Some of my hostas reach for the light. Is 'Guardian Angel' getting enough light?

I would also be interested in knowing how one can tell whether a hosta is planted too deep once it has been planted, that is without digging it up. What do you experienced hosta growers do while planting a new hosta to adjust for settling in the growing medium.

When you get the plant, you'll notice that part of it, at the bottom, is white... that means it's been below the soil level.

That's a good indicator of where it should be.
But I can see that in most of those pics, the 'sheath' that covers the pip as it emerges, is actually above level. That's a good sign.

Are there a lot of tree roots in this area?

I also wonder if the slanted growth is sort of a Guardian angel trait? Mine is very flat, and reaches noticeably for the sun, as irawon said, but I also notice that the petioles are nearly parallel to the soil- much less upright than all the other hosta in the garden.

They are all in quite shady locations, however others in the same area are growing well so, unless these three are particularly intolerant of shade I would think that is okay.

The GA is planted underneath and close to a double flowering plum. So not a lot of tree roots, but there are dfp roots. The other two are between a line of spruce and a line of cottonwoods. Again though, others are growing well in both locations.

If you can ignore the dog, this photo shows where GA is located, just to the right of the dog's head. You can see the others hosta that are thriving.

I don't have a photo of the area where the other two are located. Once the rain stops, I will try to get one.

This past spring I had a 2nd year June that was smaller than it had been the previous fall and it was leaning in a weird way so I dug it up. I discovered that voles had eaten all the roots except for two - about 6" long and there were teeth marks on the under side of the crown! I moved it to another area, gave it some good amendments and hoped for the best.

Two weeks ago I decided to move it again and was thrilled to see a real root ball again! I think June will make it after all.

So I would carefully check and see what is going on below ground, especially the "leaning" ones, because that is what June was doing that made me really suspicious.
BettyLu

what are those branches right above GA.. and why is that shrub/tree.. so close to the ground ...

reaching for light is the only reason it should tilt..

presuming the dog wasnt laying on it.. early in spring .. lol

as to too deep [two?] ... if you have a leaf.. of a given size.. and you see plants with similar leaves.. and yours is half as short.. well.. its too deep ... and it is wasting a lot of energy.. crawling up form the depths ...

on young plants... leaf size is fairly indicative of the level of maturity.. so they should be the same height ...

also.. if you have something like krossa regal.. a tall vase shape plant.. and your leaves are touching the ground.. well ... you take it from there ...

ken

I am not an expert but both my Sagae and my Frances Williams which are normally HUGE every year, at least 12 eyes each, came up looking similar to your first 2 pics. A lot of my hostas got tagged hard by the late freeze in May, couldn't it be that?

I am having a hard time visualizing your initial photo of Guardian Angel. I see 3 petiole and what looks to be 5, or parts of 5 blades. What are we looking at? If the part I am seeing between the middle and right hand pet. is part of a different leaf, I would say it certainly seems planted way too deeply - or, there is a hole in the center of the crown which might indicate vole damage.

Are you sure your dog hasn't stepped on it and broken some emerging petioles off?

Les

Since you planted these last fall, this is the first full year for these plants in your garden. That means they are just babies. If they are competing with a lot of roots then they will struggle because they are not yet well established plants. Have you given them water? fertilizer? Did you do a thorough job preparing the soil? Until they are established plants, they will need your help. If you removed that shrub from encroaching on GA that would be a good start. Then it would get a lot more light.

Steve

My GA is two years old. As coll mentioned, notice how horizontal the petioles and leaves grow. Could you have stepped on an a GA eye to the left of your GA eye in your last picture. My 'Grand Canyon' looks exactly like your GA because I accidentally stepped on one of its eyes. Smaller leaves are now growing around GC's stepped-on eye. I notice you are either 1 or 2 zones behind me, so maybe the smaller leaves might yet develop. BTW I like your dog too. Lovely live garden art.

The shrub is the double flowering plum that I mentioned. It is close to the ground because that is the way it grows. I do want/need/intend to trim up a bit, but only one or two branches. The shrub will not be removed, it is one of the foundations of this particular garden bed. If GA needs to be moved further out, that can be arranged.

No, the dog did not lay on it, but I can't say whether any rabbits or woodchucks or others might have done. I will examine it more closely to see whether I can tell

It sounds like most of you think that Liberty and Sagae are just babies and will need time to establish. I am surprised because others that were planted last fall are bigger and stronger.

GA was planted in 2009, so would have expected more by now. At least as big and nice as irawon's.

ken, I usually can wade through your unique writing style, but I don't understand this one:
if you have a leaf.. of a given size.. and you see plants with similar leaves.. and yours is half as short.. well.. its too deep

Are you saying that if I find another plant with leaves the size of GA, they should be the same height? Even if they are different ages and varieties?

Oh, and forgot to answer Steve's questions. They were watered a lot after planting (for weeks after, and up through the fall). They have been watered more sparingly this spring, but the weather has taken care of that for me. I have fertilized once this spring.

You can tell if a new plant is too deep if you gently push away the soil next to that eye. How far down do you need to go to see roots? They should be only about 1/2 to 1" under the soil of a plant that size. The crown of the plant should be just covered by about 1/2" of soil or less.

The mulch around that GA looks like it has been disturbed by something. Also there appears to be a lot of mulch right next to the plant, perhaps too close.

Whatever, they both don't look very happy, so you need to dig them up and take a look at what is going on underneath. If you use a big enough shovel to dig under and lift them you won't disturb the roots too much.

-Babka