OK Kabby, where do you get your Peacock gingers....I made need to get some!! :)
Oh, BTW, my hostas faired fine, all are up and growing.
Jan

mine look fine even thought i did not water much last summer. they are pretty tough plants for me, going dormant when lack of water dictates. i am growing most of mine in containers as i have found they don't perform well with very much root competition from the many trees around my yard. also, i almost lost a couple when i removed the saucers from beneath the containers, allowing tree roots to find the drainage hole in the bottom. they completely filled up some large pots over a 2-year period and the hostas were in serious decline.
i just looked up peacock ginger and that looks like the plant that you sometimes see in dish gardens as houseplants.
am i correct in that? they are said to be hardy through zone 8 so will have to try some here in auburn.
how fast do they spread for you?

I did a trade with a non-GWer late last summer. He brought me an assortment of goodies including three pots of dead looking leaves. I almost threw them out, but after reading over and over on GW "don't give up too soon", I stuck them in the ground in an out of the way spot on the side of my hill. A lovely blueish hosta, a gorgeous varigated hosta and a beautiful bleeding heart, awaited me recently one morning on a inspection stroll...I hadn't even looked in that area since last fall...I just love surprises!!

Sigh, Jeff, confession time. Remember where I said above about Sum and Subtance being a late emerger? Well Peacocks are even later and I didn't know that. I dug up the roots and tossed them! It should have been my first clue, that the roots looked perfectly healthy, there just wasn't any green poking up.It was my first yr to have one. Live and learn.
I know what you are talking about in the dish gardens, "prayer plants." They do look alike but they are a different genus. Had to look that up cause I wasn't quite sure. The ginger that I had grew quite nicely with BIG leaves and tiny little flowers. I'm replacing it with the same named cv, next yr I'm buying different kinds.
Kaempferia 'Alva'
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Jan I have two ginger gurus. One in FL and one in TX. I grow hedychiums almost exclusively but I saw the Alva in person and had to have it. I'll email you.
Daffodillady your surprises sound very nice!

The peacock is BEAUTIFUL!!!!! My hostas have all fared fine. I too have noticed that they seem to do better in pots, plan to dig the rest of mine and put them in pots.

Question: When ya'll say you are putting your hostas in pots, do you mean you sink the pots in the ground or do you just plant them in decorative pots for the porch or patio? My hostas have not done well the past couple of years, so last year I just started sinking the pot in the ground...at least they came back this year. When planted directly in the ground, after a couple of years they simply seem to disappear. Any help would be appreciated.

hi bets4bama,
i am speaking of containers placed above ground.
it is said that this approach can improve the winter chill requirements that they need in warm areas.
i find that they just do better, period, when grown this way. no tree root competition, voles are not a problem (if you have a saucer beneath the container) and also helps deter the slugs which find them so appetizing.
my hostas are pretty much grouped together under a tree in a shade garden, like the photos here from a few years ago.
the containers don't have to be fancy in my case as i can hide them among other shade-tolerant plants.
most of the larger pots with hostas are grouped along a path behind the hydrangeas near the rear of the pics.
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these are beneath the canopy of an eastern red cedar and get morning sun, then bright filtered light the rest of the day. even daylilies and flowering tobacco seem to like this arrangement.

Those are lovely gardens Jeff...and the pots are a good idea for the hostas. I think maybe mine would fair better if in pots too. I might have to lift give it a try.
Jan

We had water restrictions last summer, and I did not water at all. My hosta looked really ratty by fall, but they came back gangbusters this year. I read a GW FAQ about moving hostas in full leaf. We moved about a dozen a few weeds ago using that technique and they never missed a beat, just kept on growing.

I think i am gonna try that too, definitely - gotta go read the GW FAQ (hosta page i assume?)

Yes, the directions for moving hosta was on the Hosta Forum. If I can remember until I get home :) I will take a picture to post. I must confess that I did not leave then taped until the tape fell off, but they are still doing great.