Good show, Esther! Now, if little Pure Heart doesn't make it (mine was destroyed by squirrels this winter), check out Snow Mouse as a possible alternate. I'm surprised and delighted at it vigorous growth despite the upheaval of the shared bowl it lives in. Ahhh, your Paradise Island will be a joy to behold. Mine lasts a long time, looking good to the very end. Maui Buttercups is fine, but when it got really hot sort of faded out. But still worth growing even in my extreme climate. Do you have a smarty phone? I have my pictures on Flickr, and there is an app which lets me upload to Flickr quite easily. I always add "tags" with the hosta name for easier retrieval. Flickr is a Yahoo affiliate now.

Lol, I'm chuckling because I've done the same thing...thinking I'll remember..sometimes it works, sometimes not. Lol The last batch I mixed up I used orchid mix bark...really nice small bits. It made up a beautiful soft mix - very porous when watering. The most recent bag I grabbed at Walmart is still lying around unused - they are too big so I'll have to re-purpose them as mulch or something. I'll have to go back to Garden Gallery on Hwy. 90 for the smaller bark - it was perfect! Around $7 for a small bag. If I find something better I will let you know ASAP. Btw, when in a pinch, I just use straight potting mix from Miracle Grow. Works fine too if you don't pot your plants in too big a pot. I see the wisdom now in growing them in a somewhat crowded pot. I too learned from Bk!:-). If you will over-winter then put in the effort now and save yourself time, money and heartache later. You will be glad you did! Rina, if you're inclined take a drive to (or call if you don't want to be tempted by plants, lol) Bradford Greenhouses Garden Gallery on Hwy. 11. See if they carry any bark fines. I'm not up to speed as to what they offer in that line. I will be going there (the Barrie one) on the week- end though. If I find anything interesting I'll email you and vice versa? :-). Warning: last year they had many, many hostas! Jo

Several reasons but the question is these ingredients have not reached the point where they hold water well, the water will just run through which is a good thing on the short term. You need to provide the water that is draining out quickly so the roots dont dry out. The microherd, soil organisms will begin to sort out what you put down and they don't actually need to be water logged to do their work yet they need evenly moist. They start to break down this organic matter you are providing, rearranging the parts into a structure. One organism eats a little poo and a little bit of a leaf or twig and is eaten by another organism, reducing the organic matter finally into soil. I think it was the soil organisms thread, find and read that and you will see the process you are starting with this lasagna bed. You have done all you can do in this process except water when needed which will be more often than nature will do unless you are unlucky. This area is almost like a big potted plant.

I knew hosta could evolve to solve every problem. This one was unexpected, but so effective! There is already one named JAWS. Predator is good, so would be Piranha. Good for you, Leaf!