Anyone WS hosta seeds?

I'm getting a few varieties of hosta seeds, plus have a few of my own that i plucked in the fall --

but how well do these WS?

IF they do well........ I"m VERY excited about getting some new hostas and having more Frosted Jades. [i just love mine].

any info would be great,

Terese

Terese,

I'm trying hostas, but this is my first year for winter sowing so I'll have to wait and see. I've read on another forum that people have lots of seedlings from winter sowing hosta seeds. So...what do we have to lose? :-) I had lots of seeds from mine, so it's just costing me the price for potting soil.

Rose

Thanks Rose.... i was going to post on the Hosta forum.. but i know many of them have much more elaborate set ups, and probably do not WS them.

Hosta WS well. I sowed a mixed bunch of seeds from a friend's garden in the winter of 2005-2006. Some I sowed in December, 2005; by March, 2006, I saw no germination and was getting worried, so I tested some seed by sprouting them in a wet paper towel inside. Well, those sprouted, so I planted them and put them outside with the rest. Hah! ALL of the pots showed germination by April, 2006 and I ended up with about 20 seedlings! Lesson learned? They'll sprout when they are good and ready.

Here's a link to the babies:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/77/184233762_c3b7545d73_o.jpg

PV

I did neglect them during their first year, and 13 of them survived. I ended up giving away most of those, and kept 4 for myself, 2 of which managed to survive me.

Those two grew well, but slowly. Since this was my first try at hosta from seed, I don't know whether that was a good thing or not, but they are alive!

Link to my seed-grown hosta in the summer of 2007:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1150/526630478_d18c2097aa_o.jpg

I don't know what the original cultivars were, but all of the seedlings ended up plain green.

PV

thanks PV... i do recall seeing pics of peeps doing the "paper towel" method... or even using white coffee filters.
I will have to remember that.

You're welcome, Terese. I did the paper towel thing 'cause I got worried; turned out it wasn't necessary, because the pots sown in December (sans pre-sprouting) germinated too.

PV

Terese- I have some tiny seedlings coming up from my hosta 'Red Hot Flash' that I wsed back in December. So I think that you should give it a try:-) Having said that, most open pollinated seeds will be just be green, but you never know. That's the fun of growing your own, so to speak, lol! There is a lot of info on the hosta threads about pollinating and making crosses. At this point, that's a little intense for me. I just wanted to see what happened with the seeds that showed up on their own.

here were two thread i found....
2006 from Marie http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/588727/
and 2007 from Laura [largosmom] http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/688985/

Two very good sources! Here's to your future hosta offspring:-))
Bev

well, i put the links there so i could find them again.
But i will probably get on this during the week, and just see what happens.

I have some seeds here, and getting some in a swap... so if i have luck with mine - I'll give the other ones a try too.

I just read some of the thread that you posted on the hosta forum, tcs and it is a little over my head. I think that I will just watch my milk jugs and see what happens! I'll probably end up with 100's of little green hostas! The coffee filter method looks interesting. You can see them starting, but I have no place to put them while it's still cold outside. Fun way to pass the time during sub zero weather, though!

Rose

Rose... maybe I'll do a few seeds each way. i have not counted to see how many Frosted Jades I have... but certainly enough to WS some, and do some in coffee filters in the house.

I hope winter sowing is ok too, because I have. I also started a few inside, (you know ,just in case) ha ha The ones I put inside are coming up. Don't know about the ones outside, but I think I'm going to go ahead, get brave and ws the others I have.
I got them in a trade and I don't know what they are. I have quite a few in my beds, but they are all plain old green ones. I want to start some different ones too

Oh Lorraine..... have you ventured into the Hosta Forum yet?? you will be addicted to these babies if you do.

Terese

Over in the hosta forum, I thought I read that seed doesn't look like the mother plants, will most likely just be green.

yes -- i did read that too. but you'll never know what you're gonna get... maybe something that turns out cool.... but, yes, the odds are it will be green.

I read that, too about the chances of them being all green. Does the size stay the same? I know I've read that it takes a long, long time for them to reach a mature size, but will they usually be the size of the parent plant? I got some Jurassic Park seeds, and I'm hoping that if they germinate, they will grow to the monster size of the parent plant. They are dark green, so don't expect any pretty colors anyway.

