No, it would not be good to start with tc plants. A tc plant needs at least a year of care before it it planted out, I buy tc plants to later sell. I pot them in 4" or 6" pots and will not sell them until their roots have developed enough to hold the soil mix together when taken out of the pot.
The tc refers to the fact that they were tissue culture propagated. A relatively inexpensive tc plant has only spent a short time out of the lab. It is in a small container like the market packs annuals are sold in. They are meant to be potted and grown on. If you have a supplier who has taken the tc plant, and grown it on for a year or more, then that plant can be planted out. You would still want to do some soil prep and keep an eye on the plant.

most every hosta is a TC unless original stock, buying hosta liners would be a good way to get a bunch of plants for a fairly inexpensive price

Pretty easy to grow especially in spring when you have time to grow them this year

Happy Spring every1

Ed

Esther,

I'm not sure what you are talking about. Ed is correct that almost all Hostas sold today came from Tissue Culture or TC. If you are talking about first year plants right from TC, those are referred to as "liners." Most online nurseries like Hallson or Naylor sell TCs which they have grown on either in the field or in pots for two or three years.

Where are you looking for "considerably cheaper" plants? If you are planting this Spring you can buy liners. Try Hostaplants.com (link below). Those are small but safe plants. The thing about these small plants is that they are a year or two behind their more expensive counterparts. However, if you plant this Spring and give them good growing conditions, then they should grow enough to be able to winter over. The only risk in buying small plants is the question of whether or not they will develop enough of a root system to winter over properly. Make sure you've prepped the soil properly and that you give them plenty of water and some fert this Spring.

Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: Hosta Liners

liners are basically .... babies.. tiny little things that need much TLC.. and will not look like a maturing plant for 2 to 3 years ... if they live that long ...

i will yell ... THEY ARE NOT WORTH THE MONEY ... for the size they are ...

they are an investment in the future ... as in you buy 10 or 25 of them.. to later re-sell ..... and hope 5 or 10 live that long ...

and that is not what you are trying to do in your plot ...

buy 2nd or 3rd year plants.. if you wish them to grow like crazy .. soon ...

ken

If you're talking about 1st year TC's, or 'liners', no, they are not worth it.
It's not about patience, it's about vulnerability. These guys are very small, very vulnerable, dry out easy, are quite tasty to critters, etc. Especially since you're talking about a public area, No way would I do these small TC plants.
My Rainbow's End too 6 years to get to a decent size plant and that was with a LOT of extra care!
It was 4 years before it looked like a 1 gallon plant.

Don't try and save money with TC's. Same thing with those tiny heuchera too. The nicest heuch's are wholesaled to growers thru Terra Nova and that makes them more expensive.

BTW.. and think about this hard ....

and i will yell ...

YOU START BY DIGGING UP ALL YOUR OWN PLAIN OLD STANDARDS.. AND MOVING THEM OVER THERE ... lol..

and buy YOURSELF.. some new stuff ...

your generosity is free.. and you get newer .... better ones.. for yourself..

win/win.. all around ... dont you think???

ken

ps: in the alternative.. divide the plants you already have ... they are hosta .. just do it...

Esther, there are places which have the tried and true hosta for a very reasonable price.

I do not want to advertise for a nursery, but I have satisfactory experience with two which have extensive catalogs and by choosing well from their older hosta, you can get some mighty cheap hosta.

One of those is GreenMountainHosta.com in Vermont.
Another is http://wadeandgattonnurseries.com/ ......I call in my order to this one, and sometimes speak to Mr. Van Wade himself, an icon of the hosta world.

From both places, I've purchased hosta for much less than $10 for a generous field dug hosta division. I've also purchased hosta for a similar price from Bridgewood and Hornbaker. Since your preferences run toward the smaller hosta, you stand a good chance of lower prices on them, provided you don't expect to get the latest introductions.

If you wish to do as Ken suggests and split some of your beauties to glorify the new bed, maybe you wind up buying a couple that are outstanding new beauties for your own planted area, and put the $$ saved into that.

I know your small curbside bed is a jewel box of hosta, and you want to make a second great display to do you proud. I'm sure you will be able to balance budget and beauty quite well.

Moccasin, you really "get" me. My little tree hosta garden IS my jewel box. The only hosta there which might be big enough to divide are the Aureo marg. and Blue Cadet, which were gifts from a colleague at school. I would never have paid money for them. They are OK, but they don't thrill my heart like my beloved "Little Treasure". I'm hoping my "Cherish", which I planted last year, will give me more of a show this year, ditto "Raspberry Sundae" and "Teeny Weeny Bikini".

So, I don't think I can save money by dividing what I already have. My tree hosta garden is already very carefully thought out, like an artist's canvas, and I don't want to disrupt that and replant them in the new plot. The shape of the plot (round vs. a strip) would not be amenable to my tree garden's hostas, most of which are minis or very small hostas. They are visible to admire over their 6" fencing because they are near the sidewalk, whereas the neighbor's plot is only a few feet from the front of the building. To admire minis planted there, you'd have to trespass on the lawn, which would not be good. That's why I'm looking at the smallish medium hostas, which you can clearly see at a distance.

So, in summary: Don't use first year TC's. Try the mentioned hosta sources. THANKS, GUYS! Of COURSE I will take pics when it's done and post them.