WinglessAngel
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Leeks and Cross Pollination?

So ok I ended up purchasing some leek seeds to try out and they should be here in a couple days but I have a concern about what plants Not to plant them near. I am not really finding much out on the internet other than the fact that they can cross pollinate with onions. Ok so in my view that's probably not a bad thing as I plan on using them in place of onions anyway. My concern is will they cross pollinate in my pumpkin and cantaloupe field? I have soy beans also and will have tomatoes as well. I am totally at a loss as to where to find more detailed info on what plants they can and can't be planted near. TIA! :D

WinglessAngel
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Oh and they are American Flag/Giant Mussleburgh variety. So if planted now I would have nice leeks say in September going forward which I am fine with having a later crop for these also.

JayPoc
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Hmm...I may be misunderstanding your question...

Leeks and onions are from the same family of plants...they *may* be able to hybridize to some degree...not sure. I can tell you that there is no chance that they could "cross pollinate" with any of those other types of plants you mentioned. Using an animal analogy, that's something like asking if a kangaroo and a spider could breed.

there may be some other compatibility issues, but not related to cross pollination...

WinglessAngel
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Ok thank you, I did find one blog that mentioned that they are not well suited for planting near beans so my soy bean area will be out the rest I won't worry about then.

imafan26
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I have leeks, shallots, garden chives, garlic chives, and green onions planted in my garden. It is possible they could cross, but it hasn't happened yet. Green onions don't bloom until their second year, and I pull my leeks before they bloom. The chives don't always bloom at the same time.

Plants can only pollinate with their close relatives not with members of different families or family members that have different number of chromosomes.

If you are saving seeds from the onions, it might be better to isolate them from each other, or not collect seeds if two species are blooming at the same time and may have crossed. Otherwise, it really does not matter.

Onions are great companion plants and repel a lot of insects from other plants.
But they should not be planted near beans and peas. They actually attract the same pest, black aphids.

WinglessAngel
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Thank you :)

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jal_ut
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Unless you are saving seed it does not matter one whit what a plant may cross pollinate with.

The only one exception to that statement is corn which actually depends some on the pollen that fertilizes the ear for the flavor of that ear.

As noted, onions are likely the only thing you may be growing that the leeks might cross with. If you are like me and clip the bloom off any onions so the energy will go to the bulb, not the seed, there will be no flowers to spread pollen anyway.

WinglessAngel
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Thanks Jal, the one thing I was worried about was having sweet items near them like my cantaloupes and pumpkins, which the pumpkins by the way are doing awesome! I was concerned they might still be flowering. I've never grown them before but I just realized (smack my head) these wouldn't be flowering really until the end of the growing season for the cantaloupes and pumpkins etc anyway lol They're a 150 day variety. lol Sorry lack of sleep when I posted this thread.



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