Hosta's originated from Japan, China and Korea. They were introduced to Europe in the late 1700's and the United States in the mid 1800's. Hosta's mature in 4-8 years depending on variety. They should be planted where they have access to light but not direct sunlight. Hosta's tolerate more shade than other plants, making them an ideal plant for shady areas. Hosta's will grow readily in moist soil, however they are extremely hardy and can withstand severe winter months. Minor care is needed with a slow releasing fertilizer and water during drought periods. Hosta's may be propagated by seeds, division and tissue culture.

The main reason hosta's are propagated by seeds is for breeding purposes. Breeding of hosta's is extremely important but not very popular. It requires a lot of time and work. There are many varieties, mostly man-made (meaning they are crosses of different varieties). Propagation by seeds is also a cheap way of growing plants, but requires a lot of time until maturity. Propagation by seed is basically only used by a hybridizer. It requires the hybridizer to select parents, handling and storage of pollen, making the cross and producing plants from the resulting seeds. Seeds are spread on a fine textured medium, kept moist and at about 60-75F.

Propagation of hosta's by division is a quick way of getting more plants but it does have its downsides. By dividing a large hosta you can obtain numerous plants that will mature quicker than seedlings. However when you divide a mature plant it returns to the juvenile stage where it doesn't look as nice as before the division process. Also an important reason for division is to keep feature of a specific plant. Certain feature in hosta's such as variegation or color can only by kept constant by division. Collecting seeds from a variegated hosta may grow into a non-variegated hosta. For this reason many people will divide their hosta's to maintain special features.

Plant division is simple and can be done anytime throughout the year. Spring seems to be the best time since the plant has little or no foliage to get in the way. The plant can be dug up, keeping the roots intact or be divided in the ground. Either way the plant is then cut into pieces, each piece must contain part of the crown and roots to successfully grow. A hand saw or a sharp spaded shovel works well to divide. Each small plant is then planted and will eventually grow into a mature plant. The two hosta's on the left are two hosta's that have been divided. The hosta on the left is a single-eye division, the one on the right is a double-eye.

Another type of propagation of hosta's is by tissue culture. Tissue culture is a faster and less labor intensive way of division. Tissue culture does have its negatives too. It is difficult to tissue culture plants to stay true. Some of the pieces tissue cultured may grow into a different variety, depending on what part of the plant the piece came from and conditions they are grown in. Tissue culture propagation is relatively new and may be further developed to increase its success rate. The picture below shows plants being propagated by tissue culture, they are almost ready for transplanting to bigger containers.

 

 

 

Bridgewood Gardens, "Hosta Culture" 4/21/2004

www.bridgewoodgardens.com/hosta%20mtoe.htm

"Hosta's in North America," Pollock, Dr. Warren.

www.gardenweb.com/cyberplt/people/pollock.html

Ohio State University Extension Fact sheet, Horticulture and Crop Science. "Growing Hosta's"

http://ohiolive.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1239.html