Hostas from leftover roots

[ViolaAnn]

on another thread, Angie wrote (in part),

Also, I notice that there was a small hosta growing under my rose plant in the front yard. I asked my neighbor about it, and she said there was a hosta plant in the front garden, however the previous owner dug it up. Can hosta grow from leftover roots, or was this from seedling that fall down from previous years?
( I will take a picture of this tiny little baby hosta tomorrow. )

Angie, in short, the answer is yes. I once dug out a hosta and had a small part of it come up from remaining root stock. In general, I guess it would be necessary for there to be a little bit of crown left, but hostas vary quite a bit in the way their roots work and it would be quite possible for enough to be left if an older hosta were dug out.

OTOH, it is also possible that it could be a seedling. Maybe the neighbour has some idea what the hosta was like that was there. Assuming it was NOT green, if the new plant IS green it's likely to be a seedling. Not a definitive answer, I know, but I hope that helps.

Ann

[Tigger]

Bruce Banyai (son of Pauline Banyai, who discovered 'Gold Standard') used to sell hostas out of his garden. At the end of a session of lifting and dividing plants, he would take the trimmings of roots that would invariably result, and plant them out in a row. There would always be something that came up from this. Again, he could never swear that there wasn't a piece of crown attached, but believed firmly that the roots could generate new crowns under good growing conditions.

[thy]

Any one have space for a test ?????????????????????????????????

[ViolaAnn]

I guess if I decided to forgo my veggie garden, I could try planting all the root scraps next time I do a big divide. (I had a big sale this year too and raised over $1100 for my church plus about $260 for myself to help cover the habit.) Besides, the veggie garden is getting shadier every year. It might get converted into a really large hosta bed.

[Angel3K]

Wow Ann, that's a huge contribution. Good for you.

I have another bed, small just beside my daylilies. Will promise to take photos and give updates.

This is the picture of the first hosta that show up in the front yard garden. When I found it, it has like 3 tiny roots and I moved it in the backyard bed, and it seems to be surviving.

The ones under the rose looks the same, very tiny, two of them and it has the same streaks in the middle. I did have a hard time taking photos of it, but I will try again tomorrow morning.

This really surprise me because I seem to remember cultivating the soil and removing rocks, dead roots and dead leaves. So, this might be a seed or maybe leftover roots.



Thanks. Angie

Here are the morning shots today, there are two of them. One picture to show the streak and the other one to show that there is two of them.

[ViolaAnn]

Since it is not all green, I'm betting it is coming from roots. I'd leave it for a few years and see what happens.

[Angel3K]

Thanks Ann. I hope this baby can survive under the "fragrant cloud" rose. I will keep an eye on her. Lancifolia is just beside it too.


Since it is like 90% that hostas can grow from leftover roots, I am saving all the leftover roots and put it in a big pot with soil. So far, a root come off from "dancing in the rain", so its in the "root bin". I can imagine 20 different hostas growing on a pot, because of leftover roots. This is an exciting experiment.

Ann: I'm beginning to feel that hosta fever. LOL

Angie

[Chris_W]

Yes, hostas can definitely grow from leftover roots after a plant has been dug. Can all hostas grow this way? I really don't know. Does it really need a piece of crown material? Probably, because otherwise I'd have hostas coming up all over the place. I've seen a fair number of hostas come up from roots where the root was torn from the crown and a new hosta grew at the point where the old crown was connected, but just today I noticed a piece of Sum and Substance out there where one had been dug so I dug it up to see what it was doing.

Obviously the rhizomatous plants can do this easily, but this is a piece of Sum and Substance root that was in our growing area after one was dug, possibly last year. The arrow is pointing at the spot where this root used to be attached to the crown, but as you can see, TWO new hosta pieces are growing from further down on the root, and both are forming their own crowns. The top part of the root piece is actually starting to die. Pretty cool, considering this was just discussed here

[Angel3K]

Hello Chris,

Thank you for sharing. That is pretty neat.

I have been making a "root bin" in my backyard. Some of the potted hosta from the nursery has like 3 baby plants, so I end up cutting them into 3. One mother plant goes in the garden bed, and 2 reserve ones in the pot, just the case the mother plant dies on the ground. If she survive, then extra 2 pots to give away or trade in the next years.

Since I have not labeled every root, it was a mix batch: royal standard, thunderbolt, wolverine, ginko craig, captain kirk, dancing in the rain, so sweet, and alex summers.

It would be neat to see which hosta can grow over leftover roots. But anyways, I will share next year which ones of these hosta come out from that "root bin".

thanks again.

