Re: Hosta from seed was: Gardening Partners

No, I haven't written on this and I have not been able to find an article
specifically about this from a relatively short web search of likely spots,
so one may be out there somewhere.

Since hybrid Hosta don't generally come true from seed and they divide so
easily, I rather doubt much has been written about growing them from seed.

Seed germinates pretty readily in warmth, esp. if it's fresh.  Sow as you
would any other perennial (I top my pots with granite grit) and put outside
or inside where the temperature will stay around 68-70F...don't suppose a
bit warmer or cooler makes much difference, but a lot might.  Have read
that if they don't germinate in three weeks, putting the pots in the fridge
for a couple of weeks and then bringing them back out to warmth might do
the trick.  In my unscientific way, it seems to me that some Hosta seed
germinates better than others, or, perhaps it is that some plants set more
viable seed.  Each seed pod is full of papery thin seed and I've never
taken the time to candle it to see if it is viable or not...and, of course,
some of it may have resented sitting around in a dish for several months
before getting sown, too...my growing Hosta from seed is very slapdash
affair:-)

Some of my Hosta in the garden seed around on their own and others never
do.

I'd plant seed as soon as it's ripe if you have time to.  I always intend
to do this, but the seed generally sits around for a while until I get
around to it.  Second thoughts here.  You might want to store the seed in
the fridge over winter and wait until spring unless you have a greenhouse
to overwinter the babies in as the seed can germinate fairly quickly, but
the seedlings might have a hard time surviving the winter - sometimes
getting seed to germinate is the easy part; getting the seedlings to
survive their first year is the challenge.  They need a cool dormancy
period, so I don't think they would be happy as houseplants - could be
wrong as I have not tried this.

Usually, what you get are plain green leaves, nothing terribly exciting as
they will revert closer to whatever was the parent species in the first
place if your seed is from a hybrid.  H. montana 'Aureo-variegata' (think I
have this right), which has incredible bright yellow variegation that stays
all season produces non-descript green oval-lance shaped leaf seedlings. 
So far the form is not exciting, but I'm giving them a chance to grow on a
bit to see what happens.  

However, I have found that my unknown H. sieboldiana cv or var (dunno which
but it has slightly rounder and lighter blue leaves than the species) comes
true from seed; a nice find as this is a great plant.  Also have one
seedling of H. 'Piedmont Gold' that looks like it is  going to have gold
foliage.  Many of those seeds sprouted with very pale leaves but did not
survive.  Another one, whose name is buried in the past, with nice ribbed
roundish white variegated leaves produced some quite interesting offspring
with thick, ribbed dark green leaves - rather attractive plants they've
turned out to be...wish I knew who that was.  It is one of the larger
leafed ones but only gets about 18" tall.

Species will tend to seed truer, I think.  Seldom will any variegated leaf
plant seedlings come with variegated leaves, but I keep hoping.  

My experience is that they are slow to increase in size from seed as they
start out with only one growing point  and seem to add only one a year the
first few years, so you have to wait a few years to get a plant that begins
to resemble a clump.  As long as you keep potting them on, they will sit
around in pots for a long time quite happily...you just have to keep them
in a shaded spot and water them regularly.  After frost, when they go
dormant, I haul the pots into the greenhouse and stick them under a bench
until they start to wake up in early spring....aphids are a problem for me
in early spring, on Hosta, Lily and Arisaema seedlings, that  I have not
been able to solve to my satisfaction, having no hose in my greenhouse to
hose them off with and not getting around to spraying with Safer's as often
as needed.  You could keep them in a cold frame, too, I should think or
even a plunge bed - they are hardy plants as a rule once they pass that
tiny seedling stage.

I know true Hostaphiles probably cringe at the thought of growing on
"inferior" plants, but there's nothing like a mother's love to  make
anything beautiful...and, sometimes you end up with a really garden worthy
specimen.  Besides, Hosta make great groundcover in shady, wooded
locations:-)

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
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----------
> From: Mert & Holly Kilpatrick <kilpatrk@epix.net>
> Date: Monday, August 30, 1999 8:37 PM
> 
> Marge,
> Have you written, or do you know of, an article on growing hostas from
seed?
> Are there any special tips?  Such as, should you plant the seed now, or
in
> the spring?  When you say that you don't often get anything interesting,
> what do you usually get?
> 
> Holly
> E. Bangor, PA  Zone 6 - just back from a weekend in Annapolis envying the
> crepe myrtles.

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