Collecting Hosta Seeds: Update (2 years later)

As the summer heat continues, I have been diligently looking after some of my strategically placed baby Hostas - which I grew from seed (link to previous post here).

Two years ago, the above seedlings were just setting root in mid summer and I transplanted them into tiny pots. Come autumn, I tucked them in sheltered spots of our garden where I would find them again.

Having planted them all over the garden, I've been making sure in this heat to keep them moist.

Still super small, they are putting on some lovely growth. The above is my best sample. 7 leaves and still more emerging.

This one above is situated in our herb garden. I was testing to see if more organic matter and compost tea make a difference.

The leaves are surprisingly tough. Quite slug resistant. The original parent had leathery leaves too, but with deep yellow variegated margins.

None are showing any venation or variegation. But that's ok. For now they are doing great, considering I haven't done much.

In all honesty, if I really wanted these Hostas to thrive and grow quickly, I would of left them to grow in pots and nurture them more. But reality dictates little time and so finding spots where I know I can keep a close eye on them seems to have been the best bet.

I am anxious to see their eventual mature size. I've noticed the above photo has more rounded leaves. Who knows, I may have a "Heidi Horticulture" hybrid developing! Ha!

Heidi's Helpful Hints #1 Baby Divisions or Seedlings

A late season score: I found these gems in a compost pile out for pick-up in my 'hood: rejects of Echinacea. My eye caught them before curb collection. Nine plants in total.

Be sure to examine all the leaves and the roots to find any issues; disease or possible rot. Discard if so.

This is the hint:  even though there are a bunch of tiny plants, instead of planting them separately and having to wait ages until they bulk up - group them instead. Here I've clustered the separate plants together, making two groupings.

Dig a large enough hole and place all the divisions together, making sure you don't squish them, allowing just enough space for adequate root growth. 

You can do this as well with the self seeded "plant-lets' that are generally around Echinacea in the garden. A great idea to pot them up as gifts for a friend. This method will allow for less wait time for the plant to establish and plentiful flowers for next summer.