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Am I the only one who breaks the rules?

Linda's Garden z6 Utah

10 years ago

I have read many, many posts on here about growing hosta in pots and how you have to be careful about keeping them dry in the winter and not putting them in too big of a pot for their size.

Long before I ever knew about this forum, I planted hosta in pots all over the yard (in potting soil) and just left them where they stood during the winter. I did not cover them or try to keep them dry. I even put some in pots that were way to big for the plant and all of them have always come back each year. I have been doing this for at least 12 years. Our winters here in northern Utah are cold (below freezing most of the time) and usually snowy.

Last fall I had some hosta in 4" and 6" nursery pots that did not get planted and I just left them sitting on the patio all winter with several feet of snow piled on top of them. All of them are now growing. So I am just wondering why some people have such trouble with them rotting in pots and I don't?

I guess I should just be grateful that they keep coming back right? Anyone else do what I do?

Linda

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Comments (6)

Gesila
10 years ago
You were lucky. I forgot some that were in the garden and lost them... of course, they were my most expensive ones.

Linda
coll_123
10 years ago
I have had losses too. For me, some cultivars are tougher than others. I've had some that I've left in unprotected pots and came through fine, others were lost, or just really damaged ( small, shriveled eyes in the spring) I haven't lost any that I've had in well draining potting soil and sunken into the ground in the fall. The problem is that I am really lazy in the fall.
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bkay2000
10 years ago
You have been blessed. I'm in Texas where we never stay frozen very long and I've lost pots to rot in the spring.

My wish is that your good luck continues and your hosta stay beautiful and healthy..

I'm not sure what to say past that.

bk
beverlymnz4
10 years ago
OK. I left some in pots in a odd mix of compost and potting soil in years past. I tried the tip method this year and lost 2 of 4. So I think weather , moisture, critters etc. also play a part. In your case, is it possible, that your altitude helps? Doesn't it snow at higher temps than it does here? Just a thought.

Beverly
Babka NorCal 9b
10 years ago
We never freeze here, and have winter days up into the 60's, so any moisture in a pot while they are dormant makes them a real brewing ground for rot. When I was new at this, I just left them in the rain for the first 3 years I grew them and didn't worry. They did fine! Then one wet winter 1/2 my 90 pots rotted.

In UT, I imagine once things get frozen they don't thaw till Spring. It is the freezing/thawing/freezing/thawing that often messes them up.

The rules are just guidelines. Be happy you have conditions that allow you to grow hostas so easily. Be wary, tho, only your most prized, most expensive ones will bite the dust.

-Babka
chris-e
10 years ago
I think the "rule" about not planting them in pots that are too big is silly. If that were the case, how could they ever survive in a garden? Think of how big THAT pot is!

Now I do tip my pots in the winter to avoid having the plants becoming water-logged and freezing. Just because that is what everyone says that is the way to do it. Maybe that is wrong too, I don't really know.

chris

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