I would hazard a guess and say that you can go ahead and use it. Check for additives, but this stuff is meant to be used around reptiles which do not tolerate much in the way of chemical toxins. If tropical snakes can live in this stuff with no ill effects, I would consider it completely safe. People who keep snakes, which I used to, are very careful what they expose their animals to. As far how it will work in your garden, at half-price I'd give it a shot and see how it goes.

I put it in a pretty shady spot and only one leaf unfurled. I moved it to a spot that gets a little more morning sun and it started unfurling, but I noticed it was leaning towards the sun. So, I moved it again ====>>>>> will you please reread the above .... slowly.. 4 times ... and come to understand that you.. MOVING IT THREE TIMES HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT UNFURLING .... here in adrian ... half of my hosta are under 4 inches ... yes.. 750 of them ... and you have moved things because they are not unfurling fast enough ... 200 miles west of me ??? .. didnt you just have the 4 days of cold rain that i had ... the soil isnt even worm enough yet .... i hope you are having a great time ... but me thinks you are on the edge ... lol ken

Last year I planted a single eye of T-rex and a single eye of Nancy Gill within twelve feet of each other. They both get the same light, fertilizer, and have the same soil. T-Rex is now two eyes and rather boring to look at. Nancy Gill is a perky six eyes with a nice shine. I know what you mean Kines. All year I have been looking at T-Rex and saying. . .not very impressive. My grandson keeps going back and looking at T-Rex every time he visits... just wanting him to live up to his name. I can see the disappointment in his eyes every time. . lol I have a feeling that maybe T-Rex has the ugly duckling syndrome. Think I will take Ken's advise and buy more plants and ignore T-Rex until the swan stage is reached. Thanks Ken, I needed another excuse. . . lol

The early tissue culture batches of T-Rex produced many plants that are very slow growers. Originator stock or a piece from a mature plant will grow at a good rate, but most of the tc plants will take a long time to mature. This is also a variety that does best when planted directly into the garden, even at a very small size, so your plant may have been slowed even further by being potted for a long time. It's too early to tell if these tc 'slowbies' will eventually reach the same size as the original plant, or how long it will take. I have T-Rex from the first year they were put into tc, and they are only now starting to get some size, and are still slow growers compared to other very large hostas. This is a variety that will take full sun, which should produce a faster growth rate than a shady location. Blue Umbrellas is a good grower, but again, yours might have been potted long enough to slow the growth rate, at least temporarily. You should see better growth next year, and as a mature plant, BU is beautiful and very tolerant of almost any conditions. It will take full sun in northern areas if kept well watered, and holds the blue coloration longer than most blues under similar conditions. If you prefer a bluer plant with much larger leaves, plant BU in half shade or even full shade.