Browsing category: Growing Hostas

What Do Hostas Look Like When They First Come Up in the Spring?

Reader question… “Last year was the first time I have ever grown hostas and I’m afraid they might have died over the winter. I haven’t been able to find any of the three plants I had.”

How Many Days After the Last Snow Melt Should Gardeners Begin to Look for Hostas?

Reader question… “So one has hosta… and one has winter. My question is a bit more complex.”

Growing Hostas From Seed

I sow the hosta seeds in quart-sized plastic plant pots, hopefully labeled and one variety to a pot. For soil, I use a bagged potting mix for seedlings because it has given me better results than any of the other starting mixes I have tried.

My Hosta Sports

I read recently that there are now more than four thousand varieties of hostas in existence, and less than five hundred of those can be considered stable.

One More Reason I’m Glad I Don’t Cull Volunteer Hosta Seedlings

I almost didn’t see it. My interest was in the larger bluish hosta and the interesting ruffled edges it is starting to develop… and in tackling the dense carpet of out of control weeds in the garden that serves as a nursery for some of the smaller volunteer hostas.

Finally… Some Streaked and Speckled Seedlings from My Revolution Hostas

Until this year, none of my Revolution hostas have ever produced streaked or speckled seedlings. They always had lots and lots of seed pods, and even many seed pods that were brightly striped…

Can They Still Be Considered Seedlings at This Size and Age?

I’m seeing some interesting changes in some of my hosta seedlings this year. Most of the seedlings in this group are four to five years old… a few are probably a year or two older.

Hostas, Slugs, Iron Phosphate … and a Dilemma

There is only one thing I don’t like about hostas… their susceptibility to slug damage. I don’t use poisons on my gardens, so I have spent a lot of time researching natural methods for eradicating slugs. During those first few years I think I must have tried them all.

What Do Hosta Flowers Look Like?

Reader question… “I am very interested in growing hostas from seeds and I found your posts about this very interesting.”

How To Harvest Hosta Seeds

The usual advice is to let the seed pods dry on the stalk in the garden until the pod is somewhat dry and about to open. I’m sure that works well in a warmer climate, but here in the northeast, the seed pods never reach that stage before the first frost.