Had 3 trees cut down yesterday. Goodbye shade

11 years ago

These three trees have been declining for years and were dangerous. Unfortunately they provided shade to the hostas in front. All of these hostas are lime free varieties that can take some sun. Sorry, I didn't write down the names and can't remember.

Will I have to move them all? Do you think they can take a Southern exposure without dying? Is there anything I can do now, before they come up, to help them?

Last summer they looked so beautiful. After 3 years they were really flourishing. I really don't want to relocate them if I don't have to.

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Comments (6)

Babka NorCal 9b
11 years ago
So sorry to hear that you had to cut down some trees. That is always difficult, when you've had them for years providing shade. I'm not familiar with "lime free varieties" of hosta. Most hostas can take a lot of sun, provided you give them enough water. How far North are you. That determines how strong the sun gets in Summer.

You can just wait and see what happens and keep them well watered. If they begin to fry in the sun, then you can move them if you like... OR wait to see how they adjust to the sunshine. No rush. The leaves might get brown edges, but the roots will be just dandy for nice big plants next year. Many growers have their hostas in full sun to develop strong root systems. The tops might look like c**p in mid-Summer, but the roots are strong.

-Babka
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
hosta gorw exceptionally vigorously in sun [though the further south you go. that should be taken into account] ...... especially if you take the care to try to drown them... and often will add more crowns faster than in shade.. so they have the potential to be very much bigger next year ...

the big downside is they start looking very tired.. very early ... so by mid august or so.. they will APPEAR to be going downhill ... and ugly ....

but what they are basically doing.. is storing energy for next year ...

some will do better than others .. all white tissue will suffer ...

but bottom line.. sun alone will not KILL them ...

plan some new beds for fall ... so you can.. based on ugly.. move some around..

but dont really fret/worry about total death ... unless you simply forget to water them.. ALL SUMMER LONG ..

ken
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in ny zone5
11 years ago
I read this here often that hostas should be grown in full sun and given a lot of water. Note that to give them a lot of water you probably need an automatic watering system and low prices for faucet water. When you have no automatic watering system, you might need to install one, need to remember to water daily in the hot part of the year, or you will need a good back to lug hoses and still need to remember.

In my zone 5 garden I do not have an automatic watering system and pay probably $500 every year to water my hostas. I also take a week to 10 days vacation in June and have nobody to water my hostas then, so I grow my hostas in semi-shade to let them live through summer.
Bernd
mommabird
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you! I meant lime green - not lime free lol!

I confess I get bad about watering by mid August. I may have to investigate an automatic system!
thisismelissa
11 years ago
Since your profile doesn't tell us where you live, it's hard to predict their overall performance.

I can, however, tell you that the hosta, given enough water, will probably love the sun! Your first hot streak will tell you which hostas are going to scorch and won't be able to handle the more intense sun.

A couple years back, I selected a couple dozen varieties to move to a full sun garden. They're huge now. They've filled in way faster than any hosta I have in shade. But I do have them on an irrigation system that gives them a good drink every other day.
User
11 years ago
If you live in a zone as high as mine, which is deep south, then they need some shade time. As mentioned earlier, they will survive given enough moisture, and should grow root systems to support healthy growth after more shade is available. But they won't look good in the meantime.

Last year I flirted with the sun for some of my first-year hosta. But I always gave in and moved them back to safety and avoided mid afternoon direct sun, which is hot and deadly for man and plant. Thankfully for most of the summer we had good rainfall. Otherwise, they required watering. That can be both time consuming and expensive.

Had 3 trees cut down yesterday. Goodbye shade

Comments (6)

Babka NorCal 9b

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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Had 3 trees cut down yesterday. Goodbye shade

Comments (6)

Babka NorCal 9b

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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in ny zone5

mommabirdOriginal Author

thisismelissa

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mommabird
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