Angie

[thy]

Are we taking roots only or roots with a piece of crown ? The last one can grow a new hosta, so can a leaf wíth a piece of crown material

Chris... there are rather long distance from thetop eye to the next, so ven if it is due to be planted to deep, it is not the "USUAL" crown on top of a crown... new to me for crown groving hostas
Pia

[Angel3K]

Are we taking roots only or roots with a piece of crown ? The last one can grow a new hosta, so can a leaf wíth a piece of crown material

Chris... there are rather long distance from thetop eye to the next, so ven if it is due to be planted to deep, it is not the "USUAL" crown on top of a crown... new to me for crown groving hostas
Pia

Hosta roots will grow new hosta plant. I'll take that as 90% affirmation. Now, I have little pots 4in, so next time I will divide the Christmas Tree after flowering, I will label them.

So far, Sum and Substance did grow from roots - from Chris garden.

This young plant of mine - from roots might be a young "fire and ice" or undulata.

From now on, i will label my leftover roots, and take note when the first shoot come out.
The big "root bin" will have to wait and see next year.

[Marlys]

A few years ago I dug out some old variety hostas. A few leaves were broken off down by the crown. I brought them into the house to enjoy in a vase of water. To my great surprise two stems developed roots & new shoots (just like cuttings from house plants do). Eventually I moved the new plant into a small pot, then into the garden where it developed into a beautiful specimen. I then gave it to a friend. It was a fun experience!

Last year I dug out a hosta to allow more space. This spring new baby shoots are growing. Hostas can be tenacious buggers! Of course, this is an old cultivar also.

MM

[Angel3K]

Hi Marly,

yes, exciting indeed, just like watching a little seed grow.

what was the cultivar, old as you say?

I am looking for hosta pioneers 1800s perhaps, and early 1900s, i have "older hostas thread".
well, because these hosta can survive anything including uprooting.LOL and of course, kids playing around my garden.

thanks for sharing. Angie

[thy]

Marly's I did the same with h. crispula leaves years ago, toosed them in an bucket and then it rained.... but then again, they were broken off at the crown and had some crown material on them.
I have had a lot of old and new cut off hostta leafes iin vases with out any roots coming out at all.

[Marlys]

Angie,
I believe the cultivar was undalata that grew from left-over roots & in the glass of water in my house. It's a very tenacious plant with a strong will to survive.

MM

[ViolaAnn]

I'm not so sure we decided that hostas CAN grown from just the roots, but rather that it is likely that small portions of the crown can remain on the roots and be too small to be detected. THAT can possibly develop into a new plant.

[thy]

In the old days - before TC it was common to split an eye in 4, cutting it top down and then again on both halfs... voila... 4 hostas

[Pieter]

I'm not so sure we decided that hostas CAN grown from just the roots, but rather that it is likely that small portions of the crown can remain on the roots and be too small to be detected. THAT can possibly develop into a new plant.

FWIW, a couple days ago I was about to replant something into a spot where I'd had a small division of 'Rhino Hide' that was not happy at all in the pot it was in, so it was moved into my holding bed/planter. Lo and behold, I bumped into what I thought was the remains of this small division and sure enough it was the original small crown, completely devoid of any growth, but a new shoot was forming on a root, about an inch from the original crown. So, I'd say, 'Yes, new growth can develop on roots, but likely only on the upper parts'. I'll be doing some more dividing over the next few days and will make a point of taking a couple of roots in the process, pot them up and see how I fare.

[Angel3K]

Hi Pieter,

yes indeed. it is allmost a full blown project for me. I decided that my "root bin" is full now, so I put this one in a jar. LOL. This was from a H. Fragrant Blue, this must be about 1 year old in the nursery, there is too much roots in the pot. So I divide it, plant one in the corner and the rest are put in pots. Just...I am probably one of the few people here who have a tiny backyard.

here are some pictures:


The Fragrant Blue - Washed with its massive roots



The leftover roots in the jar. I will take note of how long this will send shoots.

[Angel3K]

Since I last posted here, I saved my roots and planted them in small pots.

Here is a picture of Hosta Royal Standard, it seem to come out from its roots. Now, if I only remember when did i pot this?


I have pot of Striptease roots, which was from last week.


Chariots of Fire from yesterday:




I also potted one today(leftover roots), from my Wolverine. My hosta Wolverine in a pot formed a nice mound of leaves, but it had a new baby, so I remove it. In the process, I got some roots, which I now labeled and dated 8/4/2011. I will update soon if this one send some baby plants.

Here are pictures of Wolverine roots & poted after:


and in its small pot: