The Science behind New Plants
Presenter: Dean Boone
Episode: 23 (6th October 2007)
One of Dean’s favourite things when he was a kid was watching shows that take you behind the scenes and explain how things are done. Therefore he was delighted to be lucky enough to be visiting the Plant Breeding Institute of the University of Sydney and I see how a new plant variety is developed.
Creating a new plant variety isn’t as simple as taking a quick cutting and growing on a new plant, new varieties means new colours, new flower forms and selecting plants that are the best performers, and all of that takes time and money.
One such variety is the new Federation Daisies, creating these new varieties all started at the University of Sydney, where cross pollination of two different plants took place to create a new seed. Hundreds of seeds are then produced and grown in a specially designed, individually temperature controlled hothouses.
The seed that’s collected is stored in special facilities that can retain the seed’s viability for up to 100 years. The rooms are at minus 15 degrees celsius and there are thousands of seeds stored in the facilities. Some will be grown into new plants and others are used to study genetics, all so we can have the perfect plants.
The next step is in the tissue cultural laboratory. Just like humans, plants get viruses and disease, so growing plants in tissue culture is the best way to preserve the health of a particular strain, and to grow large quantities of it from a very small amount of plant material.
Finally the plants go out in the sunshine, these are all first generation varieties that are being observed for desired characteristics, like compact grow and short flower stem. One of these plants may become the mother of a whole new variety of daisy next year.
The one’s that do make the final grade will end up in your local garden centre. And you can be assured they are the very best performers, the most exciting colours and forms available. Next time you pick up a new plant, just remember all the time and effort that’s gone into to making it the perfect addition to your new garden.
Episode: 23 (6th October 2007)
One of Dean’s favourite things when he was a kid was watching shows that take you behind the scenes and explain how things are done. Therefore he was delighted to be lucky enough to be visiting the Plant Breeding Institute of the University of Sydney and I see how a new plant variety is developed.
Creating a new plant variety isn’t as simple as taking a quick cutting and growing on a new plant, new varieties means new colours, new flower forms and selecting plants that are the best performers, and all of that takes time and money.
One such variety is the new Federation Daisies, creating these new varieties all started at the University of Sydney, where cross pollination of two different plants took place to create a new seed. Hundreds of seeds are then produced and grown in a specially designed, individually temperature controlled hothouses.
The seed that’s collected is stored in special facilities that can retain the seed’s viability for up to 100 years. The rooms are at minus 15 degrees celsius and there are thousands of seeds stored in the facilities. Some will be grown into new plants and others are used to study genetics, all so we can have the perfect plants.
The next step is in the tissue cultural laboratory. Just like humans, plants get viruses and disease, so growing plants in tissue culture is the best way to preserve the health of a particular strain, and to grow large quantities of it from a very small amount of plant material.
Finally the plants go out in the sunshine, these are all first generation varieties that are being observed for desired characteristics, like compact grow and short flower stem. One of these plants may become the mother of a whole new variety of daisy next year.
The one’s that do make the final grade will end up in your local garden centre. And you can be assured they are the very best performers, the most exciting colours and forms available. Next time you pick up a new plant, just remember all the time and effort that’s gone into to making it the perfect addition to your new garden.
AS SEEN ON 