I wish I knew for sure, I have plenty of plain green that I can get starts from in the spring. Maybe I'll do just one pot, just can't decide!

Here are my babies in the house and also have some in jugs outside and planted two small beds outside in Nov. It is fun no matter what they turn out to be. BEV
These were taken a week ago and they are peeking over the tops of the cups now. They are in an aquarium with the light on 24-7

Bev,

You are using a regular aquarium and light? That sounds like an easy way to grow them inside, and keep them out of the way. I'll have to go yard-sale shopping this summer and see if I can find one!

Rose

Rose, It is working out fine. BEV They are two weeks old now and I have them up to the light as far as they wil go. Here they are

close up

Do you have them in a south window? I thought I read somewhere to keep the young plants out of the sun so they don't burn. Or is that just outside in the direct sun? Looks like an easy way to grow them, though!

They are in a south window that has plastic over it. It has been so cold her that it does not get hot. The aquarium light is on 24-7 though. If it got too hot I have a curtian for filtered light. It is very easy from the other ways that I have read. Do you live up by Chicago? Do you have very many hostas? I have 115 out in the yard and garden. BEV

OK, Dragonfly, you're really making me mad now!! I want my hostas to sprout too. It's not fair (sucking my thumb)
I put mine in the aquarium about the same time you did so they best get going.

Have patients. They will come. BEV

Bev,

We're about 3 hours from Chicago, or about an hour south of the Quad Cities, along the Mississippi. I have over 300 different varieties of hostas (with several more ordered this spring!).

Rose

Ok, I have little baby hostas in my aquarium I used to germinate them. There are little baby heads poking out of the soil. I'm so excited. I'll probably make them go back underground if I don't quit looking at them
Rose, the jealous me came out when I read how many hostas you have.
Someone on the hosta forum told me they all started green. How do you know what you have. I want to get some different ones cause I've got them in different places and I thought they'd be pretty with different looking ones

Lorraine,

The hostas that I mentioned in the above thread are actually plants that I have purchased. I'm not sure what I'll end up with the seeds that I've sown, if any make it! I don't think I'll be seeing anything anytime too soon, though. You are so lucky to be enjoying little green sprouts already!

Rose

Llittle darlin's, they just sit there smiling at me. I love it. There's only about 5 that are coming up, but maybe the rest are just slow.
Good luck with your seeds

I WS 4 kinds so I am anxious also to see what happens with them.

Since i'm finally getting to my winter sowing, I did get 2 jugs of hostas.
I'm doing Frosted Jade and Sagae. I know they will not come true .... but if they are like their "parent"
at least they will be big, right?

I'll post back if i get any growth.

I had just about given up hope... but low and behold, when i checked this morning.... there is was. Tiny as ever, but it's a baby!! very very small, 2cm maybe .... but YAY, they germinated. 2 Sagae babies. and 1 Frosted Jade.

took 2 months for germination ...

Several of mine are coming up, too! I did 4 containers of 'Jurassic Park' and all of them have small sprouts in them! I was ready to give up, too! Glad I didn't. I'm hoping that the seedlings will be as large as the plant that I got them from. Not sure where I'll put them if they do grow that big :-)

Planted these in the house in Jan. only took 2 weeks to come up but are still small peobably need to go out side as soon as weather stays in the 70s. I have 6 differant ones. BEV

Here are my streaked ones

And some Korean Snow with red stems.

Yours look very nice! Mine are still pretty small. Should I put them in pots for this first season, or would they do better in the ground? Also, do you let them get more root bound before you take them out of the milk jug?

Mine have been growing since Jan. and are still small but I just transplanted half into peat squares about 6 weeks ago. Mine need to be outside in the ground but I have such a problem with slugs and cutworms I will wait another two weeks and hope to treat the ground for those again. I have some in two small beds in the garden and they just barly have one small leaf. I hope they do not get distroyed. I wouldn't up pot or plant outside till they have at least three true leaves. This is my first time for winter sowing so am no expert. Read up on hallsons and ask Chris. Hope this helps. BEV