Vent: That guy at the plant swap who insisted hybrids are worthless

Met this older dude at the spring swap in Austin last month. He spent 10 minutes telling me my variegated monstera was a 'gimmick' and that only straight species matter. Said he'd been growing for 40 years and anything hybrid was 'impure.' I just walked away mid-sentence. Anyone else run into these purists who act like nature is a purity test?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancy47515d agoMost Upvoted

That 'gimmick' comment would've made me walk away too. In my experience, the whole purity thing feels more like gatekeeping than actual plant knowledge, since hybrids often bring hardier traits to the table that straight species can't match.

morgan.logan15d ago

Wait, does that mean my prize-winning spider plant is just a fancy mutt?

nancygrant11d ago

My friend who gardens up in Dallas had a similar thing happen at their local swap last year. Some guy lectured her for twenty minutes about how her 'Black Beauty' eggplant was just a man made freak. She let him finish, then pointed out that the heirloom tomatoes he was bragging about were actually hybrids developed in the 1800s. He got all quiet and walked away to pet someone's snake plant. She still laughs about it whenever she sees those eggplants at the grocery store. Funny how the purists never seem to know the history of the plants they love.