Will a Plant Pollinated by a Hermaphrodite Produce Female Seeds?

Ratio

• A plant pollinated by a hermaphrodite plant doesn't only produce female seeds. While the plant may produce some female seeds, the plant may also produce hermaphrodite or male seeds. Usually there is a ratio of type of seed such plants produce. For example, hermaphrodite papyrus plants produce one female seed for every two hermaphrodite seeds they produce.

Self-Pollination

• Some hermaphrodite plants produce only hermaphrodite seeds if they pollinate themselves. These plants can continually self-produce, so they don't need to pollinate other plants to continue surviving. Maize is an example of one such plant -- if it is pollenated by a male plant, it'll create hermaphrodite and male seeds, and will produce only hermaphrodite seeds if it pollinates itself.

How to Plant

• If you have plants that are capable of producing hermaphrodite seeds, plant seedlings in accordance with the ratio of hermaphrodite offspring to female or male offspring. For example, papyrus plants produce female to hermaphrodite seeds at a 1:2 ratio, so you should plant three seedlings per hole to ensure you get hermaphrodite seeds. Conversely, if you have a plant that produces an equal number of hermaphrodite and binary-gendered seeds, plant at least five seeds per hole.

Considerations

• Some hermaphrodite plants don't produce female seeds at all. Make sure you plant enough seeds from these plants to ensure you get some hermaphrodite seeds, as male plants may not produce the flowers or fruit that you are trying to grow. Don't expose hermaphrodite plants to severe temperature extremes, as that can cause them to become one gender or the other and not bear fruit properly.