Non Patented, Public Domain Plants that You Should Be Free to Propagate.

judsoncarroll4

https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2019/03/non-patented-public-domain-plants-that-you-should-be-free-to-propagate/?awt_a=44GX&awt_l=BpBev&awt_m=Jx5fskF44DbHGX

Torey

I was a bit surprised at this list cause it never occurred to me that there would be patented willows. From what I know about willows is that they are quite indiscriminate in their reproductive habits and will cross with anything else that has Salix in the name. We have over 40 named wild species here in BC but it is very difficult to identify many of them as they have crossed with whatever grew next to them. Some show very strongly to one parent or the other but may need DNA testing to discover exactly what species it is.

I wonder if they are bred to be sterile, thus making them easier to control under patent.

judsoncarroll4

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/892792#Comment_892792

It is CRAZY! Cultivar Patents – Willowpedia (cornell.edu)

Monek Marie

I start a lot of plants from clippings or divisions and I am very careful

I also repot a lot of plants in recycled pots and you have to be careful about that too. If you use a pot with a name on it you can get in trouble

Torey

These ones at Cultivar Patents say either distinctly male or female but doesn't say if they will continue to hybridize with other species. If they have pollen or flowers one would think that it would be impossible to control further hybridization with wild willows.

I have sent an e-mail asking if they are sterile or how they go about protecting the patent otherwise.

karenjanicki

This is insane. This would never have occured to me that there would be plants that you cannot grow.....

judsoncarroll4

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/892804#Comment_892804

Honestly, I think patenting seeds is immoral and should be illegal. I do kind of get it when a person spends years getting a perfect hybrid of a pretty flower or something, then wants to sell cuttings. But, the list of patented plants is really outrageous. Many of them have no justification except that someone filled out the paperwork.

Torey

I heard back already! That was a very quick response. He didn't quite answer my question about hybridizing with any wild or domestic species that they were planted close to. He said that most of their species are female but did say that all their triploid species are sterile. Not quite sure which ones are triploid species. He said that it was the intent of the patent just to protect their plants from being reproduced from cuttings and then sold under their trademark name.

I think patenting of any plant will eventually lead to abuses and we will have plant species that we are no longer allowed to grow. This is already happening with Canola and Monsanto's control over that, albeit a different situation. Canola is not simply hybridized. But it leaves things open to the mercy of lawyers. Willows readily sucker so if it suckers underneath a property line, will the neighbour now be liable for illegally growing this patented plant as Monsanto has tried to do with a farmer that had a patch of Canola growing on his farm due to seed drift?

And what about species of willow that have naturally hybridized and produced this "patented" cultivar. I can just see the headlines now. Mother Nature Sued for Patent Infringement.

OK. Enough of a rant. :)

judsoncarroll4

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/892816#Comment_892816

I agree, entirely. I would, at least. like to see non-food plants protected from being patented on moral grounds alone.

tilathehunn

All i can say is Wow! Ty for the list. Being a farmer today has got to be the biggest challenge ever! Ty to all the growers of our food

Cornelius

They can also patent microorganisms (especially ones that they genetically modify). I would like to see them try to tell bacteria "you can't grow here since they didn't pay the patent". 😂

VermontCathy

I have no use for patented plants. Even when I see "plant variety protected" (PVP) at a seed supplier such as Johnny's, I steer clear of those varieties. I don't want to encourage any plant restrictions with my dollars.

It's easier to avoid patents and PVPs (not the same thing) in seeds than in live plants you buy. Sometimes it's very hard to find what you want while avoiding this sort of thing. Read the fine print carefully.

I'm not a fan of sterile hybrids either. It puts too much power in the hands of the breeder. A single business going out of business could make that variety disappear. (This is also an issue for non-sterile hybrids like Sungold tomatoes, which are only available from a single supplier. However, a number of small-scale plant breeders have de-hybridized Sungold, not duplicating the original, but producing a new variety with some of the Sungold traits.)

Unfortunately there are some types of plants where breeders have largely abandoned open-pollinated varieties in favor of hybrids, with the result that the open-pollinated types available are poor and need some working to make them usable again. Commercial farmers use almost nothing but hybrids, so don't expect growers who target the farming market to produce the OP types you want.

There are a tremendous number of open-pollinated and hybrid varieties out there that have no legal restrictions on propagation. Buy them, plant them, cross them, spread them around. Free plants for everyone, as David the Good says.

Cornelius

I found this site and they are trying to fight back against patented seeds: https://rockymountainseeds.org/no-patents-on-seeds/

VermontCathy

The best way to fight back is to do research and never buy patented plants or PVP seeds, and try to buy open-pollinated varieties instead of hybrids whenever possible.

Avoid plants like Prime-Ark patented blackberries, Albion patented strawberries, Diamante patented strawberries, and so forth. Don't reward them for patenting their plant varieties.

I grow a few hybrids here and there, such as a few tomato varieties, but I am finding that you can have a wonderfully productive garden full of peas, beans, potatoes, lettuce, spinach, claytonia, mache, chard, onions, garlic, and strawberries without using a single hybrid variety, much less a patented plant.

Cornelius

I currently like to buy from Baker Creek at rareseeds.com and I stick to heirlooms (I also love to read about the history of the variety).

@VermontCathy Thank you! I agree, but some groups are trying to make it illegal to patent naturally occurring things in general (they are even trying to patent live stock) (GMO stuff can still be patented since the person actually artificially changed something). I think boycotting, spreading awareness, and lobbying will yield the best fruit (pun intended).

VermontCathy

I am also a fan of Baker Creek. They are one of my top 3 suppliers. I even have some of their Old North Sea strawberries gradually propagating themselves into more beds.

Cornelius, I agree that patents on natural seeds or plants are bad, but most of us can't do much directly to fight them. I would argue that the most important thing we can accomplish is to make sure that a wide variety of heirloom open-pollinated varieties continue to remain available. We can't take this for granted. Many varieties have already been lost.

By buying, planting, and seed-saving open-pollinated varieties, we can do our best to preserve these choices for future generations.