Real dark red petioles on this one

Here are some of mine.

Allnitro and Bennie beautiful seedlings! Are you both working towards a goal, or growing for the love of it?

Bennie your seedlings are big. When did you start them?

When it came time to cull your seedlings, how do decide what to keep and what to toss? That was the hardest process for me. Hated throwing out seedlings and worrying that I chucked the wrong ones.

monkey ...

compare the algae on yours.. to the other pix ....

try to figure out .. or ask ... how to reduce such ...

as to bennie .... i dont know if i would be using osmacote indoors... unless i had a greenhouse .... too much risk of an extreme fert dump... in a very small pot ... i used to use 1/4 strength water sol fert with every watering .... stored in gallon milk jumps so they would be room temp.. make it today.. use it tomorrow ...

regardless... just observations.. whatever works.. works ....

ken

Ken - the algae gets scraped off as soon as it gets bad enough that I can't stand the way it looks. So a few of those are freshly scraped. Not sure how to reduce it. Was told it's just part of the growing process. How would you recommend reducing it?

Bungalow, try using a fan to circulate air and NOT over water. I just sowed last week so love the pics.

SCG

scraped off.. is not solving the problem ...

you are over watering ... period ...

why should it bother to grow a significant root mass ... when you are growing it in a bog.. are you trying to make your own peat moss ...????

let them nearly completely dry.. in between waterings ... in fact.. dont water them.. until they wilt ... and i will bet my shiny penny.. your algae problems will go away .. of course.. that will be after you up pot into completely new media .. and get rid of all the spore in the media ....

heck.. if it werent winter.. i would tell you to throw them on the blacktop driveway for a week .. and then water them ...

it seems like we had this conversation weeks or months back.. and you just keep doing the same thing ...

all the power to ya.. but if you cant make the leap to the next level ... dont go wondering why .....i mean crikey man .. girl.. whatever... look at the difference between yours and nitros .... i am trying to make you leap.. and you dont seem to want to ...

just stop watering .... until they go bone dry.. up pot to moist media... and watch them esplode.. as ricky may have said.. had lucy allowed him to grow hosta seedlings ... in cuba in the 60's ... lol ....

when did you plant these...

nitro.. when did you sow yours ... is the comparison equivalent??? .. now there is a topic for a new post ...

again ... i want you to take the quantum leap.. i am not trying to p.y.off .... work with me here ... or not.. whatever ...

ken

LOL Ken. Months back I asked about the process. This is my first time doing, so can't be me doing the same thing and not learning. Crikey man, winter is making you loose your mind!

These were started on Dec 10th. Comparing the size to others that started around the same time, thought I was spot on, possibly even a bit further in size.

As always your colorful responses never p.m.off. I'm trying to learn and perfect the process. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Good Morning bungalowmonkeys.
I started with sowing January 1, 2014 indoors under light tubes. I transplanted it into 7 cm pots (see Pics) in May. The pictures are from August. I select the seedlings during potting - try to find thick leaves or something special. No, no special aim, just for fun to see what happens.
So far no one could enlight me how to find e.g. thick leaves in seedlings. So I try a little bending of the leaves to find the weakest.

You guys are getting me going hehe. My question to you all is how you start. I have seen stuff on youtube where they are sprouting in bags with a paper towel and then moving to soil. Do any of you practice this or do you find it better to sow directly into your starting cells, how many per cell, and then thin/cull later?

I'm almost ready to start, have some seeds, lights and trays. Just need to set up the shelves and get some media. Unfortunately i may run into trouble down the road as my driveway is concrete.

digger96, you make me laugh!

I am growing hosta seeds for the first time this year. I have done lots of research online & also bought the Hosta Hybridizer's Manual. As they are saying--there are many ways--try many to see what works best for you!

I bleach everything I am going to use. I am using seed trays & cells, also cups with holes cut in bottom. I have also tried a plastic container that fruit comes in at the grocery store--doubt I will do that again, unless I am going to do it out-of-doors--only because I over-sowed & now have really no place to put then all! Gonna admit--I am having a really hard time culling!

I used sterile seed starting mix from a bag. I dampened with water, put in microwave for 10 minutes on high. Let cool before using.

I fill the cells full--when you mist it down, the medium compacts down. I have planted up to 9 in a cell--if you are lucky, they will all germinate. I usually only plant about 6 per cell. I am finding that a lot of the seeds cull themselves. Lightly sprinkle bone meal over seeds, then lightly sprinkle a little medium over the top--so seedling root can hopefully grab onto some ground. I mist them down with Captan--a fungicide. Put cover over top & set on the heat mat. I have found that I don't have to use a heat mat, but they tend to germinate a little quicker--or maybe it is just that specific variety of seed. Temperature in my seed room area is between 62-70 degrees.

I will add more & pictures later--have to get to work now.

Terri

I see a few questions I can answer.

