5 Foolproof Tips for Plant Breeding Beginners

Plant breeding is the hobby of creating/developing new plants. It is as exciting as it sounds, but it involves a long and often tedious process, that can be paved with many disappointments. Gardeners can learn how to avoid these, fortunately.

Employ professionals

If you feel like you don't really know what you're doing, relax and opt for a horticulturist's services. These are professional plant breeders who are dedicated to finding the right conditions for a plant to thrive in and can ensure the uniformity of the new variety. Also, they can take your plants to a nursery for further development, so that you know it won't fail and you won't have to start it all over.

Study the different techniques

There are many plant improvement and breeding techniques described online as well as in specialty books. You can try these on many species as long as you understand how plant reproduction works. You have to be imaginative and daring in your crossing experiments. This is how you get to produce new strains of plants.

Artificial selection

Nature surely does its job, but you should also perform a careful selection of plants yourself. One good example is gardeners who pick seeds only from the plants that grew best. You have to choose those which exhibit the traits you desire to perpetuate.

The test of time

It takes patience to develop a new strain. You can only call yourself a successful breeder once you have come up with plants that can display the new features consistently, generation after generation. These have to be resistant to the environment they are living in and go through all the development stages unhindered.

Apply for a patent/license

Once it becomes obvious that you have a uniform and stable variety on your hands, you can start marketing it. For this to happen, you must have it recognised as a new variety on its own and have it patented. Horticulture experts usually offer plant licensing services as well and teach you the plant marketing UK strategies that work.

Thus, the safest way to success for new plant breeders is to keep in touch with a horticulture expert, to make sure they are not wasting their time.

3 Strong Reasons Why Your Garden Will Require Professional Horticultural Services

Every confident gardener makes use of all the available sources of knowledge to transform their property into a splendid green sanctuary. It brings great satisfaction to see a beautiful garden being formed thanks to your own efforts and skills. However, when it doesn't go as planned, it could be the time to ask for professional help.

When exactly does a garden need horticultural services? Below are 3 situations that will require these:

1. Poor plant development or density

You planted enough but the results are not as expected. There isn't much of a plant density and the flowers or shrubs just don't seem to grow too much. It could be the climate, the soil, the exposure to sunlight or the lack of it. Or, it could be that you are using too many chemicals on your garden, from synthetic fertilisers to pesticides. While you may be thinking you're doing it a favour, you're actually suffocating the plants with toxins.

2. Breeding new plant varieties

You might have taken up breeding, hoping to create a new, stable variety of a species. However, your efforts don't seem to pay off. To succeed, you must experiment with various conditions. This is best done in a nursery or a similar environment. The new variety will be recognized as such only when it becomes uniform (each individual plant will look similar, exhibiting the same features) and stable. To achieve this, you should work with a professional breeder. It will also help you have your plant patented at some point in future. What a horticulturist does in this sense represents an increasingly complex work, due to all the factors that are taken into account, the various combinations possible and the great care to produce the desired result. The plants will require frequent inspecting too, until the growth is stable and the needed traits show.

3. When new species is found

Plant discoverers, just like breeders 'inventing' a different type, are proud to have a new specimen in their gardens. A newly discovered or created plant, however, will require special care and not all the aspects may be obvious to the owner. To help it accommodate and thrive, one should opt for the plant protection services offered by specialists – especially in the case of a newly found variety. These also involve protecting its name and grant the rights of its owner. Plant protection goes hand in hand with licensing or patenting services.

4 Tips for Growing Bigger and Healthier Plants in Your Garden

If you feel that your garden isn't green enough, all it takes is probably a bit of extra knowledge and attention. Look at the tips below and you might just find what was missing – give these a go and start being proud of your newly acquired gardening skills:

1. Make it 'greener'

For a garden to thrive, it needs to be, first of all, 'greener' as in more ecological. This means you should stop using so many synthetic substances: pesticides, chemical fertilisers, artificial mulch and so on. Make a list of every such poison you are currently using and try to replace as many as you can with natural alternatives. A great idea is to use vegetable waste from your kitchen as compost; it's going to nourish the soil and the plants.

2. Focus on local plants

We understand the love for exotic plants, but surely there must be plenty of lovely flowers, shrubs etc. in your region. If you see that your garden isn't as green as you wanted it to be, let go of your big ambitions and try native plants instead. These are already well accustomed to the climate and the soil, thus will grow better and you will have a lot less work to do.

3. Prepare the soil

No matter how your garden looked before, you must prepare the soil each time in advance, in order to welcome new plants. Loosen the soil for a minimum of 6 inches and mix it up with some organic mulches or compost. When the new plants arrive, do not cover them in too much soil. The same goes for seeds – planting these deeper than ¼ inch is a huge mistake.

4. Get help from professionals

Horticulturist and breeders in your community can give you precious advice on how to tend to your garden. If you have plants that need strengthening, they can apply plant development strategies to make those grow better. Also, they are capable of creating new varieties and you could even work on one yourself and have it patented.

