scouting
08-26-2009, 09:37 AM
#102
Typical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Westmoreland County PA.
Posts: 735
Sorry BB, Also this is not meant to bust your chops,but you missed something.After reading your reply, I had to research the protein value of Hosta's. Still can't find it. But what I did find was the same article you did.They were talking about the protein content in the soybean meal used to fertilize the Hosta's.
For those people who tend toward organic gardening, there are several products that have worked for hosta gardeners. Some gardeners use Milorganite or other treated sewage residue. Although there is an initial odor, it quickly dissipates. Another alternative is animal manure, but, after considering the
price of hauling, it is not cheap and the potential for "burning" the plants with "fresh" manure is greater. To some, a more pleasant smelling organic fertilizer, at 8% nitrogen, is soybean meal. Rich in other elements, as well as having a protein level of 46%, you practically could spread it on your corn flakes. A problem in most metropolitan areas is that the nursery staff will
tell you that "if you want soybean meal go to a soybean mill.
08-26-2009, 01:33 PM
#105
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,879
The experts say you can transplant hostas spring ,summer and fall. I doubt that seeds from this years flowers would grow if you planted them now. I think they have dry out and go through the dormant phase over the winter. Our hostas are definitely spreading from seed so I will be drying a bunch of seed pods and dropping them in areas that get enough sunlight.
08-26-2009, 01:53 PM
#107
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,879
COLLECTING AND
STARTING HOSTA SEED
COLLECTING SEED
Collecting, drying and cleaning hosta seed is not difficult. When one sees pods on flower scapes, the first question coming to mind is "When will these pods be ripe enough to harvest the seed?" Generally speaking, it takes at least thirty days, depending on variety and environment for seeds to be fully ripe, even if the pods are still green. The best way to know when to collect the seed is watching the bottom pods. When the pods start changing color towards a dark brown, they are ripe. When the pod starts to split open, the seed should be collected. If left for days after pods have split open, the seed will fall on the ground and be lost.
After the seed pods have all developed (at least 3 weeks after the last bloom has faded), some people prefer to cut the whole spike, drop it inside a brown paper bag and place it in a cool dry room to dry out completely. Using regular sheets of paper with the edges folded up box‑like; the collected pods can be dumped inside. Drying seed inside the house, where it is warm and dry, results in pods splitting open within two or three weeks. Dumping the seedpods into a box and shaking with some enthusiasm will result in seeds coming out of pods. Dumping the seeds onto a spaghetti strainer, having ¼ inch holes, results in seed falling through and the pods remaining behind.
However, if you are hybridizing, each pod must be treated separately and kept with a label indicating the pod x pollen parents. It is important to have good labels when working with hosta seedlings, since it can take as long as six years before the seedlings are at their mature stage. Using plastic labels, and writing on these with a waterproof marker is not nearly good enough. Outdoor elements make such a label unreadable. The sun's rays make the plastic brittle and then they break. Aluminum labels will not rust and will last forever. You can scratch your information right into aluminum labels with a nail or a carbide tip 'Scriber'.
The seed is now ready for sowing. If you do not plan to sow immediately, put the seed in the plastic film canister, then label and seal it. Plastic film cartridge containers, available free from any film shop, are ideal for seed storage. They hold 1000 to 1500 hosta seeds and sowing a full film canister into each standard‑sized flat is about the right amount. Place the containers in a cool environment. Some nurseries will store their seed in the freezer so it remains fresh.
Hostas, being the perennials they are make this pleasure a lasting experience. New developing characteristics appear each succeeding year as the hybrids reach maturity.
HOSTA SEED OUTDOORS
An alternative to this indoor planting process is to sow the seed outdoors where they will sprout soon as the soil temperature becomes 50° F (10° C). This process begins by putting a two to three inch layer of peat moss over your garden soil to provide a good mulch against weed seed and to provide an excellent germinating base for your hosta seed. Hosta seedlings sown and sprouted outdoors should grow large enough to survive the winter climate in one season. The biggest problem, with outdoor sowing, is weed seeds also sprout and weeding can be a pain. Otherwise it's an almost free and easy method of growing hosta seedlings.
