A trio of streaked babies (photos)

[kaylyred]

I just thought I'd share some photos of the baby streakers I grew this year. It was my first attempt at starting hostas from seed. Chris supplied the seed (thanks, Chris)!

This one's my favorite. It has grown well and has nice substance.



A close second...



And this guy probably should have been culled. Not great substance, and a slow grower (probably because of all that white), but somehow I couldn't bring myself to off it. It's an interesting little guy, at least, and it seems to be trying to stabilize to...something.

[dash]

Hi Karen,
Nice looking babies you have there I also got my first streakers this year. Lots of fun , I 'm chomping at the bit because I've got pods forming like mad this year .

[thy]

Good looking babies

[eastwood2007]

Great looking seedlings!

It sure is fun, isn't it?!?!?!

[Linda P]

Karen, those are really nice! Now you hae the start of your own breeding line! Give them a couple of years and you'll be
amazed at how they change. And if this was your first attempt, I'm going to guess that it won't be your last!

Linda P

[Chris_W]

Wow, you did fantastic to get those, and they look so nice, especially the first two. Yes, you may have to cull that last one, though it might do that itself for you

Are you going to start acclimating them to the outdoors, if you haven't already, and try to plant them this year? I haven't grown indoor seedlings in years so I'm not really certain what the best way is to handle them that first winter. In the past I've had them acclimated and planted by the end of August.

I'm so glad to see that you had some luck with the seed

Chris

[ViolaAnn]

Love those babies! So far I've not had any streaked babies though I'm hoping for seeds from 'Ice Age Trail' or from 'Lakeside Mom' or from an unnamed streaker I was given when the Ontario Hosta Society came visiting last year.

[kaylyred]

Thanks, everyone! I'm a proud hosta mom.

Chris, I do think I'll plant them out this year. I planted my gold and green seedlings out to test out how they'd do and they're actually looking great. (I kind of like the gold one. It'll be interesting to watch that one grow.) I waited on planting the streakers out because they were just a tad smaller, but now they're looking ready to meet the big world outside. I'll put them on the screened porch (gets morning sunlight) for a week or so and then get them in the ground and see what happens.

I'll definitely be planting seeds again this winter. I'm waiting to see if 'Christmas Tree Gala' will set pods and maybe give me some OP seedlings next year. This is fun!

[Linda P]

This years crop of seedlings has been 'acclimating' on my front porch since the middle of June. It got hot so fast that I did not get the raised beds, which are the next step for seedlings in my garden, cleaned out and ready. Last years crop has to go in the ground and the soil refreshed before I put this crop in. I'm certainly hoping to be able to get to that before August is over. I put some seedlings out last year very late (October???), and they were severely challenged by frost heaving (and the feral cats who decided that the raised beds would make a good litter box!!) so I really want to do better this year!

[Angel3K]

very interesting indeed. hope to see more of those babies next season:)

I got few packs of Ice Age Trail from ebay, just to test if seeds will do well on me. Nothing has happened yet. LOL, i think I killed them all on my first try. ")

[kaylyred]

They do take a while to germinate. And some take longer than others. Be patient.

[pauhaus]

Great looking seedlings you got there Karen! Are they all from the same batch of seeds? Congrats on your success and I hope they continue to do well for you!

[Angel3K]

They do take a while to germinate. And some take longer than others. Be patient.

Ah, so they take more than 7 days?

The cactus seeds that I put the same day is growing already, so I thought I killed the hosta. I might keep them longer then, I was thinking of dumping the soil mix in the ground and say "sayonara".

[Linda P]

Angel, I have had them take up to 3 or 4 weeks, and occasionally, some will germinate after that.
Ice Age Trail usually produces (for me, anyway) fairly slow growing plants, but they are well worth
waiting for. It seems to me that they were also very slow to germinate. It's been a couple of years
since I grew any, so I'm relying on my fairly faulty memory from 2009.
I start mine in the winter, and keep them under lights 24/7 once they germinate, until the weather
is settled in the late spring or early summer. This year they stayed in the basment longer than usual
because I was just too busy to mess with hauling them out.
If you are just germinating now, you might want to plan on putting them under lights for the winter
and growing them inside til spring.

Linda P

[kaylyred]

I want to think these took between 14-21 days to germinate. Not all seeds germinate at the same rate, and not all species of hosta, either.

What worked for me was: sterile seed starting mix, bottom-watered seed starting cells, those water wicking mats (to keep them moist; they like moist) and bright fluorescent lights left on 18 hours per day (I've read that some people leave them on 24/7.) I didn't use heat mats (but they might have helped). I did keep my room temperature warm.

I remember thinking it was taking forever for them to get going. It's a slow process. The babies in my photos were started at the end of January and that's all the bigger they are. They're still in 2" pots (although if I don't plant them out I'll pot them up to 4" soon, but I'm leaning toward getting them in the ground). Once they take off they do grow pretty quickly, but it takes them a while to get going.

Good luck, Angel!

[ViolaAnn]

Are you germinating them inside? I put my seeds in seed trays outside this year and I'm seeing poor germination even though I've kept them moist.

[Angel3K]

Hi Linda, Karen,

Thanks for sharing the experience, and approximate germinating time. Mine was just cactus soil + vermaculite, I cannot seem to find Promix here in Ottawa. I went to a nursery (Artistic Landscape) and the staff stared at me when I said sterile mix for seedling. They give me Schultz potting mix, or something like that, so I ended up mixing my own: "alltreat farms" cactus soil & vermaculite, scope of perlite, then cool down the boiled water. Chinese take out tray with cover, that's what I used. natural sun, just out of my balcony. its first try, so maybe "hit and miss". It probably has like 50 seeds each compartment, two of them. i was given free Kabuki seeds too..I added that in one corner.

Yes, inspiring it is.

[Angel3K]

Are you germinating them inside? I put my seeds in seed trays outside this year and I'm seeing poor germination even though I've kept them moist.

Ann:i ended up putting them outside, knowing I can't find suitable lighting indoors.

[ViolaAnn]

Ritchie Feed and Seed in Ottawa sell Promix for starting seeds.

[kaylyred]

Are you germinating them inside? I put my seeds in seed trays outside this year and I'm seeing poor germination even though I've kept them moist.

I've never had luck seed starting outside. I know some people can winter sow and start seeds in the great outdoors like gardening rockstars, but it never works for me. So, for me, it's always indoors under lights.

It really doesn't take much. Here's my blog post about my setup from this past winter: http://petiolejunction.wordpress.com/20 ... s-indoors/

You could go with one light suspended by chains and toggle hooks from the ceiling and start seeds on a table. Doesn't have to be elaborate--just bright.