IT is worth collecting seed of any true species plants in your garden because species come true to type from seed – the offspring will resemble their parents in every respect. It is not usual for gardeners to save seed of highly bred plants – hybrids, varieties and strains – as these do not come true to type from seed. With some plants, the offspring will be very different from their parents in habit or growth, shape of flower and so on, while others may, for instance, simply have differently coloured flowers.
Many hardy and half-hardy annuals and perennials, biennials and vegetables are hybrids or strains with a very complex parentage and will not come true from home-saved seed.
■ Alpines from seed
The most natural way of raising alpines or rock plants is from seed – this is how plants reproduce themselves in their natural habitats. Remember, though, that only the true species are raised in this way, not hybrids and varieties.
The method is also useful for those plants that are impossible to propagate by other means, including monocarpic species – short-lived plants that die after they have flowered and set seed. Examples of such plants are and . Although not strictly monocarpic, , and are best raised
