Question
Hello Mike.  I have a question regarding tomatoes, especially.  

As an avid gardener, I receive a wide variety of seed catalogs each year.  I know that a hybrid is a cross between 2 parent plants, and the seeds from a hybrid will not continue producing true-to-type, as opposed to heirloom varieties which have been around for years and do reproduce true-to-type.  

But now I am noticing "newly developed" varieties that are not listed as hybrids.  I thought when a variety was "developed" by crossing two parents, that made it a hybrid automatically.

How is a variety determined to be a hybrid, vs. a non-hybrid?

Thanks,

Derrick

Answer
Derrick, your description of a hybrid vs. non-hybrid is absolutely correct. A hybrid is a cross between two different varieties of the same species to produce a plant with specific characteristics such as color and growing habit.

A non-hybrid, or heirloom, is propagated from one plant in an attempt to replicate the exact same characteristics of the parent plant.

I am not aware of the new variety to which you are referring. From my studies, all plants are still considered to be hybrid or heirloom. If you can send an example, I will be glad to cross-reference it with my catalogs and give you a better description.

Best regards,

Mike