Here is the defintion in the Glossary : An open pollinated plant will grow true to type each year. It produces offspring exactly like the parents. An open pollinated plant can also be pollinated by itself if it has perfect flowers.
I hate to sound ignorant but if something is Open Pollinated then does it also mean it's an "heirloom"? Some catalogs (one in particular) tell you which of their plants/seeds are hybrids, and then they use both terms ("heirloom" or "open pollinated") for their other plants/seeds -- which confuses me, cuz why not use the same definition so as not to confuse dummies like me ha, ha.
Thanks.
"Open Pollinated" question.
Heirlooms and OP are not always the same thing. Heirlooms are usually varieties that have been raised by a family or community for years and handed down. They are traditionaly 50 years old or more. These heirlooms are almost always OP.
OP can be either old varieties or brand new and are not F1 hybrid crosses. You can save seed from OPs if they are raised in relative isolation from other varieties and they will come fairly true to type.
Indy is correct; Heirlooms and OP's are not always the same although all "heirlooms" are OP's. Either one you can save the seed. "Heirloom" is a current buzzword that is often misused. A true "heirloom" would be a cultivar that has evolved through long period of seed saving and planting by a family. OP's developed for commercial applications should not be considered "heirlooms". There is also a rash of "heirlooms" released each year, some deliberately developed to feed the frenzy, some renamed old commercial cultivars, and a few are actually discovered in an isolated area. Every generation has some multi-purpose buzz word. It is a relatively new use in plants, I lived over half my life without it.
Glad you brought up that that info, F-Dill.
When I first got into seed saving and carrying on particular plants/varieties/strains the term "heirloom" was not in vogue, and I only got into it as recently as 1978-80. At that time the term was "hand me downs", "family seeds", then eventually you saw the name "landraces" pop up (and usually 'landrace' referred to animals).
lafko, OP refers to plants that come true from their own seed because that plant has become stabilized. This is to differentiate plants that are hybrids, which will not come true from seed. However, even OP plants will cross, some have more chance of crossing than others do.
Always good to see this topic addressed. It really informs others as to just what seeds to save (if they choose) and which ones they may not choose to save.
Shoe.
Okay, thank you all, I had to think on these answers while doing my errands today, but to make sure I understand, let me give you an example that I thought up on what a OP might be okay?
Say if it took me 3 years to isolate and dehybridize a certain tomato, then after that, those seeds and plants would be considered OP???
Nope it normally takes 6 or more generations to insure stability. That means F6 or more. Unless you are doing two crops a year. In three years you would have an F3 which would still be unstable.
Okay FD, thank you so so so very much for that awesome response, because that makes waaaaaaaay more sense to me than my example. I can sleep tonight. :)