Cut Leaf Hosta Seedling

[NancyL]

I have grown out a lot of seedlings in spare places in our wooded garden because I have found they look like nothing as babies but seem to change at year 2. This is a Komodo seedling that developed cut leaves that didn't show last year. I also have a small glossy green spear shaped leafed cut leaf but the slugs tore it up upon transplant so I will have to wait until next year for a photo of that one. Is this a common form?

[Chris_W]

Hi,

This isn't likely to be a trait that keeps going from year to year, but I've seen some plants reproduce it more often than others. I'm not sure how or why they do this, but it seems that as the leaves emerge and develop, some of the leaves overlap so that the edges are kind of stuck together, then as the leaves grow out they grow around the edges of the adjacent leaves. Eventually they unfurl and you are left with this strange cut leaf look.

Unfortunately I don't think this is genetic, just an oddity of the way they grew.

Keep an eye on it, though. I've never taken pictures of it myself so thanks for sharing.

[NancyL]

Thanks Chris! I moved these to Michigan with all my other seedlings that I liked + a Liberty and 2 other giant greens that have names that I no longer know. We are probably leaving MD for FL so my MI hostas will be my only ones. It will be nice to follow these two and see what they do.

[Linda P]

I have a seedling that has some of these leaves most years, but not always. It's interesting to see and speculate about. I had some good pics of it, but lost them in a computer crash last year.

[viktoria]

I have a 'Blueberry Waffles' that did it this year; it would be very surprising to see it repeated.

Viktoria