There is a wealth of information on the topic online, but you need to have this tailored to the region you live in and to its flora. This is why we recommend consulting horticulture and plant breeding specialists.

The Steps of New Plant Patenting for the Passionate Gardener

The prospects of being an 'innovator' in the horticulture field and surprising the world with something new is very attractive to many gardeners. A new plant variety, once developed and stable, can peak other gardeners' interest and be sold to many. It could actually make for a good business, not to mention the fame and appreciation.

Get help from the beginning

The secret to making this happen is to get a plant patented – it is a long and tedious process usually, but it is the sure way to enjoy the results of your hard work. It is recommended to start early on. Instead of trying hard all by yourself, you can ask for the help of a professional plant breeder. These specialists have the much needed knowledge and experience, as well as the means to grow your new plants.

Do your research

Read about plant trials to find out about how they test the various environment factors (soil, humidity, heat etc.) and finally reach the combination that suits the plant best. This ensures the stability of the new specimens and their uniformity.

Applying for a license

Once stability and uniformity have been achieved, it is time to get to the next, much coveted level – plant licensing. This means that you can have the plant recognized as a distinct type developed by yourself and no one else will have the right to use it in their name. You will have the rights to sell it as a new variety. Licensing will protect it and no other people will use your innovation illegally. This is definitely what you need to do when you have come up with a stable new plant.

The patent benefits

As the patent is obtained, the grower has even more benefits due to the breeder. The plant will have its own support materials and growing instructions. Every technical aspect will be covered, so that anyone acquiring it will know how to protect it and make it thrive.

Choose your horticulture company and get the needed guidance on how to license and protect a new variety. This is valid also when you are simply a discoverer of plants. In fact, it does not matter at which gardening level you are.

Basic Ways in Which Plant Trials Help Gardeners and Breeders

Gardeners, horticulturists and other plant enthusiasts often dedicate their time and resources to creating new varieties – whether it's for the sheer beauty of it or for modifying/strengthening certain traits, to affect the productivity or adaptability within a species. The best help they can get comes from professional plant breeders.

Plant trials as means of testing

The plant trial method is essential when a new variety is in the making. For this to be recognised as such, it has to be distinct and also to prove that it can stay stable with every generation. Perennials must display this trait, year after year. Uniformity is yet another trait that has to be exhibited by the variety created. The plant trials performed by professionals help develop and test the qualities needed. These are carried out in a nursery, which is the ideal environment for controlling the factors involved.

The right environment

A plant will not be the same when you place it in different conditions. For example, it may thrive in a cold and moist climate but struggle in dry heat. Oftentimes, the differences don't even need to be that extreme. The environment with all the factors in it play a great role. The soil is one of those factors and a plant trial will cater to this aspect as well.

Trials can be held in special gardens, but also on university grounds and, of course, the aforementioned nurseries. The breeder will observe the plants and their evolution in the given conditions and test various approaches. The goal is to figure out what works best for the said plant variety. When this is finally working, the breeder has identified the growing requirements and can start developing the variety, striving to obtain uniformity and stability.

Hitting the target

Through a professionally done plant trial, the gardener or horticulturist can make sure they are developing a plant with different features, that sets it apart from the rest and can be sold accordingly. They will not have to commit to the costs of production unless they are certain of this. Afterward, they can cater to the plant variety protection aspect and also get it patented. From this point on, the business is in the hands of the initial gardener.

3 Vital Aspects of Having New Plant Varieties Recognized

Plant breeders who take their hobby seriously are usually irresistibly attracted to the idea of creating new and special varieties. There is nothing like a flower of a colour never seen before in its species or like a shrub displaying a greater density of leaves. The level of satisfaction is incredible but, in order to get to this, it takes a lot of knowledge, effort and patience.

Breeding techniques

One has to pay attention to the breeding techniques and use only the best ones. These have to be adapted to the climate and to the soil. It is possible to ask horticulturists for help, as they will be able to implement superior strategies and protect the plants accordingly.

Adequate environments

Breeding experiments ask for delicacy and great care. Usually, the plants involved are better off in a controlled environment, such as a nursery. Growers must ensure the ideal conditions, but without overprotecting the plants. Expert breeders should be consulted in this case, so that the plants are protected through special gardening knowledge and skills.

Selecting the traits

Naturally, every gardener will have to think well about which traits they would like their new plants to exhibit. Then, they will know what has to be done and will use greater precision in the process. There are more than just the natural methods to achieve this.

Licensing

Licensing is essential for a breeder who has developed a new variety. Here, a horticulture expert is a must. The new variety needs to be licensed so that it will not be illegally reproduced. This is why expert guidance is so much needed here. You may even find individuals who have been in this industry for decades – these are the most suitable ones to answer your questions. In addition, they can also help with plant promotion when you have successfully come up with something new and you want the world to know about it and acquire specimens.

Besides providing consultations on the art of crossing plants, horticulturists are often professionals who help you move on to the next level in your breeding efforts. Such breeders assist gardeners and may provide all the necessary written agreements, in the end making sure that the plant can be easily grown in many gardens.