Breeding of woody plants in Europe

Traditionally trees and shrub cultivars resulted from chance selection in the nursery or from sports found in nature. The origin of new cultivars today can be manifold. As well as the traditional selection procedures, hardy woody plants of the temperate zone are being bred more and more in specialised nurseries. Numerous new cultivars often dwarf, have resulted from gamma radiation of plants. Newer methods of breeding have been introduced using gene technology methods. This paper gives an overview of the actual situation in Europe with examples from the main genera being bred such as Calluna, fruit trees, roses, street trees, Rhododendron, and other ornamental hardy woody plants.