Can My Squash Cross with A Melon: Cucurbit Cross-Pollination Demystified

[@anniebancroft1175]

Thank you for this scientific explanation

[@simonemary8559]

Thank you so much for this!

[@flowerpixel]

I love these kinds of basic botany videos because I don't remember anything from school

[@Brennannnnnnnnn]

Shed’s looking sharp!

[@g.n.adkisson9486]

I will know more in about a week. My yellow squash are not making male flowers. But my pumpkins are, so I am hand pollinating the yellow squash with pumpkin. I will get back in a week. P.S. I have no other summer squash planted.

[@darthfiende1]

The shed came out darling! Thank you for reiterating this. I was definitely in the toxic squash fear camp before your video last year.

[@Eva_noir.]

I love your new shed color💕

[@rachelteske]

Yay! If it tastes good to me, I will let one of my open pollinated melons get mature seeds (Minnesota Midget Cucumis melo L.Reticulatus Group) to plant and share next year without worry of them mixing with my squash and cucumbers. It’s my only melon and I don’t know anyone nearby growing melons… Thanks Angela!!

[@elysenapoli6395]

Love the shed colors!

[@richardkut3976]

Excellent, Thank you,

[@ecocentrichomestead6783]

The first step toward knowledge is knowing that there's more that you don't know than what you do know! Regardless of the topic. To find wither two plants can cross, One can google " scientific name" for each of the plants. The first return will give a two part name in big bold letters. If those names are not the same, the two plants will not cross. Ex. "Zucchini Scientific Name" gives "Cucurbita pepo" "Cucumber Scientific Name" Gives "Cucumis sativus" Different scientific names so a Zucchini will not cross with a Cucumber. Note: There needs to be two parts to the name for it to be a species name

[@permiebird937]

Well said!

[@HunderbarDachs]

Dogs successfully hybridize with wolves and coyotes. Horses with donkeys and zebras. Lions and tigers...... The offspring are sterile, but they are living animals. I bought a potted perennial from Costco that is a rudbeckia/echinacea hybrid. Taxonomists love to change things up, maybe they will decide that Equine or Canine is a species rather than a genus. That would be fun. Can't wait to watch the follow-up vid, lol.

[@deborahcoyle7612]

Okay phew! As you were talking I was thinking about my butternut and delicata that are growing next to each other in the kitchen garden. This year they’ll be good. 😅

[@ontherocksinthesoilmichael6739]

Very helpful thank you Angela!

[@C3Voyage]

Mostly true and a good explanation overall; however, it is possible to cross squash species together: c. maxima, c. pepo, and c. moschata. It's not as easy, but it can be done. For example, the "Honeynut" squash was originally a c. maxima x c. moschata cross made by Cornell University. Honeynut is NOW an OP c. moschata, but not in the beginning. There are a couple others that are on the market. I attempted similar breedings in my work, but wasn't able to get viable seed. Fruit did mature, but seed did not. To me, those projects weren't worth the effort as a single guy doing this stuff 'cause it takes tons of man-hours in manual crosses several times a day. Just wanted to "add a bit" to your very well made video.

[@onestrangeanimal3212]

Ok, I admit that I'm a bit confused now. I'm not saying that you're wrong concerning the species you name here. But I'm an indoor gardener (unfortunately I don't have access to an outdoor garden). I keep tropical and subtropical potted plants in my home and I know for a fact that cross-species hybrids are quite common in the house plant market. Am I missing something here? Again, not questioning your knowledge, just wanting to learn.

[@Tsuchimursu]

it's not so straightforward though. plums and cherries aren't the same species (I think?) but you CAN get them to create viable hybrids. Sometimes you can get a weird hybrid that has no seed - it's unviable, like a mule. Seed companies do this on purpose because seedless fruit is nice to eat. there are pairs of species where 99% of tries will fail but you can come across that one in a thousand freak that manages to hybridise. Unlikely doesn't mean impossible. Also, in some cases like corn, the donor plant actually does affect the seed itself - that's why we get colourful cobs on glass gem corn. But yes your advice still holds true, you can plant stuff pretty freely and know that you're EXTREMELY unlucky/lucky (depends on your view) to get weird hybrids on typical garden plants when planted in household amounts and not selectively pollinated and then protected.

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

I elaborated more on interspecific hybrids in cucurbits on my blog. They are the exception and the results of careful breeding. They don’t create viable offspring. Odds of creating one in your garden are very very small, and you cannot get an interspecific cross of a melon and a squash. And not by simply growing one next to another.

[@Tsuchimursu]

@@ParkrosePermaculture yeah, I just find it such an intriguing area of study that I feel it's a shame to kind of bury it behind a simple "it's impossible" :) I love reading forums of people experimenting on weird hybrids and showing off their results.

[@PifsGifts]

I’m so confused about what the heck I grew so here I am!

[@amyschmelzer6445]

Great video! I cringe whenever I hear people spread this myth as fact.

[@mumbairay]

Seen fox and coyote hybrids

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Hybrids are sterile. They can’t reproduce and are the exception to the rule. :)