Hybrid sunflowers...

I jsut got and planted several hybrid varieties of sunflowers...Chianti, Autumn Beauty, Moulin Rouge, and Velvet Queen. They are all planted along a fenceline, each kind about 7 feet apart or so, with morning glories planted in the space between. I saw on one of the packs it was a "pollen-less hybrid" what does that mean? Am I going to be able to collect viable seeds from these? Do I need to plant a "regular" variety out there too, like the big yellow ones to cross-pollinate and get seeds? Or are any of those going to "do the trick" as far as providing the pollen for the others? or will they hybridize each other to something different?

Pollenless varieties have been developed primarily for cutting.

These are a little complicated but the short answer is that even if a plant does not produce pollen, it does not automatically mean that it can't accept pollen from another plant. Crossing will occur and you will not have any guarantee of what you get especially if some are already F1 hybrids.
In F1 hybrid sunflowers with sterile pollen the florets have fully receptive female parts, accept pollen from another plant and the resulting generation will not be pollenless-but you still won't know what you get till grown the next year. Some may look remarkably similar but genetically are not.

For absolutely pure seed, varieties must be from 1/2 to 3 miles apart, or bagged and hand pollinated. Bees do must of the work but there may be very poor seed set anyway as the pollenless produce necter but it's the pollen bees really want. These are reported to be visited less by bees.

very interesting, thanks caron

caron has given some great information...you'll not know what you'll have till you plant out your saved seed the next season.

Hybrids generally revert back to the parents that were used to create them in the first place...most times pretty, but you shouldn't trade seeds from a hybrid plant until you've saved and grown them for a couple of seasons.....then, you should let the recipient know that these are saved from a hybrid.

I'm mainly a 'veggie person' and never save seeds from hybrid veggies...(actually, I hardly ever grow hybrid veggies) I do know that the Santa Sweet grape tomatoes that you get in the grocery will come back 98% true from saved seed even though it is a hybrid. That means 2 plants out of 100 will look and produce fruit unlike the Santas...that's an exellent ratio.

Weezingreens has had some wonderful luck with hybrid pansies and saves seed from them with great success.

Isolating your sunflowers probably won't help much...the genetic material that will produce plants unlike what you are growing is already there in the seeds. Remember Mendel and the peas from high school biology class?

bump - I remember high school, barely, lol - Suzi :)

May I ask a question related to Sunflowers? How does one keep the birds and squirrels from getting the seeds? I would like to save some seeds and the birds are already getting them before the seeds are even mature.

Cindy

Cover with cheesecloth and tie at the stem is the only way I know...and the determined varmints will usually figure out a way around that too.

Thanks Melody. I will try that.