I'm new here too, but I'm pretty sure the correct answer is "All of them!"

They all look healthy...and wow, that's a lot of Hostas.

if you are looking for ground cover or a hosta glade then those are fine.

otherwise ask yourself if you have a goal in mind. and do any of those fit in with the plan.

Really depends what you want. Great job on WS!

Thanks! But what do I do with now? Clearly they need transplanting into larger pots, or should I just put them in a bed outside? I have a saucer magnolia under which I think they can get a bit of sun but mostly shade. Maybe a good spot for a baby hosta bed?

They look healthy to me to. I would recommend pot growing them to give them time to increase in size. They are too small to plant outside yet it seems to me. But it is hard to tell how big your pots are. Maybe put two or three in a larger pot to increase a bit in size before planting outside. I am worried at this small size they could be trampled or dug up (those feisty squirrels) or very prone bug attack. Good luck. When we all started down this addiction of hosta growing/collecting, we all started small and tried things. That’s how you will build your knowledge base on hostas and your yard And get addicted like the rest of us. :-)

What I do with my volunteer seedlings is pick out the ones that look the same and plant them in clumps either in pots or in an area of choice. When you decide to get more varieties you can use them in places until the others have increased in size. I would plant them all. They look way too nice and healthy to discard. You just never know what you may have down the road If you feel you don't want to have them all. pot them up and put them up for sale on a local buy and sell/ You never now it may make you a few $$ to buy some others that look attractive to you.

Thanks, djacob! My “pots” are 5 oz paper cups. I think they would really take off in larger pots. Maybe transplant in the fall?

Wow you had a fantastic success rate with the seeds. You will have a lot of hostas. If you have some leftover that you do not want, I would encourage you to share with others.

If you have baby bed, plant it out. As long as they nit crowded by bigger plants they will grow. Here is my WS project. I go after streakers and gold.

Thanks for the great ideas. Think I will try lindalana’s suggestion to start potting up in larger pots, with multiple plants. This is so much fun!

When you transplant, make sure it’s at least 6 weeks before a freeze in your area. Otherwise you are likely to lose some. Personal experience with hostas in large pots that were already well developed. The roots must have time to establish. Let us know how it goes!

Welcome to the hosta forum, momdino!

I started some seeds this past winter also... when they outgrew their starter pots, I put them in SLIGHTLY larger ones. Be sure not to put them in pots that are way too large, they prefer to be almost pot-bound. And, they need to have a planting medium that has excellent drainage.

I set my potted seedlings into a nursery flat and put it in a garden bed where they get dappled sun, and plenty of moisture.... they're doing well and a couple have bloomed already.

Not sure what I'll do with them... they are just solid colors - a few yellow, mostly green. And they're probably going to be smallish plants generally... the seeds came from either Lemon Lime or Gingko Craig. I will probably find a place to plant them later in the summer... IF their root development looks decent... otherwise, I may actually overwinter them in the garage.

I don't really have a "nursery" or baby bed... just a few empty places where they could fill in a bit.

It was fun to start them... I'm not sure if I'll do again this coming winter, or wait until my newly-acquired streaked hostas have a chance to grow a bit, bloom, and possibly contribute to the gene-pool...in a year or so. Otherwise I won't have any variegated seedlings.

Thank you, windymess, and djacob, you guys are so knowledgeable and so helpful! Mine currently live on the deck under a pergola, early morning and late afternoon somewhat off and on sun. My mix is an enriched version of Tapla’s (from the container growing forum) 511 mix. Really great drainage.

So the seedlings will bloom!? Cool!

off to do some repotting!

Yes welcome and happy retirement! Now you can spend as much time as you want gardening. Nice job growing the seedlings!

they probably wont bloom this year .. maybe next ...

i would throw out everything that look like most everything else ...

you have a couple that are round leafed .. a couple that are yellow ... those.. imo.. are the keepers ...

most of us do this.. under lights.. as a winter hobby ....

edged hosta come from streaked mothers ... you either buy a couple of those ... or you buy seed from streaked mothers ... and then you get streaked babes.. which 5 or 10 years down the line.. edge out into .. MAYBE .. something new and better ...

growing OP seeds is a great way to start ... to learn ... but when it all boils down.. after a few years.. you will just end up with a bazillion nondescript hosta ... and you will start wondering why you didnt cull them better back when they were this size ...

you absolutely need a goal ... and when you declare a goal.. then you can throw out everything that does not further that goal.. when you have no goal... see above about bazillions.. lol ...

every trait of a mature hosta.. is right there in each babe.. when you spend enough time gazing at them ... and after a few years.. you are able to predict what it will look like.. when nearing maturity ... there might be one ripple indicating future pebbling.. a lance shaped leaf.. will never be a round leaf.. a yellow.. will never be a blue.. etc ...

keep up Gods work .. and look to some of our better sources for better seed next fall .. i think the library runs the seedling auction.. where get this... peeps spend hundreds of dollars for a dozen of so seed... or they used to.. i dont follow it all that carefully anymore ...

welcome to the insanity ...

ken

http://www.hostalibrary.org/cgi-bin/auction.pl

http://www.hostalibrary.org/

click the indoor and outdoor links

http://www.hostalibrary.org/growingseed.html

Very helpful advice Ken. I understand I’m not going to get any outstanding new cultivar to register and this is just for practice. But I have learned a lot about this incredibly diverse plant and will seek out a streaked parent to try my hand at Hybridizing. I absolutely love the golden colors and the blue ones of course. Maybe by the time I’m ready, I will have formulated a set of goals and possible pathways to that goal. Thanks again to everyone here!

Be sure to get them in the ground for winter or overwinter in a garage or semi heated spot. They need enough cold to go dormant, but not so much they freeze. Personally I have the best luck putting them in the ground. Potted hostas left outside get wet and rot.

Let your babies grow a couple years. You can cull the ugly ones, but it's hard to tell what's worth keeping until they're a few years old and their "personality" shows. Maybe Ken can tell, but he's had a lot of practice. I donate my "not good enough to keep" volunteer seedlings to local plant sales - and that's 99% of them.