The seedlings I posted were sown the middle of November and I took the pics the day I posted them. I don't sow mine all at the same time but rather a few every few days or so till I get tired of doing so as life can dictate that or out of room. I don't start as many seeds anymore but still a few thousand. I will keep a few hundred. I now have an unlimited amount of room now to grow them so I can keep more to grow on.

My opinion on the watering and algae, I agree with Ken on letting them get pretty dry between watering....once they get to the size yours are now BUT I would keep them pretty moist until they get to that size. When they are small drying out is a death sentence, or at least it can stunt them. The trouble is how long were they dry before you water them. I mean if you can keep a timely eye on them and as soon as it looks like they are dry then water that would work, but if they sit there dry for a few hours, half a day, a whole day you will have troubles. You will have more trouble with algae then but once they get to the size yours are now I would scrape and dump the top layer out like you do, and replace with fresh mix.

I bottom water and I try to water till the cup is around half moist, that's where the clear/opaque cups help. I like to water them in a seporate container rather than just pouring it in the tray/tub they are staying in. Unless I am going to be away for a few days then I have no choice.

Jeff

I thought this one was looking good tonight.

That is beautiful! What is the cross if you don't mind me asking? These pics are from yesterday.

This one looks like the other leaf coming up will have the same tip. Very subtle, but neat. Wondering if there is any other hosta with that same pattern on the tip? Hope it stays and becomes a little more defined.

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This is a DB seedling that is growing, but growing slow.
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Ken - I'm 3 weeks behind allnitro.

What beautiful plants everyone. I do have one request of potential hybridizers tho. Please name some of your new hostas beginning with the letters Q or U. X would be good too. It will help slow alphabet days. Thank you. Grow in Peace.

thought this guy was looking rather bright tonight

Love that puckering on the DG/UA seedling. Have a few that are showing some puckering from 'Old Rough House' Crosses. Have to put a pic up. The difference in color on that striped seedling is so pretty, will it have red petioles? I've found the few of mine that had the red petioles did not keep them as the new leaves are popping out. Is that typical?

Thought I would switch it up a bit here and show my ugly seedling. I'm keeping this little guy, mainly because he keeps growing and I'm curious to see what he looks like larger. Did you do that with any of your seedlings?

This cross is 'Old Rough House' x 'World Cup' - could be future 'Old World Funk' if he grows into anything.

{{gwi:2143602}}

Bungalow Monkeys, allnitro, Bennie, loving the seedling pictures, have a few growing also. They all look nice and healthy that everyone is growing. Thanks for the pictures.

Bungalow Monkeys, allnitro, Bennie, loving the seedling pictures, have a few growing also. They all look nice and healthy that everyone is growing. Thanks for the pictures.

Love seeing all the seedlings, especially the streakers.

Here are some of my Ice Age Trail OP babies.

Love colorings already coming thru in your Ice Age Trail seedlings! ;o) How long ago did these germinate?

Hi Valal, I bagged the seeds November 11 but didn't write the germination date down. They usually take around 2-3 weeks to germinate in baggie, then I pot them up.

Maggie...please explain "Baggie" method.? I've not yet winter-sowed indoors.

Thank you, Jo.

Jo, I grow lots of clematis and other plants from seed and use ziploc sandwich baggies, with damp vermiculite to germinate all of them.

They are very easy to transplant into pots as the vermiculite doesn't damage their roots and they lift out easily.

I even start my veggies in them.

Here's a pic

with hosta seedlings.

Seedlings out of bag..

Inside baggie..

Hope this helps.

Absolutely! Thank you! I love this no-fuss kind of germination. Brilliant!

Two of my somewhat older seedlings. I allowed them to survive.

Wow. those are gorgeous. I am going to try hosta seeds for the first time. I am very encouraged by your lovely specimens!

Thank you Valval. The last is a Brim Cup seedling, pic from 2013. Now it seems to be adult and has a ice gray leaf color durin summer. Must shoot it this year again.

Haha....I been waiting a long time to be able to play.

Growing very slow but they are coming...yeah I should have taken the pic before I watered LOL

A couple out of a hundred isn't that bad....

SCG

Congrats, SCG!

These are all so beautiful, I have some started, I keep waiting for your new pictures, love seeing them.

These are open pollinated seedlings that I started about Nov 1. I have thinned it down to about 60 plants that are in 5 inch pots now. They won't get planted in the ground until mid May when we get to upstate NY. The seedlings are from Abba Dabba Do, Paradigm, Marischino Cherry,and a yet unknown plat that I hope to identify later.

sunnywood, those are so healthy looking and gorgeous, they really are nice. I am still in the less than an inch stage, those are so great. Do you do this every winter?

This was my second year Last rear I bought two packets of streaked seeds fom Jims 50 seeds and got 15 seedling . They were not nearly this big and I had to plant them before we left NY in Oct. We will see if they survived.

