Botanyfilter: How to collect hosta seeds?

September 2, 2007 3:49 PM

Do I really have to wait for hosta seeds to dry on the plant?

I am going to try to grow hostas from seed. All the articles I pulled up on google said that one should wait until the seed pods turn brown and split open. Is this really necessary, or could I collect green seed pods and dry them out and still obtain viable seeds? Thanks for any info in advance.

posted by bolognius maximus to home & garden (2 comments total)

As a rule, it's best to wait until the plant has "set" the seed - ie, when the seed pod is dry and the seeds are available to harvest.

You could harvest now, and get a few viable seed, but I think that the majority would fail, simply because they aren't ripe.

It's not really a matter of the seed pod being dry, it's how developed the seed is when it leaves the plant. The only way to be fully sure that the seed will germinate is to wait for Mother Nature to say the time is ready.
posted by Solomon at 4:29 PM on September 2, 2007

Plant people are impatient- if there was a reasonable way not to wait for the hosta seed pods to turn brown, yet still produce viable seed, they would be doing it.

Solomon is right: you get more viable seed if you wait until the seed pod is "finished".
posted by oneirodynia at 6:03 PM on September 2, 2007