Prize Winner (Hybrid) Pumpkin

Im growing 8 "Prize Winner" Hybrid Pumpkin plants..... Will, I be about to save the seeds from the pumpkins and be able to grow them again, and maintain the large size of the pumpkins? ((Tks)) in advance if your able to assist me with my question :)

A hybrid will not grow into the same plant you have this year. It may be similar...but it won't have all of the characteristics of the parent plant.

If you want exactly the same plant...you'll have to purchase seeds again.

Okie Dokie.... Im doing some research on how to go about saving the seed so it grows again like the first time... So, far it seems difficult... and purchasing the seeds again seems like it's the best route to go..but I do like a challenge ;) when it comes to gardening (lol)

Seed saved from a hybrid cannot genetically reproduce exactly the same plant.

You can get close, and with a grow out of about 8 years, you can come very close to an OP (open pollinated) version of the hybrid.

The two (or more) parents that produced the hybrid have to be planted, and the seeds saved to reproduce the plant.

It's like kittens...the mother cat...say, Siamese and the father cat...say, Manx...have a litter of kittens. You'll have a whole range of kittens displaying the characteristics of one or both parents in differing degrees. You are breeding for a Siamese cat that has no tail. You get 6 kittens...two of which have this trait

You can take the 2 kittens, male and female..(this would be your F1 generation) that look exactly alike, and raise a litter from them. The resulting kittens (F2 generation) would display traits of the parents and the grandparents in varying degrees.

You only breed the kittens from each litter that have the exact traits that you are looking for....many other variations will also show up...and hopefully, you'll get some in each litter that have the traits you desire.

By careful inbreeding, more and more of the desireable kitten form will start showing up in each litter. When you get the whole litter to have only the traits you want, you've succesfully created a true breeding form of a hybrid.

Same with plants.

Pumpkins are very prone to cross pollination as their pollen and flowers are attractive to insects...any squash in the vicinity can foul up your plan. The female blossoms have to be taped shut the night before they open and they need to be hand pollinated the next morning...and taped back shut to keep insects out. Even if you only have this pumpkin for miles around....there is so much genetic material imbedded, that crossing it with itself will result in multiple forms in the next year..(I've had as many as 16 different ones from one hybrid pumpkin that was hand pollinated)

It's a fun project, and you learn a lot about genetics, but it's not a job for the faint of heart...you'll need to plant 30 or 40 seeds each year just to hopefully get one or 2 plants that show the traits you are breeding for.

Hope this helps make things a bit clearer...just buying the hybrid seeds is usually the track most folks take...and the seed companies know this...they get to sell you new ones each year...and price them high. They also will quit offering a hybrid that sales have slowed, as it's expensive to produce hybrid seeds...if it's not ecenomically viable, they'll move on to something else.

One reason to breed to an OP if it's something that you really want to keep.

Oh my gosh, (Thank You) for the very detailed email :) Well, Im just growing theses pumpkins as an ornmental pumpkin... I guess, I'll be making plenty of pumpkin seeds to share with family and friends ;)

Once again, thanks for taking the time to respond the my question :)

UPDATE: Here is the picture of the little baby Pumpkin :)

I had to invest in a Soaker Hose, since the temp has gone back to the 90s, I have to water twice a day... speaking of water...darn it the soaker has been on for 2 hrs.. must log off... gosh !!! (lol)

Well, Im back..... (lol) I was gardening all morning til early afternoon and then decided to take a shower then to turn off the hose...well..... I forgot :( I guess.... I'll not be doing that again...(lol)

I just realized I posted this under the incorrect forum... oops (lol)