Waking up potted hostas now?

12 years ago

If I wanted to start waking up a few Hosta that are outside now, in pots by bringing them in... when would be the prime time?

It would be nice to stretch the growing season without starting too soon, is there a known amount of time they will tolerate, and flourish.

I did just throw one small common Hosta into my little terrarium to see if it woke up, It did suffer some root damage outside I think. When they pot was set over, some of the dirt shifted at some point in time..

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Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
it would be nice to know where you are.. i cant keep track of everybody .. cant you do that on your members page ...

i have bought hosta at hosta college in mid march .. and by the time they can go outside.. frost free fer sure.. 6/1 .. they seem really tired ... and never really do anything ...

i presume they were awakened 6 weeks earlier ...

you wont kill them.. they might just peak out early .. and might not multiply aggressively over next winter ...

all that said.. give one a go ...

ken
franknjim
12 years ago
I brought 40 something indoors three weeks ago. They will tucker out sooner than those left outside but even when the tops stop growing the roots will still be growing. I did the same thing last year too. The only thing it really does is adjust the growing season for the plant. All of mine will go in the ground this year but I am sure to have more in pots over next winter and I will bring those inside as well. It is nice to have hostas to look at while all the rest are still sleeping. You get to observe them up close and can notice things you normally wouldn't see.
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User
12 years ago
It seems my hosta are waking up all on their own. In south AL, this is probably the best time for them, if it could be like this the rest of the year, they'd do pretty well, I'm thinking.

I took pictures today intending to drop a few into the Alphabet Soup posts. But...might as well show how large some of them are already. Of course, some are still dormant, with signs of green roots going everywhere in the pot.

Do not know what this one is. It was dug out of the ground in November in MA zone 5b/6a and brought south dormant.

The H.'Fragrant Blue' is looking good to me, never heard of it but figured a 'Fragrant' name meant it would do good down here. So far so good.

H.'Lederhosen' was also one dug and shipped south, sitting in a pot this last winter.

How about trying to bring them into a coolish sun porch where the air is not too dry?
Steve Massachusetts
12 years ago
Not too dry is how they like it. Cooler should be fine, although I doubt that your temps are too hot right now. Remember that in your zone the shade requirements will be greater for these plants than in the North. Sounds you've had lots of rain which they will like a great deal. Just make sure your pots are draining well. A bark based media is best. I use the 5-1-1 that is advocated in the container forum. It's 5 parts pine mulch, one part perlite and one part peat. I would also evelate the pots on "pot feet". I just use little pieces of 2x2 that I had hanging around. Plenty of water and good drainage will keep these guys happy. You can also apply fert now if they are growing. Some slow release Osmocote (10-10-10 or similar) in the pots will suffice for a good 3 months.

Steve

Waking up potted hostas now?

Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

franknjim

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