Hosta pruning

Question

I have a very large hosta,it went crazy this summer with more space.About 5 ft across had very large flowers and now the stalks have huge seed pods and leaves growing at base of stalk. Do I cut these? My other smaller hosta flower stalks just dry out and i pick them like a day lily or just wait until ready to prune for winter and cut everything down? any use for the seeds besides growing more plants ,Have no need I have about 50 now that all need to be split and replanted. will all varieties of hosta become this big with more space? It tripled in size.Thank you

Answer 1

I would recommend cutting these seed pods before they mature. This will only spread the plants much faster if they are left to mature. You can cut these at any time.

This article will give you information on dividing hostas: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/hosta/dividing-hosta-plants.htm

Answer 2

Hostas come in many mature sizes, different colors and a wide variety of blooms. Some blooms are large enough to interest hummingbirds and it could be that a pollinator got into the large flowers and fertilized them. I cut down flower stalks when the flowers fade because I think it looks better. It is completely up to you when to trim them. I don’t think the hosta will grow much bigger and hosta are one of the few perennials that do not need dividing – ever. You have a hybrid hosta which means that new plants from seed will not be exactly like the parent plant. Hybrids have 2 parent plants so, like our children, some “offspring” take after one parent and some have qualities of both. It is much easier to tease out or slice off a segment/division of the parent plant to start new plants. Instructions for growing hosta from seed are on the web; it is a long process.