ReesaAnne said:Oh that's good to know, I'm never sure which variety are hybrids verses heirlooms or what even an OP is. I'm still learning :)
Sounds like SunSugar is a winner :)
It can be confusing! Heirlooms are never hybrids, they're always "open pollinated" -- which means that planting seeds will give you plants that have the same characteristics as the parent plant, assuming that either the plant or the flowers of the plant were isolated from cross pollination. Hybrids, on the other hand, are a deliberate cross of varieties, which results in a new variety that will not produce seeds with the same characteristics as the parent plant. (sometimes they don't produce seeds at all, or the seeds aren't fertile) (of course, you can also get an "accidental" hybrid -- but the commercial types that are available are deliberate crosses)
If that isn't already confusing enough, not all open pollinated varieties are "heirlooms." New open pollinated types are still being developed the "old-fashioned way," by growing a lot of plants of the same variety, selecting plants with the desired traits, collecting seeds from those plants, and repeating for multiple growing seasons, until a stable variety is achieved.
And, of course, we live in the age of "genetic modification," which is a whole separate story...