Well I hope they survived for you. This is my first year with hosta. I have been trying to breed Iris for years, I have some pretty ones but none good enough to introduce. Maybe Hosta is my calling as I love growing seed in the house. I love watching them, much better than Iris. You just stick Iris in a pot leave them outside and they pop up in the spring. So you are much more involved with Hosta seedlings, and I love it so far.

I am also growing hosta seedlings, it is my 4th year. I grow them under 24 hrs light. a total of 4 40W fluorescent bulbs. I started the first the middle of November as seeds became available. I hope I will start all this year the middle of October because plants will be bigger to plant out in early summer. Plants have been culled now the third time to about 70 and reside now in 9oz plastic cups with drain holes in seed trays with 1/2 inch water. I use half strength Miracle Grow Tomato Food in the water. There is no longer watering from the top. I use starting seed mixtures which do not have 'potting mix' in the name and add 25% Perlite.
I was not able to hybridize last year, but collected open pollinated seeds from my plants, bought seeds from Doug Beilstein, bought at Auctions from Trudy Van Wyk and received free ones from Jeff Miller (Mr.Hosta, LotG).

Here are a few pictures :

The first one is ('Ueberageous' F1 x 'Crimson Tide') x op, seeds from Trudy :

The following are seedlings of (('Fickle Blue Genes'x 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd') x ('Labyrinth'x'Empress Wu')) x op, seeds from Mr.Hosta.

Way in the back are open pollinated seedlings from a 'Dorothy Benedict' seedling.

Outside is still all-white with a minimum 1 ft snow on hostas, but those seedlings show me gardening spring!

Bernd

Here are 2 more pictures. Here is at the left 'Ueberageous' x op, seeds from Trudy'. On the right. (('Fickle Blue Genes'x 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd') x ('Labyrinth'x'Empress Wu')) x op, seeds from Mr.Hosta.

The following is seedlings containing genes of 'Al's Auto Body', 'The Hulk' and 'Big Dude' in it, will be some big blues.

Bernd

Very Nice! They all look great. Which would you say is your favorite or favorites this year? Like the idea of the plastic tags. I've got to add those to my cups. Right now they just have the info written on the side.

There are some well growing streaked ones, some large blue ones I might keep. Others I will give to the hosta society plant sale. One seems to be very wavy. So I will see how they grow up and show in May when I bring them outside and up-pot again. But I am only a beginner and can not show a nice one with red petioles and wavy margin yet. Some characteristics are not to see yet at this early stage. Plus I have no space outside, etc., but it is fun to see them growing when all this snow is outside. Bernd

Those are great Bernd, mine are still small. How big before you pot them off, I am concerned with the roots tangling together with some of mine that are very close together, is that a problem?

I was told to re-pot after the second leaf came up, but could wait a little if I wanted. When they have 2 leaves they only have 2 roots, but after that they grow a ton and do indeed get tangled together. A few I waited until they had 4 leaves so I could see what they would turn into and trying to up-cup those cups was a bit of a pain trying not to damage the hosta roots.

I only up-potted once, though provided more growing space by culling undesired ones out of cells. I did my first cull without repotting when they had 2 leaves. Then I pulled out seedlings which obviously I was not looking for. I continued that culling and redistributing wanted seedlings into empty cells for the last 3 months. 4 weeks ago I up-potted into 9oz cups the larger seedlings which I had started the middle of November. They were about 1 1/2 inches tall, 2 inches wide and larger and had several long roots. Smaller ones I put two in one cup. Over the last 2 weeks I did the last ones which I had started the middle of December. I see how well most are growing, had to raise the lights 2 notches. They seem to like constant weak fertilizer in their standing water. I started fertilizing after they had 2 leaves. Bernd

Did it hurt to cull? I would be cringing so much I don't think I could go through with it.

No, culling does not hurt. The alternative is much worse.

In case you do not cull, you will run quickly out of space, have to get used to a lot of work for months and then have a great number of large green plants in May, for which you will have no space to plant.

Culled plants have a quick demise here in the ice cold North, do not have to suffer. I dropped them off outside at way below freezing temperature...

Now that Houzz has fixed the photo issue I can really see your babies, bernd. Wow, so many beauties! Must be so exciting to watch them develop.

Very nice Bernd. Love this thread.

LOL Culling totally hurts! At least this first year it did. Think I grew between 1500-2000 plants this winter, thanks to Jeff Miller and culled down to 6.5 trays, or 208 seedlings. It was painful trying to pick and choose what to keep and what to toss. I'd get the cup back out of the bag and quadruple check it, finally had to make my husband take it outside. Still wonder if I kept all the keepers or missed some. It's so true though, can't keep them all. Hope next year will be less painful with the process not being so new.

Jennifer, you did a great jog also your seedlings you did keep look amazing. Great growing for your first year.