|
Thu, Apr 15, 10 at 22:19
| Wintersown last year, planted out in late June. Just starting to return. About 4" across right now.
Wintersown in January from collected seed, about 1/2" across.
Anyone have experience with hosta? Are they always plain green? |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by plantrancherbecca (My Page) on Thu, Apr 15, 10 at 23:18
| What a lovely baby token! There are approximately a bazillion different varieties of hosta. They can have yellow, dark green, light green, and white varigated leaves as well as solid green hues. Some are tiny and only grow to be about 6 inches tall while others spread out four feet across and three+ feet tall. Some leaves are spikey while others, like yours, are more spoon shaped. Some leaves are curly and others flat. Some do great in full sun while others struggle with too much exposure and need shade. This hosta looks as if it may be the variety that produces deliciously fragrant white flowers and does well in the sun (at least up here in MN). If it's the type I'm thinking of mine are very robust - after four seasons they're about three feet across and bloom all of August and September. Enjoy! |
|
| I grow hosta from seed, I find that just like humans, they tend to look like their parents. Yellow hosta make mostly yellow babies, blue hosta make mostly blue. The only streaked seedling I ever grew came from a pack of streaked hosta seeds I received on the seed exchange forum. Hope that helps. |
|
| I've read, from the hosta forum, that the majority of hosta seedlings will be green, but it's that little gem you'll find amongst all the greens that makes it worth growing them from seed. But give them a few years. Sometimes what may look like a plain ol' green hosta when a youngin' may turn into something unexpected. Nice babies, btw! Karen |
|
| I'm WSing some Hostas...I have found that they are very finicky about when they decide to germinate, I don't know about your experience. I've had one woken up about the same size as your little one for quite some time. I have other cups still sleeping. I have them in a tray with daylilies, same experience (one came up very early, one just a week ago, the others still sleeping). I'm just excited to have free Daylilies and Hostas (well in two years from now!) |
|
- Posted by token28001 zone7b NC (My Page) on Fri, Apr 16, 10 at 9:05
| I had great germination this year. One pack of seeds was marked green and yellow. All the babies are green, but I know they could turn a bit as they mature. Last year I sowed 10 packs of seeds from variegated and green plants. Still, all came out green. I guess I'll just have to wait and divide the variegated ones I purchased last year. |
|
| I agree with plantrancherbecca as to possible variety. I have a lovely green one with large white flowers that almost look like lillies. It smells heavenly. Someone told me the fragrant ones are older varieties, but I don't know. I got this hosta from someone about 30 years ago and it had been in his garden for many years. I just got a packet of mixed hosta seeds in a trade. Can I still WS them? or do they need cold strat? |
|
- Posted by bookjunky4life 5 Central IL (My Page) on Fri, Apr 16, 10 at 11:43
| I WS'd hostas (first time WSer) and have just gotten dozens of little hosta sprouts in the latter part of this week. They are the cutest little things. I always think about free vs. cost to buy retail. What does a hosta cost retail? Like $3-$6? Take $5 times 36 and that's $180 bucks if you bought that many. Question though. At what point should I plant out the sprouts into my shade garden? |
|
- Posted by gardenweed_z6a 6 (My Page) on Fri, Apr 16, 10 at 16:51
| I harvested seeds from my hosta last year and have 1 jug WS but no sprouts yet. The seeds I planted in pots last spring which sprouted and grew through the season went dormant in the fall and I set the pots inside a storage bin inside the garage for the winter. They're all up again this year and a couple are variegated!! I'm so excited. They really are cute. I have quite a few named varieties with lovely leaf colors and forms. I plan to harvest seeds again this year and see what I get from those. Token, I'd be happy to save seeds for you of the ones I've got. Check the pictures on the hosta library website of these: Dream Weaver, El Nino, Kiwi Full Monty, Liberty, Minuteman, Great Expectations, Dancing in the Rain and Knockout. I have others but those are really beautiful. |
|
- Posted by token28001 zone7b NC (My Page) on Fri, Apr 16, 10 at 20:14
| Thanks Eileen. These are my two variegated types. So any additions to these would be great. And it's not that I don't like the plain green ones, but the colors are always so similar, it's hard to tell them apart.
