Pixie Seeds to grow out

[babylark]

I was given some Pixie seeds from a friend who's uncle used to grow them. I didn't have success with the seeds (I think they sprouted and then didn't keep growing). I only have 4 seeds left and would love someone who is more experienced then to maybe try them.

I'll send them to someone if they will send back fresh seeds if it works.
THANKS!

[phreddy]

What is a pixie?

[dice]

What is a pixie?

Miniature plant, red cherry tomatoes:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/30728/

(Top level index to this database:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/fin...&submit=submit
)

[phreddy]

Thanks Dice, had a look at that & noted that it does not set seed or will not come true!!!

[dice]

...it does not set seed or will not come true

In the NCSU cultivar list (
http://cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/cucurbit/w...vgclintro.html
), I looked in "Tomato, J-R", searched for "Pixie", and I found this:

"Pixie - Breeder and vendor: W. Atlee Burpee Co. Characteristics: F1 hybrid, dwarf erect extremely early for pot culture. Similar:
Patio Hybrid. Adaptation: wide. 1971."

So that would be a hybrid that would not come true from
seed. But it has been used as a parent strain, because
I also found this:

"Northern Delight - Breeder and vendor: Idaho Agric. Expt. Sta.,
Moscow. Parentage: Pixie x Sub-Arctic Early. Characteristics:
short determinate vine, very early season, small fruit, cold
tolerance. Adaptation: home and market gardens in cool
growing areas. North Dakota Farm Research 47:14-15. 1989."

(That would be Moscow, Idaho, USA, by the way.)

So it may not breed true, but it is apparently fertile
and probably does produce seeds (female parent
is by custom shown as the first cultivar name in a
"cultivar1 x cultivar2" description of a hybrid, and
the breeders could not have used it as the female
parent of a cross if it did not produce seeds).

There are also "Pixie II" and "Orange Pixie" cultivars
found in commercial vendor online catalogs. I do not
know what relationship they may have if any to the Pixie
released by Burpee in 1971.

So seeds from Pixie would have been F2, possibly saved
with the intent of growing out selections until an OP
version derived from the hybrid Pixie was stabilized.

Other good places to look up cultivar descriptions
(and/or pictures):

Tania's Tomatobase:
http://t-garden.homeip.net/mwiki/index.php/Main_Page

Cornell database:
http://vegvariety.cce.cornell.edu/ma...ESC&searchIn=1

Tomatosite:
http://www.tomatosite.com/index.php?...habetical_List

Jeff Nekola's archive:
http://sev.lternet.edu/~jnekola/Heirloom/plantlist.htm

Reinhardt Kraft's site:
http://translate.google.com/translat...language_tools

Tomodori's search engine for tomatoes:
http://www.tomodori.com/tomato.php

[Soilsniffer]

Pixie was a favorite of popular gardener & author Dick Raymond. He would plant Pixie indoors in Oct and Nov, and have small red fruit to eat in Jan and Feb. Very cold tolerant. I haven't been able to find Pixie, ever, for 4 years now.

J

[Wi-sunflower]

I don't have seeds for Pixie, but I do have seeds for Pixie II that I've saved and are at least F-3 or F-4. Burpee discontinued Pixie II at least 4 or 5 years ago

They do breed true for the most part. I have had just a few plants that make a sprawly plant instead of a dwarf. But I blame that on a worker that collected fruit from the wrong plants a couple of years ago.

Send me a PM if you want any seeds.