Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
shellhoya

Any pictures of Hosta seeds sprouting?

shellhoya
13 years ago

This year is my first attempt at starting Hosta seeds. (These were wintersown outdoors in containers, so I may technically be on the wrong forum, but I figure seedlings are seedlings so somebody here may be able to help.) I have a few things sprouting in my containers, but I'm sure some of them are invaders that look suspiciously like grass, LOL. I noticed a few more things today that each looked like a small single root, but growing out sideways on top of the soil. I suspect these might be from hosta seeds that didn't get covered well by the soil. Does anyone have pictures of brand new seedlings, just as they are sprouting from the seeds? I've found alot of pictures of young hosta plants with their leaves, but none that show what they look like just as they are sprouting from the seed. If anybody has some, could you post pictures? Thanks!

Comments (11)

  • digdirt2
    13 years ago

    Can't help sorry but I bet the folks over on the Hosta forum could. But it would be far better if you would post your picture of what you have. That way they could tell you which is which. Looking at other folks pictures isn't really going to be of any help to you.

    If all else fails just let everything there keep growing. It will soon become clear which is which.

    Dave

  • jeanne
    13 years ago

    Hostas don't have seed leaves so the very first leaf will look just like a hosta. I've wintersown mine for years with very good results. I don't have any sprouts yet so it sounds like yours are ahead of mine. If they are really hostas above the soil line you should be able to see the seed coat, it will be black, oval and flat.

    Hope that helps.
    Jeanne

  • sherri09
    13 years ago

    I'm growing some hostas from seed inside this year, I'm also a first timer for these. I'll take some photos tomorrow & post them. Mine are about a month old, but there are a few germinating late which may be more what you're looking for. Jeanne is right, they don't have seed leaves and at least on mine the leaves did't come in pairs either. Mine came up one tiny hosta leaf at a time.

  • shellhoya
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks to Jeanne and sherri09 for your replies, very helpful! I hope you can post some pics of your seeds germinating (sherri), that would be good to compare to mine. Jeanne, what I've seen so far....a single white root(?) coming out of one of those seed coats, and then the next day a little green point coming out the other side. I really think this is it! I feel like someone hoping for a baby, looking at the sonogram, LOL!

  • sherri09
    13 years ago

    Here are the pictures. Sorry about the quality, my camera just doesn't take great closeups. I got as close as I could without it being too fuzzy.

    These are some younger seedlings. If you look on the left side, you'll see one with a bigger leaf, then just to the right of that one are 2 babies that came up late. They have just 1 leaf that is kind of curled in a cone as it emerges. These were sown on 3/6, so are about 45 days old. The majority came up after 2 weeks, but there were some stranglers that just started to come up recently. I read that sometimes the varigated ones take longer to come up, (that is if we're lucky enough to get any!) so you may want to keep an eye out for at least a month or so. In the bottom right of the photo you can see the ones which came up earlier w/ 2 or 3 leaves.

    {{gwi:237363}}

    Here are the ones I sowed a little earlier on 2/25. Most have at least 3 leaves now. The new leaves come up from the center curled up in a cone just like the first leaf. I transplanted these out of their community flat to individual ones about 2 weeks ago. From what I've read, hostas love to be transplanted & they will experience a growth spurt each time they are moved.

    {{gwi:237365}}

    Good luck! I hope this helps some.

  • shellhoya
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks Sherri, those pictures are just what I was looking for! I have a few very tiny but recognizable hostas now. Your pictures verified that!

    I see your "older" babies are now in individual pots. When should I split mine up, after so many leaves appear, at a certain height? Or should I just leave them together if they don't come up real thick? I planted them in plain old topsoil as suggested by the wintersowing folks. When I repot, they probably need some good potting soil, right?

    I'm also not sure what to do with them since they're outside. Being wintersown, they're in translucent plastic tote boxes with holes in the lids for ventilation, and in the bottom for drainage (basically small greenhouses). They get alot of condensation inside and I'm afraid they might be staying too damp. I don't want to leave the tops off all the time, in case of a downpour, but am wondering if I should take the tops off on sunny days to give them more light and air? Maybe somebody who wintersows can step in and help me on that question!

  • shellhoya
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Addition to previous message, as far as the possibility of too much moisture/not enough air circulation.....there is some green moss starting to grow on the soil in my containers. I've seen this on other people's pictures of older seedlings, so don't know if I should be concerned. I did read one post that said the moss will cause "damping off" on these very young seedlings. I don't want to kill my babies when they're just getting started!

    I just went out and took the lids off completely for the night, and set the containers under my grill for some protection. We're supposed to be getting rain and I don't want the babies swimming in there. I put some holes in the bottom for drainage, but not enough to keep up with a heavy downpour.

    Should I try scraping the moss off that's growing on top of the soil? I saw this mentioned in the other post. What about the moisture level....I read that the soil is supposed to be kept moist for starting seedlings, but maybe there's too much moisture in there. I did notice a couple of new sprouts that look a bit yellow.

    Now that I'm actually seeing results, I have so many more questions, LOL! Any tips would be much appreciated!

  • jeanne
    13 years ago

    Congratulations! I came home tonight to see my first hosta sprouts of the season as well! I "wintersow" mine, but not in the traditional sense - I just sow mine in 4 inch containers and leave them out for the winter. They take the rain and snow just fine, I just have to make sure not to put them in the drip line of the house or anywhere that rain would be concentrated. I've never had luck with the covered winter sowing method, and I've read of plenty of people who tried it my way and didn't get a thing to grow. Probably the best way is to try a bunch of different things and see what works for you. But it sounds like you're doing it right if you have babies!

    BTW, I sow my seeds in the very best potting mix I can get my hands on. It really is worth it when you see how much better the seedlings do. At this point I wouldn't worry about the mossy growth, you can take care of that when you transplant them.

    I leave my hosta seedlings until they get crowded and since they are mostly mini and smalls they can fit 3 or 4 to a container the first year. Larger seedlings get potted up for the local plant swap when they start crowding the others. Sherri09 is right, they do seem to like being moved around but I'm usually too busy to worry about it until they need it.

  • bukasmom
    9 years ago

    Thank you,everyone.I found your posts very educational.I could not ID my hosta seedlings.I made a note when sowing to come back and label them buuutttt.....,so anyway thank you.

  • spazmelda
    9 years ago

    I'm late to this, but I happen to have some hosta seedlings at various stages so I thought I'd post the pics.

    These are some seeds I got off of ebay. I germinated them on a moist paper towel inside a zip lock (started June 3rd). June 16th there were quite a few that had germinated, so I placed them in potting soil. This is what some of the more advanced ones looked like this morning (June 19). Some of the others aren't as far along and haven't sent up a leaf yet.

  • spazmelda
    9 years ago

    Some that I planted earlier (May?).