It is exciting to sow seed and watch new life sprout forth. Hostas, being the perennials they are, make this pleasure a lasting experience. Surely this is somewhere near the top of the list of "having fun"!
STARTING HOSTA SEED
COLLECTING SEED
Collecting, drying and cleaning hosta seed is not difficult. When one sees pods on flower scapes, the first question coming to mind is "When will these pods be ripe enough to harvest the seed?" Generally speaking, it takes at least thirty days, depending on variety and environment for seeds to be fully ripe, even if the pods are still green. The best way to know when to collect the seed is watching the bottom pods. When the pods start changing color towards a dark brown, they are ripe. When the pod starts to split open, the seed should be collected. If left for days after pods have split open, the seed will fall on the ground and be lost.
After the seed pods have all developed (at least 3 weeks after the last bloom has faded), some people prefer to cut the whole spike, drop it inside a brown paper bag and place it in a cool dry room to dry out completely. Using regular sheets of paper with the edges folded up box‑like; the collected pods can be dumped inside. Drying seed inside the house, where it is warm and dry, results in pods splitting open within two or three weeks. Dumping the seedpods into a box and shaking with some enthusiasm will result in seeds coming out of pods. Dumping the seeds onto a spaghetti strainer, having ¼ inch holes, results in seed falling through and the pods remaining behind.
However, if you are hybridizing, each pod must be treated separately and kept with a label indicating the pod x pollen parents. It is important to have good labels when working with hosta seedlings, since it can take as long as six years before the seedlings are at their mature stage. Using plastic labels, and writing on these with a waterproof marker is not nearly good enough. Outdoor elements make such a label unreadable. The sun's rays make the plastic brittle and then they break. Aluminum labels will not rust and will last forever. You can scratch your information right into aluminum labels with a nail or a carbide tip 'Scriber'.
The seed is now ready for sowing. If you do not plan to sow immediately, put the seed in the plastic film canister, then label and seal it. Plastic film cartridge containers, available free from any film shop, are ideal for seed storage. They hold 1000 to 1500 hosta seeds and sowing a full film canister into each standard‑sized flat is about the right amount. Place the containers in a cool environment. Some nurseries will store their seed in the freezer so it remains fresh.
Hostas, being the perennials they are make this pleasure a lasting experience. New developing characteristics appear each succeeding year as the hybrids reach maturity.
HOSTA SEED OUTDOORS
An alternative to this indoor planting process is to sow the seed outdoors where they will sprout soon as the soil temperature becomes 50° F (10° C). This process begins by putting a two to three inch layer of peat moss over your garden soil to provide a good mulch against weed seed and to provide an excellent germinating base for your hosta seed. Hosta seedlings sown and sprouted outdoors should grow large enough to survive the winter climate in one season. The biggest problem, with outdoor sowing, is weed seeds also sprout and weeding can be a pain. Otherwise it's an almost free and easy method of growing hosta seedlings.
It is exciting to sow seed and watch new life sprout forth. Hostas, being the perennials they are, make this pleasure a lasting experience. Surely this is somewhere near the top of the list of "having fun"!
08-26-2009, 02:28 PM
#108
Typical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Westmoreland County PA.
Posts: 735
Good article BB.
bowtruck; what I do is similar in the article BB submitted. I cut the whole stem from the Hosta's. I line the bottom of a large paper bag with paper towel and place the stems with the pods down in the bag. I keep these in a dry area in the basement. When the pods split,I wrap the seeds in the paper towel and place in a airtight bag until spring. You can sow directly into the ground when temps allow. Or if you have the room, start them in seed trays just like your veggie plants. Transplant them into a bigger pot when the plants get bigger. Then after a few weeks in the pot,transplant to the location you would like them to establish.
bowtruck; what I do is similar in the article BB submitted. I cut the whole stem from the Hosta's. I line the bottom of a large paper bag with paper towel and place the stems with the pods down in the bag. I keep these in a dry area in the basement. When the pods split,I wrap the seeds in the paper towel and place in a airtight bag until spring. You can sow directly into the ground when temps allow. Or if you have the room, start them in seed trays just like your veggie plants. Transplant them into a bigger pot when the plants get bigger. Then after a few weeks in the pot,transplant to the location you would like them to establish.
