I got a little too lucky: Late winter protection for bare roots

10 years ago

Here's the story: I know folks here don't think much of the bare root plants bought at the brick and mortar box stores. But I saw some and thought, "what the hey. Give it a shot."

I hoped to use the next three weeks to hopefully nurture the poor dears into the something healthy.

Well when i got home and opened up the bags, I was shocked. 8 inch roots of crowns that were so fat and alive I thought they might crawl out of the bags on their own! This was not what i was expecting. I couldn't fit them in any of the pots I had prepared for them and just planted them out.

Now for my question: I put some very light mulch over them and emptied the pots I had and covered the crowns with the the upturned pots. Will this be enough protection?

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Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
enough protection for what???

its supposed to go below zero tonight in my MI ...

is that what you are talking about????

or regular z6 spring temps????

anyway ... bargain is a bargain ... we dont like bigboxstore.. mostly for virus potential ... mislabeled ... lack of selection ..... or just dead ... but all that aside.. they are cheap hosta ... if you are happy.. i am happy for you ...

some words .... the crown is the potato like structure.. at the top of the roots ... and pips are poking out of it ...

ken

ps: here's the answer [i had to have lunch to focus.. lol] ... hosta are held dormant in refrigerated warehouses ... fully dormant.. they wouldnt care what the temps you are protecting from ...

however.. yours have been shipped.. and sitting in a warm BBStore .... so they are potentially coming out of dormancy.. and subject to frost or freeze damage ...
woodlandpatio
Original Author
10 years ago
Well if that's the case, I'll leave them there and see how they fare. Haha. Thanks for coming back when you weren't hungry, that was really hard to understand.

It's not going to get as cold as you. Just normal early spring temps (below freezing at night, above freezing at day) they should be okay. Where I planted them is a very sheltered spot, underneath some shrubs near the patio. Just to be safe though, I'll add a bit more mulch.
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Babka NorCal 9b
10 years ago
Just one word of caution...Keep them away from your other healthy hostas and watch them for a few years to be sure they don't have HVX. There is no cure and it ruins the soil where they are planted for future hostas. Welcome to the world of hostas.

-Babka
jadie88
10 years ago
A big box store impulse buy is what got me started in hosta...so watch out, it is habit forming.

A sure sign that you've gone down the rabbit hole is when Ken starts making perfect sense! :)
Mary4b
10 years ago
My first hosta garden was all from boxes that came from Home Depot...this was well before the hosta bug hit me, and before most of us had heard of HVX...
As it turned out, MOST of the hostas I'd purchased in those boxes were Shade Fanfare and Fortunai Aureomarginata.
The picture shows one end of that vast spread of hostas across my front yard. That garden is not there anymore, but they created a lush look and ground cover for me very quickly and affordably. The bright one in the front wasn't from the box store...that's Sunshine Glory.

I didn't realize the beauty I had in the Shade Fanfare until I'd had them at least 3-5 years.

4 years ago I bought some Elegans in boxes at "GASP" Wally World. I did the same thing with them as the others and they are very beautiful today.

I know what everyone says here, and I respect them and do try not to buy at those places, but for some people, it may be what brings them to this beautiful hosta passion. I know it did me.
paula_b_gardener 5b_ON
10 years ago
Wow, I really envy all of that space to plant! I would love to plant a 'vast spread of hosta'.

I got a little too lucky: Late winter protection for bare roots

Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

woodlandpatio
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I got a little too lucky: Late winter protection for bare roots

Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

woodlandpatioOriginal Author

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woodlandpatio
Original Author