whats that black stuff??????

anyway .. what do you have to lose in trying???

my guess is that it fails .... unless there is some minuscule bit of crown attached.. from which roots can extend...

without crown material ... i don't think roots can grow ... no matter how many chime in and say they have done it ....

that said.. think about all the roots left in the ground.. now pumping water into the remaining plant... jump back .. it might be a lot bigger next year...

ken

I did the same thing to a couple of hostas last week. I stuck them in water in a vase thinking I'd at least enjoy the pretty leaves for awhile and it actually looks like a couple of them might be growing tiny roots now. I change the water every day so it doesn't get yucky and smelly.

I say give it a shot. It's a good experiment.

digin....
I agree with Ken, concerning all the roots left in the ground. It's all still there, and hostas are tough.

You can go back to page three and read the post:
"Any thought it was a gonner stories?"

You'll see how many Hostas survive catastrophies.

Good luck with the leaves in water method too!

Julie

It'll grow. As long as the part of the plant that holds the leaves together is there, it will grow. Don't know if that's part of the crown or not.
Any time I break something like that off, I stick it in one of the flower pots on my deck with the impatiens, or in the ground next to the bird bath...both sites insuring it gets lots of water. I have also had plants like that root in water.
I believe it'll grow.
Linda C
As long as there

Wha is in the ground will almost assuredly grow, find post on stomping.

Yes, those leaves will likely grow roots. Last year I had a clean break at ground level on a Dream Queen. I planted the leaves in a pot. Some withered up but by the end of the season, there were a bunch of roots and I planted them in the ground. The plant came up fine this year. The part of the Dream Queen with all roots came up with only tiny leaves. So better all leaves than all roots.

It will have a better chance of surviving if you use Bill Roston's method. Cut off most the the leaves to reduce transpiration, dip end into Rootone, place in damp spaghnam moss, enclose in clear plastic bag, keep in shade. There appears to be enough crown material left for it to make new roots.

It'll grow, all right - at least the larger of the two stems will, I don't know if the smaller one is cut low enough but it's worth a try.

I'd take off the outermost 2 or 3 leaves (they rot anyway eventually), and put the rest in water. They'll have roots in 3 to 4 weeks.

I did this to a Guacamole oh, in 2003. It looked exactly like your photo, but 7 weeks later it had 16 individual roots coming out the bottom. Just in time to be planted in the ground for winter, and the rest is history. I managed to subject it to all sorts of indignities since (moved it across the country - twice!), and in spite of all that this spring it came up a gorgeous 12-eye plant. This is not huge for a Guac - but it's great progress for an essentially home-created TC hosta!

BTW, I always stick my inadvertent rootless wonders in water all the way up to the leaves, and they root about 80% of the time. I also throw a few (VERY few!) grains of soluble fertilizer into the water: presto, hydroponic hosta! I like the water approach, as it lets me watch for the best moment to plant - when the root mass is adequate. I have four green amputees rooting on my deck right now, as a matter of fact.

Good luck! I'm sure your cuttings will do just great.

Want to try my method? plant them in a container with soil and sat the whole container in a dish with a shallow water and keep in the shade.... and forget about it.. just remember to add water every now and then.. good luck :)

Thanks everyone - it sounds like it has a good chance of surviving. I remember a story on this forum about hostas growing out of a garbage bag in someone's trunk, so hopefully with a little TLC these will survive.

melati, I think I'll try your method...because your photo includes a wine glass, and that's my style...

Thanks again!