Breeding at a Horticultural Display Garden

/Home/Garden Basics/Garden Pollination/Plant Artificial Selection/Garden Plant Breeding

Author: R.J. Armstrong
Abstract:
The choice of ornamental plant breeding programs at a botanical or horticultural display garden depends on the needs and objectives of the garden. The breeder under these conditions can investigate genera that might not otherwise receive attention. It is in fact likely that he will discover genera that have esthetic and/or commercial value which might not have been discovered otherwise. It is gratifying and desirable that new plant cultivars developed in these programs be commercially successful, but this factor does not directly affect their value to the display garden.

In the case of Longwood Gardens, the main objective of the breeding program is to develop new and improved cultivars which will enhance the displays at the gardens. A plant may already be available and commercially successful, or it may be a plant that is grown only by botanical gardens and/or amateur gardeners. If the new cultivars developed turn out to be commercially valuable then this is an extra reward to national horticulture.

With this in mind new plants are constantly being introduced into the collection at Longwood Gardens from all over the world. Introductions may result from plant exploration trips such as those jointly sponsored by Longwood Gardens and the United States Department of Agriculture, or they may be obtained from other botanical gardens, from commercial nurseries, and in many cases from private individuals.

These plants are brought into the gardens, accessioned, grown on, observed and evaluated for their display characteristics. Many of these introductions are cultivars and others are straight species. If they are deemed to have sufficient display qualities they are used in the display area. In either case they may become the basis for a breeding program. A case in point is that of the now famous New Guinea impatiens. The original New Guinea impatiens were generally not sufficiently good for display purposes, but with a relatively small amount of hybridizing.

Contact Information

ISHS Secretariat
W.Decroylaan 42(01.21)
3001 Leuven
Belgium

Phone: +32 16229427
Fax: +32 16229450
Email: info@ishs.org

Copyright © 2009 International Society for Horticultural Science.