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Alabama hosta 'toddler' here :-). Do I need to move these, and ID

16 years ago

would be helpful...

I had a few of these hosta (the larger ones on the left) when I moved from the Chicago area. They were my first plants in my first home, so they came with me. I was told they couldn't live here -- and nearly 4 years later, with a few new friends, they look great during spring!

By the end of summer, they are pretty badly beaten up. They are on the west side of the house -- do I need to move them to the back of the house under more shade? Perhaps along the back of the foundation facing north?

Also, I have NO idea what these hosta are ... any IDs would be helpful as I start to expand my hosta love and collection. Thanks!

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Comments (6)

esther_opal
16 years ago
Hosta suffer from 2 things neither is the sun but are influenced by the sun. Water and Heat.

The white wall will reflect the sun causing higher heat which you may not be able to overcome. Remember you cannot get to much water but you can easily have to little. They need high water every day like a baby needs milk OFTEN, can't give a baby a gal of milk every other day.

Search bog hosta, which may help you with water. If you want more info on how to do it let me know, most everyone has already heard the story.
toymr2mk2
16 years ago
Starting in the upper left.....
Royal Standard.....Does your plant have fragrant flowers?
Lower left.....Francee
Large one in middle.....Sieboldiana Elegans
In front of the large one.....Whirlwind
Upper right.....Fortunei Albomarginata
Lower right.....Patriot.....
Do any of these sound familiar? Problem is that other than Whirlwind and maybe Francee the others could be any number of similar hostas. But these are my best guesses. Also, in our zone a western exposure is not usually a good thing for hostas. I would find a cooler more shaded location imo and either way give them lots of water. Good luck and great looking hostas!
Art
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finz2left
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I will look at moving them to a microclimate in my yard that stays a bit cooler, and the IDs are very helpful....patriot, francee, and whirlwind -- those all sound right. The bigger ones I've had so long that my memory is gone on whether that sounds right, but I'm going with it! :-).
Hosta_Haven
16 years ago
toymr2,

I totally agree with all your IDs of the hostas

Char
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
16 years ago
you have to move at least 3 of them ... i would leave francee where she is ... the back ones are too close to the house.... and the front right will be swamped by francee soon enough ...

unless the sun damage bugs you.. then they all have to move ....

ken
finz2left
Original Author
16 years ago
If I move them, will they turn to babies or smaller eyes next year? Or, can I hope they keep their size or even grow? I'm thinking of placing them underneath the awning in the back of my house where only red tacky lava rock exists now. I can dig that up and replace with nicer mulch. It gets very light sun -- the back of the house faces north.

Thanks!

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