Hosta propagation: seeds, dividing the bush, when to spend in autumn or spring at home

Hosta is a perennial plant, part of the asparagus family. These are bushes that are formed by basal leaves. The flowers of this plant resemble lilies. Hosta can be propagated by sowing seeds, dividing roots, or planting cuttings.

The hosta plant is popular among gardeners for its unpretentiousness and decorative effect.

Optimal timing

Early April is a good time to plant seeds. When propagated by cuttings or cuttings, hosta can be planted from May to July. Division can also be done at the end of summer.

Preparation

It is necessary to prepare planting material and a place where you will need to germinate the host at first. For seeds, it is necessary to carry out stratification for 4 months. If they are sown in late autumn, this will happen during the winter period. As a result, weak seeds will die, and the most viable seeds will give birth.

How hosta breeds

In order to propagate the hosta, you can use seeds, cuttings or separation of part of the root. The latter method is well tolerated by plants that are already 4 years old. If they are younger, then as a result of such an action, the growth of the hosta may slow down.

Seeds

This method of propagating hostas is the most time-consuming. Usually it is used by breeders. The seeds of this plant have poor germination (no more than 70%). To increase it, you can use stimulants.

With this method of reproduction, the host acquires a decorative appearance in the fourth year.

Growing from seeds is effective when new varieties are being developed.

If the seeds sprout, then the hostas will be he althy, hardy and resistant to difficult weather conditions.

Selection and preparation of planting material

Planting material - oblong seeds of dark brown color. In the place where the faded flowers are, yellow boxes are formed. Planting material can be obtained from them.

Seed pods form 6-7 weeks after pollination has occurred. Usually this moment comes at the very end of the summer period or at the beginning of autumn. When the box starts to open, it's time to collect the seeds.

This can be done until the box is completely dry and starts to rot. The duration of the time period during which planting material is harvested is no more than 5 days.

Then the hosta seeds must be dried well. It is recommended to provide a high temperature for this. Within 10 minutes, complete evaporation of moisture from the seed will occur. This should complete the drying procedure.

After that, remove the lionfish and put the seed in the refrigerator for a month. Before planting, they are treated with growth stimulants. For this purpose, you can use Epin, Zircon.

How to plant at home

To germinate hosta seeds, you need to place them in a plastic container with soil. It should have holes at the bottom.

The container must be treated with boiling water, then wiped with alcohol.

It is important to use sterile soil. To do this, you can buy it in a specialized store. If you use self-collected soil, you need to add potassium permanganate crystals, peat and perlite there. Drainage is poured at the bottom, moist soil is placed on top.

The earth must be compacted with a wooden plank. Seeds should be planted at a depth of 6-7 mm. A small amount of perlite is poured on top and then the soil is compacted. This is done to improve seed germination.

The top of the container is covered with a film.

Growing

When growing, provide a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. Seedlings should appear in two weeks.

It is important that the sprouts are not exposed to direct sunlight. To do this, use the film, it must be removed during the day for two hours.

When the first leaf appears, the sprout is transplanted into a separate container. At the same time, the soil in the new container should be more sterile and nutritious than the previous one. Top with a thin layer of sand. In a new container, the plant is not covered with foil.

Water should be done very carefully. To do this, pour water into the pan, in which there is a container with a sprout. Water stagnation must not be allowed to occur. In order to accustom hosta sprouts to the temperature conditions of open ground, they are periodically taken out into the street and kept there. First, the time is limited to a quarter of an hour, and then it must be gradually increased.

Landing in the soil is done provided that the air temperature is 20 degrees or more. The soil of the seedlings is moistened, the roots along with the ground are carefully removed and transplanted into open ground. Then they fill it with earth and lightly tamp.

By cuttings

With this method of reproduction, the new sprout will have the properties of its parent. This will also be true when propagating hybrid varieties.

In order to increase the survival rate of the hosta, it is necessary to carefully separate the heel when cuttings are formed.

Timing

Cuttings are carried out over a long period - from the end of spring to mid-summer. During the first days after they are planted in the soil, the cuttings will hurt. If properly looked after, they will take root.

How to cut and plant

For this procedure, shoots with a distinct heel are preferred. It is important that they can be easily separated. It is necessary to choose such shoots where the leaves have small petioles, and they themselves are relatively small.

It is important to water the cuttings regularly until they are fully rooted. In the first few days, they may look sluggish and weak, but later they will become stronger and begin to grow.

Dividing the bush

This hosta breeding method is the most popular. It doesn't require much effort. It is necessary to divide when the plant has grown strongly. When the host is already ten years old and the center of the plant no longer grows, in this case it is worth dividing the bush.

When is the best time to share

The best time to breed by division is spring or summer. However, this can also be done in autumn, but no later than 30 days before the first frost. It is necessary to give the divisions time so that they begin to take root in a new place.

How to properly split

The amount of available planting material depends on how much the bush has grown. If the plants are located relatively far apart, then their roots grow well and several viable parts can be separated from one plant.

Choosing the optimal timeframe

Division is usually done 4-5 years after planting. This is done so that the plant develops well and takes root. This is done in the spring or in the first part of September. If younger plants are propagated in this way, it may adversely affect their development.

Using the right tool

With a sharp knife, it is necessary to separate the rosette of leaves along with part of the root. The incision site is treated with sand. This will help the plant heal the wound. The sharper the tool, the less damage will be done to the mother bush.

How to dig or cut

This can be done in some cases without digging out the main part of the root. However, it is better to completely dig the root of the mother plant out of the ground and divide it into several parts so that each of them has 2 or more rosettes of leaves.

Sometimes you need not the maximum number of divisions, but a small number of large ones.

The roots are planted in a greenhouse or in a shady place under a plastic bottle. In 3-4 weeks, the bushes will begin to stretch. They are watered abundantly. Every day they give to breathe the surrounding air, removing the film or bottle. When the bushes grow, they are transplanted to a permanent place.

Tips and Warnings

The material obtained by dividing the hosta bushes must be planted at the same depth as the root of the mother bush. In this case, the distance between individual plants should be at least 30-35 cm.

When planting cuttings in the ground, it is undesirable for the leaves to be large.

In this case, moisture will evaporate too much from them. To prevent this, the largest leaves are cut off by one third.

When planting in open ground, it is recommended to add mulch to the top layer. For this, you can, for example, use chopped bark.