A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 Starting Hostas Indoors...

I'm in zone 6-ish and I've got garden-fever. I just wintersow-ed some seeds and was wondering about my hosta seeds. I'm very good at killing things and would REALLY like to get the hostas right. I've read that they work well germinating on a moist paper towel in a ziplock baggie. Do I need to chill the seeds or anything?? ANY help is greatly appreciated. (I'd just buy the plants but, dear god, their expensive!) Thanks in advance.

i did that before with hosta seeds and the ziplock,paper towl
it took months for em to sprout out their seeds i never put em in the frig to chil, just left em up in the coubard. all the seeds sprouted it just took awile.

Maybe I should conduct a "scientific" experiment and put my seeds in 2 seperate ziplock baggies with a moist paper towel. One bag I'll place in the fridge (hopefully somewhere my hubby won't put stuff ontop of) and the other I'll tuck up in a cupboard. We'll see which goes first and the germination rate of each.

that sounds like a great idea!

I got the seeds prepared last night, so now it is just a matter of time. It's kinda funny--I keep looking up information on germinating these seeds and everyone says something different!! Obviously the seeds in the fridge won't be getting any light but I should I give some to the ones on the cupboard? Or do I need to start a third baggie??

mine didnt have light, you can try a third baggie, theres so many diffrent ways people germinate seeds, its good your trying diffrent ways to see what works best for you,

Well, to the point of possibly being excessive, I've got my third baggie going. It's going to get 6-7 hours of direct sun a day--does that sound like too much or too little? I haven't the foggiest clue here. Now the trick is to remember where all my baggies are (fridge, kitchen cupboard, and bedroom window). Knowing me, I'll find a baggie of dead hosta seedlings in August, and be like "Oh, yeah...."

my Hostas are up, but standing still for a long time???????

Beats me how slow they can go.

I've heard that they take around a month or two to germinate, so I'm guessing that they would also be slow growers. I'll just be happy if the dang things sprout! I hope that they start growing tall soon for you, Dodge.

landofoz

If you call an inch tall,, ok .

ha ha

I moved them into a shady window.

b

At least you got them up--I'm 2 whole days into my germination and, I'm sorry to say, still NOTHING! How long is this going to take, geez?! (did I ever mention that I'm impatient??) Maybe your seedlings were getting too much sun. I think I read somewhere that too much sun will stunt them...

NO
They was under a heating light only.

It takes couple weeks to germinate ,..Mine did.
THey are standing more erect since I moved them .

Blue something.

b

oooooooooooooooohhhhhh, blue? I just love the blue plants, I have no clue what mine are, just 'hosta'. What a description for a plant that is acclaimed for how "highly hybridized" it is. lol Did they sprout up blue colored?

no................green as the grass.. I will hunt the name for you .

b

Where did you order them from? I've kinda wondered what would be a good source for non-trade seeds.

landofoz

Hosta Blue mammoth...is the name.
Someone on here sent them to me.. I have to look it up and see what it really is.
If I have any seeds left you want them?

I have to hunt them.. My seeds are all over the house an garage.

barb

I got the seeds in a trade..

Do you want some......Give me your addy in a PM.

I just checked an have a bunch.

b

Landofoz,

Here is a photo of the Blue Mammoth

If you want seeds , say so.

http://www.hostalibrary.org/b/bluem.html

;o)

So, so, so, so!!! I would surely appreciate some! Thanks soooooo much. I'll PM you my addy. Thanks again, the blues are my absolute favorite!

Dodge, I got your seeds today. Thanks! How did you germinate the Blues? I'm going to have to try to duplicate it... Still no sprouts from my 3 baggies. But it's only been 1 week or so.

Thanks again, I can't wait to get them going!

Sarah

Buy potting soil at store.
I have a heating cable under my soil .

I built my own contraption.. Took a large plastic lid off a storage box
Got Hardware wire and attached the cable to it.
put sand on top of that, then soil.

It doesnt happen over nite , for sure.. i shave some just coming up from the older batch,.
Last week I planted some is yogurt cup an put it on the windowsill to see how long that takes.
Just be sure an keep them moist...Might try putting a plastic bag over it ?/
I do whatever comes to my mind..Takes weeks, not day to get them going.
Last year none would come up??

Good luck and have patience.

barb

Hi guys.
Barb, are you a member on the hostapix? Good group. The blue hostas as a rule are very slow growers. Needs lots of patience for them.
Kirsten

Kirsten,

no I am not.............
Tell me more.
I can verify they are slow.......But so was one I planted last spring..It died.