|
|
- Posted by northerner_on Z5A ONCanada (My Page) on Sat, Apr 17, 10 at 6:02
| Token, you are in for quite and adventure. It is such fun growing Hostas from seed. The first year I started WSing I received some as a bonus in an exchange. At that time I didn't even think that someone would harvest Hosta seeds! But they germinated and were the cutest things ever. I don't know what the parents were, but after about 3 years, the four plants I retained turned out to be blue with white flowers. White flowering Hostas are my preference, so I was really lucky with this batch. In addition, they produce seeds. The only other Hosta I have which produces seed is my Yellow River. I have traded its seeds but never grew any myself. It would be interesting to see what they produce. There's something for next year's list. |
|
- Posted by gardenweed_z6a 6 (My Page) on Sat, Apr 17, 10 at 7:16
| I watched my named varieties carefully last year and made up labels so when I harvested the seeds I'd be able to keep them separated according to cultivar name. I harvested the seeds as they ripened and set them to dry. By the time I could have traded a few, I'd read they wouldn't come true from seed so I chucked them all (sound of breaking glass). No more than a week later someone on the WS forum asked if I had any hosta seeds. I admitted to throwing them out. I still had a few I'd put in a little salad dressing cup but they weren't labeled. Lesson learned: never throw away ANY seeds, for ANY reason, under ANY circumstances!!! They don't need cold strat. either because the ones I grew last year from seed were set in pots June 20 in a sunny window. They finally went dormant in December. My favorite is Dream Weaver but El Nino has to be one of the most elegant blues out there. It produced flowers & seeds for the first time last year. Yup!! Tossed those out along with the rest!! |
|
| Ive got three hosta seedlings from last year. The biggest one is kinda like Token's photo, only not quite 4" across. I put them near where the sump pump lets out, so they got plenty of h20. Ive got a bunch of ws pots out there with more too! you gotta look at what this guy does http://www.hostalibrary.org/seed/indoors/seed.html he goes nuts with the hostas! |
Here is a link that might be useful: hosta guy
|
- Posted by gardenweed_z6a 6 (My Page) on Sat, Apr 17, 10 at 11:40
| Doris, that's where I got the idea to try growing them from seed. I used to cut the flower stems off because I didn't like them but a couple years ago I decided to go ahead and see what the flowers looked like. The white-flowering types have gorgeous flowers. I knew they set seed pods but last year was the first time I watched the pods ripen on the flower stalks before harvesting them. The hosta library is where I go to see what a cultivar looks like. There's one I really, really want but can't find for a reasonable price. It's named 'Grey Goose' and the color is amazing. I checked with John O'Brien here in CT and he doesn't have it. |
|
| I WS a load of hostas last year from trade seeds. From March sowings, I didn't have sprouts until May, but they did well from then on. They were still too small (in my opinion-my shade garden isn't close enough for me to pamper them) to put out all alone so I potted them in individual pots & sunk the pots in the garden to overwinter. Of almost 3 flats of pots there were only 3 pots that haven't sprouted. So far all are green, but some are still little spikes, so I'm being patient. My only questions-do you think I should repot them in larger pots to let them grow up before trusting them to nature? A question for those of you who have collected seeds-when & how? I have well established varigated green with a lot of white that are divisions from plants my Mother had for years & would like to experiment with saving my own seed. They have pale lilac flowers, but I've never noticed seeds. Maybe when you grow up with something around you take it for granted, so I never even thought about looking for seeds! Any advice? |
|
- Posted by gardenweed_z6a 6 (My Page) on Sat, Apr 17, 10 at 13:08
| jessew - after the flowers fade, seed pods will form on the flower stems. They look like short green beans. As the seeds ripen, the pods gradually turn to a light tan color. The pods will split open when the seeds are ripe. The seeds are covered in a dry, black/brown paper-thin tissue. If you Google hosta + seed + image you'll have lots of pictures to see. All mine ripened at different times starting in August and going right into November. I noted the date when I sowed them last year--June 20--so they don't need cold stratification to germinate. It cracks me up they're breaking dormancy already and coming up in the quart pots I planted them in. No reason you can't pot them in gallon pots since they tend to have pretty good-sized root systems. If deer are a problem where you live, the hosta seedlings don't stand a chance. I'm growing them in pots until they get some size to them while I decide where to plant them. |
|
| Thanks! Deer are one of my big concerns-luckily I've figured out that some areas are worse than others, so I just don't plant in the problem spots! |
|
- Posted by gardenweed_z6a 6 (My Page) on Sat, Apr 17, 10 at 17:11
| Woohoo!!! Happy sprout dance!! My hosta 'El Nino' has sprouted in the WS jug!! I just went out and had a look. The sprouts are too tiny to even take a picture of yet but I can see them. They're definitely hosta sprouts--I can see from their pointy shape. 'El Nino' is a medium-size, gorgeous blue with just a thin edging of creamy white. I read (somewhere) the seeds are sterile but obviously whoever said that didn't try to WS them!! |
|
| Nice, token! Karen |
|
- Posted by prairiemoon2 (My Page) on Sun, Dec 26, 10 at 11:57
| Wondering if anyone took photos of their hosta seedlings over the summer? :-) |
|
| was wondering if anyone has some hosta seed they would like to share as i think i may try this ws thing. i told my husband i would find a way to garden all year around other than my houseplants :). but if anyone has seeds they would like to share please let me know. thanks so much in advance. |
|
- Posted by gardenweed_z6a (My Page) on Sun, Dec 26, 10 at 14:58
| ymaddox - I tried to email you but it was returned undelivered. I have hosta seeds for you--send me an email if you are interested. |
|
- Posted by just1morehosta 5 (My Page) on Sun, Dec 26, 10 at 16:53
| Me too, if your interested. I have some Great Lakes Gold left,and a few Sagae. cAROL |
|
| i have tried and tried to fix that on my gardenweb acct. and it wont work. email is ymaddox1970@yahoo.com. that is so very kind of you and i appreciate it- god bless. I ordered a bunch of seed from groco on ebay and am going to try to get some hosta seed as well from a different company so if i do win the bids i will be happy to share with you as well. again that is so very kind of you...thanks! |
|
- Posted by gardenweed_z6a (My Page) on Sun, Dec 26, 10 at 17:37
| ymaddox - that email address didn't work either--I got a failed transmission email. Why don't you try to email me through my GardenWeb Member Page. |
|
| carol i would love to have seeds from you as well...my email is posted and i have tried to correct it anyway and everyway i can...gardenweb is not my friend today apparently :). thanks and god bless! |
|
- Posted by just1morehosta 5 (My Page) on Sun, Dec 26, 10 at 20:21
| ymaddox,please send me an e mail,this will be easier.I have plenty of hosta, no need to send me any, but thank you so much for the kind offer,:0) cAROL |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Winter Sowing Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.