Propagating hostas at home is a fun, budget-friendly activity for fans of these shade-loving perennials. While every visit to the plant nursery is an exercise in self-control, you can avoid a trip by dividing your own hostas to populate your garden spaces. Here I’ll cover when and how to propagate hostas, step-by-step, as well as how to care for the plants after division. It’s the best way to make more hostas for free!

All about hostas

Hostas—a.k.a. plantain lilies—are one of the most popular ornamental landscaping plants. It’s no wonder, as there are few other plants that have all of the desirable characteristics of the hosta: 

• Easy to grow
• Relatively few pests (except snails, slugs, and deer)
• Thrives in shade and partial sun
• Interesting foliage in various textures, colors, and shapes
• Fragrant flowers that bloom throughout most of the growing season, from early summer to first frost
• A diversity of plant sizes, from giant to miniature hostas
• Hardy in USDA Zones 3 through 9

While we don’t often think about this, you can even eat hosta leaves and flowers! Our Niki Jabbour writes about harvesting hostas in her award-winning book, Veggie Garden Remix. 

As you expand your garden space, propagating hostas allows you to add more of your favorite plants to your landscape. Think blooms in a spectrum of colors, foliage that ranges from chartreuse to blue-greens to dark green, leaves in heart-shapes, and other striking features. 

To learn more about propagating hostas, watch this video:

The best method for propagating hostas

While it’s possible to propagate hostas from tissue culture and as seedlings from seed, division is the best way to propagate hostas at home. In fact, it’s the primary way hostas are propagated in the commercial nursery industry, too. Hostas’ fleshy roots hold moisture and nutrients that help new divisions get established, making propagation possible for home gardeners without a PhD in plant science.

How often to divide hostas

Hostas grow by rhizomes underground and before you can divide a plant, its rhizome network needs to be strong enough to support a division. Most hostas can be divided every 4 to 5 years. Regular division reduces crowding in the middle of the plant and helps encourage vigorous growth.

The right time of year for propagating hostas

While it’s possible to do it any time of year, put propagating hostas on your early spring to-do list. The above-ground growth dies back in the winter, and once the new shoots—called the eyes—emerge from the soil, it’s time to act. That said, often the best time to divide a plant is when you have time. For me, that is often in autumn when there are fewer garden chores. Just be aware that if you divide the plants later in the season, they may take longer to recover from the root disturbance.

Propagating hostas through division step by step

It’s actually quite easy to divide hostas. Some gardeners use a method that cuts away a section of the root while the plant is in the ground. My preferred method is to take the plant from the ground before dividing it and below you’ll find a step-by-step tutorial that illustrates this technique. 

Step 1: Dig up the plant 

Use a garden shovel or spade to dig around the root ball and then lift the entire plant and root system from the ground.

Step 2: Separate the clump

Clear away soil stuck to the roots. Gently pull apart the plant into sections, leaving as much of the plant material attached to the roots as possible. The number of replantable clumps you’ll get from one hosta plant will depend on the size of the plant. You want at least one eye in each section, but larger clumps typically establish more quickly than smaller ones. If you have a very large plant or rhizomes that just don’t want to come apart, use a sharp spade or a garden knife to cut the plant and roots into sections.

Step 3: Replant the divisions

Each division is now its own plant, ready to go in the garden. Space these throughout your landscape, leaving room for them to grow into their mature size. I space them about 8 to 10 inches apart. Plant them in the soil at the same depth as the mother plant. Be sure the soil is rich in organic matter. Mix in compost to the new planting sites to give your hosta divisions a good start.

You can also plant your new hostas into containers to add to your patio landscape or to share with others. Use containers with good drainage for proper moisture retention. Add a slow-release fertilizer to the growing medium so the hosta has nutrition throughout the growing season. 

Most hosta varieties do best with morning sun. If they’re planted in full shade, they’ll still make it, but they’ll grow more slowly and bloom less. Read the plant label to learn about the preferred conditions that your variety of hostas prefer.

Caring for newly divided hostas

Newly divided hostas need consistent watering until their root systems are established. This is another reason why spring is the best time of year for propagating hostas: Come summer, hot and dry conditions will stress the new plants. Aim for 1 inch per week of deep watering. Consider mulching to conserve moisture, but keep it 2 to 4 inches away from the hosta’s crown.

Can you propagate hostas from seed?

Growing hostas from seed is tricky because this won’t produce a plant identical to its parent. Even in the commercial nursery industry, seed propagation is typically only used by hybridizers—plant breeders who are developing new hosta cultivars. So, technically, yes, you can grow hostas from seed at home, but you don’t know what the resulting plant will be. It could be a fun experiment, if you have the time and space for it.

Extra tips for propagating hostas 

With all of the hosta varieties available to gardeners now, it’s fun to grow a few for yourself and to share among fellow hosta plant lovers. My best tip for propagating hostas is to try it with the varieties you really enjoy. My favorite variety is Blue Mouse Ears, with its lavender-colored flowers and heart-shaped blue-green leaves. Many a gardening friend has received a division from my home propagation because sharing plants is a joy for the giver and the receiver.

One more tip is to protect your new hosta divisions from the wildlife and insect life that love them. Deer repellent may be called for. In the case of those slugs and snails, bait or beer traps can be effective. (Read Jessica’s full list of slug-control methods.)

While we spend so much time focusing on producing plants through seed starting, it’s nice to know there’s an easier way to populate some of our garden favorites. Propagating hostas at home requires no special skills, just a shovel and a willingness to try something new. I have to warn you, though: Once you realize you have the ability to divide your own hostas, it becomes hard to stop. You’ll have no problem finding other gardeners to trade hostas with and selecting new places to replant your own divisions. Suddenly, going to the plant nursery isn’t as much of a temptation because you have your own plants to divide and replant. It’s the best possible problem for a gardener.

For more information on propagating plants, be sure to visit these articles:

• How to propagate sedum
• How to make more geranium plants by taking cuttings
• 3 techniques for propagating peonies