Will they be an inch tall by spring?? ha ha

barb

Hi Barb. I'm in a Yahoo group called Hostapix. Its email based. Some VERY serious hosta folk belong there. You should check it out. Give me a minute and I'll get you the address
Kirsten

groups.yahoo.com/group/hostapix/

I think there is a place where you can read the messages but I can't remember where it is. But its easy to join. Try it and get the emails so that you can see the pics. Watch it for a couple of days and see what you think. Some of these members are serious hybridizers. There are over 6000 named hostas. These guys are why.
Let me know if you join.
Kirsten

6000? I bet they're running out of names by now! lol

And I have germination, folks. That's right, you read me correctly, germination. About 50-70% of the full sun have germination, 40-50% of the heat-only, and NONE of the fridgies. I can not say that the sun-only was the best because it also recieved heat from the sun and the flourescent light that I had it under. I would say, IMHO, that the best way is under a light so that way it gets some warmth along with the rays it needs.

Ahem, for those of you counting, it was 2 weeks ago, exactly, that I put them in the baggies. How totally awesome is that??

So, uuuhhh, now what do I do with them?? They just have a little green sprout coming out, no visible roots, yet.

Landofoz,

Mine are still standing still.. I moved them to full shade????

I cant seem to make them hurry. Think I will go read the Hosta hows.

b

kodell,
Are you in the Hosta pix?

Have to read it more.....They are sweet.
ANd I am just a goof off.

b

that is so good to know sarah. i was thinking of starting some, but wanted to wait until it was close enough that i could move them outside quickly, so now i know how long it will take!

Jiffy ,

It takes LOng, very Long.......Mine have been an inch tall for about 6 weeks already.
Like she said ,
2 weeks to germinate,,
It wont be very large by may..i read they don't grow a whole lot in one year????

Good Luck .Let us know what happens in Georgia.
Wonder if they like heat tho????????

I have friends by Stone mountain.. Well my sisters friends.

b

I did some reading and I guess the blue varieties grow slower than green. In fact, one lady had her hostas blooming at 3 months! Since they are so highly hybridize, I'm sure that the quickness of growing varies quite a lot.

well, and if they take 2 weeks to germinate, they can go outside 'cause here, it gets warm way earlier than where you are!

Well Lucky us .. Jiffy even has our ideal weather.

Sarah, I read that also......However I do have lots of plants from the green and white hosta..
In the spring if either of you desire some.
They grow like weeds....

barb

We'll have to see how many of these seedlings that I manage to kill off. I might have to take you up on that offer. I can only hope, that a few of the 20 or so seedlings live. Since I know what works best, I got your blues prepped and now I'm just waiting for them to pop up in 2 weeks!

And I don't even want to hear about Jiffy's weather. lol I'm too jealous.

Hi again. Yes I belong to Hostapix. Its a great group where you can read about and see pics for common varietys that you can get at a local nursery. They also talk tons about seedlings, hybridizing, flowers, virus, bugs...
You also have the advantage of getting tips on cool links that are very informative. Some of these guys are nursery owners. If you have ever heard of the Lakeside hosta series, those belong to Mary Chastain...very cool lady!

Landof OZ.......

Sure
I got zillions of those I will tell you when they pop up.

Kodell

i tried to sign up last nite on there and the server didnt want to accept my zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

try later.. Sure love them come spring.
Jiffy......

if you desire Hosta come spring..Let me know.
Kodel what kind have you?

barb

Hi Barb. If you continue to have trouble, pm to me your info and I will msg Bob to see if he can check on you.

You know I don't have a current list of all my hosta. I use to have a small nursery and I carried over 100 different kinds. We closed it a couple of years ago. I have lost serveral due to the hot dry weather last summer and lack of time to deal with it, but I still have probably 150 kinds between my farm and my home.

Some of them are...Aureomarginata Montana, Snow Cap, Stilleto, August Moon, Pandora's Box, Green Eyes, Sieboldianna Elegans, Masquerade, Carnival, Patriot, Invisible, Plantiganea, Blue Cadet, Christmas tree, Night before Christmas, Lemon Lime...I could go on for awhile but thats a start.

Kodell

Wow
Your a big time operator.. A farm too. I have a small one.......
I saved that list so I can check htme out online.

I have white with green strip or something I will have to send a photo, when I find it and see if you can identify.

d

Not that BIG really. Just a hostaholic

Kodell,

I liked that Hostaholic..........
Think I will go over to photo bucket an see if I can find my Hosta's to show.

Hey Kodell,

Thanks for the tip about Hostapix! Guess I'm not sure they were large enough to survive the BIG ice storm we got hit with this year. When I see what the ice did to some of my trees and bushes I'm not sure what a lot of my plants will look like or if they even will come back.