Criminal activity in the world of plant propagation - Jeanie
While it is great to take cuttings and seeds from our friends and family’s plants to expand our collections, there is legislation in place, and some practices are less OK thank others. Apparently plant breeders, plant sellers and plant owners have rights too! Of course it is usually fine to take cuttings and create new plants from purchased plants too, but Plant Breeders’ Rights give breeders control over the propagating materials from their new cultivar (that they spent ages creating) for up to 20 years! That even includes cuttings and seeds from generations of “daughters” of a patented plant. So, you might buy a lovely strawberry plant or gorgeous shrub from a garden centre, but propagating from it could be a violation of plant patent and regarded as stealing. I wouldn’t worry too much - the plant-police are unlikely to come knocking at your garden gate if you are propagating for your own use - but you can be prosecuted if you intend to sell ...