Tomatoville® Gardening Forums - View Single Post - Are store bought seeds for hybrid tomato always F1?

VirginiaClay · February 2, 2022

For the larger sellers like Tomato Growers, Johnny's, Burpee, Park Seed, Gurney's, etc., yes, you can be confident that what they are selling is F1 hybrid seed. At Tomato Grower's specifically, they put "hybrid" in the product name to indicate that it's F1, and you will get F1 seed for those varieties.

At some of the reputable smaller tomato seed sellers specializing in heirlooms/OP, you need to read the descriptions carefully, all the way to the end. They're not trying to deceive anyone, but some do sell dehybridized (fully or partially) versions of popular hybrids, so you need to check. For example, Knapp's sells a number of popular hybrids (Celebrity, for example) that are their own saved seeds, and they state that clearly at the bottom of the description. Delectation of Tomatoes has some also, but again, they tell you that in the description. If it's their own saved seed, it won't be exactly the same as the hybrid, though it might be close.

February 2, 2022	#3
VirginiaClay Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: Virginia, USA Posts: 117	For the larger sellers like Tomato Growers, Johnny's, Burpee, Park Seed, Gurney's, etc., yes, you can be confident that what they are selling is F1 hybrid seed. At Tomato Grower's specifically, they put "hybrid" in the product name to indicate that it's F1, and you will get F1 seed for those varieties. At some of the reputable smaller tomato seed sellers specializing in heirlooms/OP, you need to read the descriptions carefully, all the way to the end. They're not trying to deceive anyone, but some do sell dehybridized (fully or partially) versions of popular hybrids, so you need to check. For example, Knapp's sells a number of popular hybrids (Celebrity, for example) that are their own saved seeds, and they state that clearly at the bottom of the description. Delectation of Tomatoes has some also, but again, they tell you that in the description. If it's their own saved seed, it won't be exactly the same as the hybrid, though it might be close.