I was very curious to know how to start hosta from seed, but everywhere I read said that it was not commonly done since the seeds are not always produced. Turns out that one variety of the hostas I collected in the fall of 2007 did indeed produce pods with hundreds of seeds. The hosta seed I collected this year was an open pollinated Elegans hosta.
The pods that form after the flowers die are about an 1″ long on this variety and hang down on the flower stem. You have to keep a close eye on these because once they’ve dried and opened a strong gust of wind could take off with all the papery seeds. The pods will become very woody and open when the seeds are ready for harvest. Removing the pods when they are still green may give you seeds, but they may not be mature enough at this point to germinate. The seeds are very small and have a papery, black tail on the husk.
