to live.. it needs a single eye ... some crown.. and some roots .. [are you saying there were no eyes.. no pips ...]

if you have all 3.. in theory.. they should live ....

its been decades since i have seen recently cut hosta sent by mail .... usually they are cut in summer, the year prior .. grow in the ground .. and then sent the following spring ...

regardless.. report back in a month or so.. and let us know ...

you could have left them on the driveway ... and they would have sprouted.. so i suspect you will be all set ....

i also suspect.. you went with a bargain supplier .... you probably would not have seen this if you went with one of the more trusted suppliers ... for just a few bucks more ...

good luck
ken

Ken,

I suppose I'm using the wrong terminology (and it would help if I had taken pictures, but I planted quickly as thunderstorms were approaching and I didn't want to forget them and end up soaking them overnight!). I mean that there were no sprouts (pips?) on some of the hosta, but there were chunks of white material (crown?) that looked kind of like the heart of cabbage, to which the roots were attached.

I ordered from G.H. Wild and, looking on Garden Watchdog, some customers are really pleased and some are really NOT. Oh well, fingers crossed!

Hi Newbie,

I have gotten hosta like this and they have always turned out fine. They are probably from up north and have not emerged yet. Just plant them and wait. They will emerge.

I've also bought them like that. The ones in sawdust turned out fine. They're on the second year and are some really nice plants.

Just don't bury the crown (that centerpoint, hairy looking thing).

bkay

check out the link

the purple pips.. are .. well.. pips.. eyes ...

though there are millions of dormant eyes in the potato like like crown.. i would not pay good money to wait for them to develop ...

on the pic.. those eyes were formed LAST SUMMER ... for this years growth..

are any of you suggesting that waiting for dormant eyes ... to develop and grow.. is worthwile money spent???

if you paid 5 bucks.. so what ... you got what you paid for ....

if this is a $100 plant.. you got ripped off ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Newbie,

Did you buy one of those collections of plants that come in a plastic bag (i.e. 10 hosta for $20)? If you did then what you probably got was a group of plants from Holland.

You really should buy from an online hosta source such as Hallson Gardens or Naylor Creek. Those hostas in a plastic bag may be diseased or have foliar nematodes. Quality hosta sources get their plants grown from tissue culture here in the US, and can guarantee their plants to be disease free and nematode free.

Steve

Hi Again,

I bought several from them last summer. Most of the ones that were in sawdust turned out really nice. I lost the two that came in pots, probably because they stayed too wet. (On the other hand, the ones in sawdust were planted in the same moisture control potting soil, too.)

Earlier this spring, I asked about the origin of their plants. Their horticulturist emailed me that the origin of their hosta was Minnesota. He said they had an agressive policy on hosta virus X and are regulated by the state of Missouri.

I feel like I got more than I paid for on the ones in the sawdust ($4.00 range for multiple eyed plant) and a lot less than I paid for on the ones in the pots ($10.00 range for single eyed plants).

They have a lousy customer service department, which would account for the difference in ratings. If one has no problems or simple problems, then they are a great nursery - good prices, etc. They sent one plant that was incorrectly labeled. (I think it's Francee and it's supposed to be Wide Brim.) They immediately replaced it at no charge. After the dry ones turned out so well and the potted ones stalled out as soon as I received them, I asked (last summer) how to tell which ones were potted. They sent a not too nice email about how they couldn't guarantee how many eyes, etc. When you read the bad reviews, it's usually related to how bad the customer service dept. treated them.

I think I would order from them again, but haven't. I would buy the cheap ones, though. I also would not worry about virus X unless I received some specific information that indicates I should.

bkay

Well, if their wholesaler was here in MN, then there's a good chance the hosta are from Shady Oaks. I think that's a good thing!

Thank you all for your responses.

bkay,
When you say "bury the crown," is it okay for it to be just under the surface of the dirt? Going on instinct (as this is my first time with bareroot hosta) I put the crown at the top and just covered it with soil, with the roots coming down and out from there.

ken,
Thanks for the link. It was very informative.

Steve,
Thanks for the recommendations; I will check them out come fall.

I'm not an expert and really don't have a lot of experience. Maybe someone else can answer that correctly. I can just tell you what I did.

I made sure the crown was just sticking out of the dirt. I kind of made a mound in the center of the pot (I only grow in pots) and spread the roots around the mound. Then I covered it with dirt up to the point that the center point was still out of the dirt.

The plants did well, although I wasn't sure if they were too shallow when I first planted them.

bkay

crowns do NOT get buried ....

check that link above...

the pips.. which sit right on the crown... should be above the soil ... as in that pic.. that is how a vast majority of mine look.. ALL WINTER ...

roots in the soil ... crown at the soil surface ... and eventually leaves and stalks above the ground ...

too deep.. and the plant will suffer .. and if really too deep .. will stunt and eventually die ..

if you ever see a plant.. that just looks weird.. off type.. not quite as tall as it is supposed to be ... just looks like it is struggling.. the first thought is to check that the crown is not too deep ...

did yours have the eyes or pips??? [i will re-read closer later]

ken

ken,
Most of the hosta are now showing pips above ground. They got pounded with rain this morning, so if I did plant some a bit low, hopefully some soil eroded. I might go back to those plants that aren't showing pips and scrape some soil off the top. My stepdaughter helped me plant and I think that hers are actually doing better because she didn't do such a "good" job of covering up the crowns!