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Hosta in Spinout Bags near Amur Maple

13 years ago

Giving it a try - picked up ten 5gal spinout bags this spring and planted my fourth hosta today under my mature Amur Maple. All planted within about 5-7' of trunk. Turned the bags inside out so black side (copper hydroxide coated side) is toward Maple roots - with goal to stunt/halt these roots from getting in and sucking the moisture away from the hosta roots.

Thinking about using one of these bags where I removed a hvx infested hosta this spring - bag would create barrier. I could use soil from another garden area inside the bag.

Here's pics of final plantings - Undulata Albomarginatas and some Fortunei Aureomarginatas had been planted previously (4 yrs ago) and struggled - FA's have disappeared and UA's doing better after increased watering the past 2 years.

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I know some others have planted some in bags last year - any results to share?

Paul

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
is there any concern of wicking moisture out of the soil or in the bag .. with the edge of the bag sticking out of the ground..

or is this how they tell you to do it???

ken
lindac
13 years ago
I have a garden of huge lush hosta under an amur maple...
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wood barrels will rot .. you might want to go with plastic pots ... i seem to think.. some OH friend.. TRYING to grow under norways... has given up even on the bags ... presuming the maple cant be gotten rid of... i like the pot idea ... babes do not go in huge pots ... try pot in pot as they grow ... start collecting your 10 or 20 gallon pots.. but start the babes in one gal.. and sink them in the large pots .... does that make any sense??? i THINK the link says 20 gal 10 per bundle $50.49 .. call them and check it out ... even with shipping thats probably a lot less than barrels ... ken ps: you will even have to periodically move the pots.. as the maples will grow roots UP INTO THE POTS ... god i hate maples ... Here is a link that might be useful: lol.. check out the first comment ...
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I've been working on a huge spin-out project this year. Planting new and digging up and re-planting many hosta under maple trees in the spin-out bags. I put the giant and XL ones in the 10 gallon size, some large-medium in 5 gallon bags and small in the 3 gallon bags. I, also, noticed that the bags are much deeper than necessary. I just dug the hole as deep as I felt necessary and cut everything off above the soil line, leaving about an inch above the soil line. I'm finding that I kind of like that inch or so because when I water, the bag is acting as a reservoir and the water doesn't run off. I know that each hosta is getting an inch or so of water each time I water...lol I added mulch to the bed around each bag sticking up so the tops of the bags aren't even noticable. Time will tell if the project is successful. So far everything looks good. But, too early to tell if I've conquered the maple root problems. I hope so! I have three more new ones to plant and probably won't dig up any more until next year.
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Perhaps what you have really isn't a Norway Maple. This is what you find in Wikipedia on Norway Maple: The wood is hard, yellowish-white to pale reddish, with the heartwood not distinct; it is used for furniture and turnery.[7] Many cultivars have been selected, with distinctive leaf shape or coloration such as the dark purple of 'Crimson King' and 'Schwedleri', the variegated leaves of 'Drummondii' and 'Emerald Queen', and the deeply divided, feathery leaves of 'Dissectum' and 'Lorbergii'. The purple-foliage cultivars have orange to red autumn colour. 'Columnare' is selected for its narrow upright growth.[4][8] It has been widely introduced into cultivation in other areas, including western Europe northwest of its native range. It grows north of the Arctic Circle at TromsÃ¸, Norway. In North America, it is grown as a street and shade tree. It is favoured due to its tall trunk & tolerance of poor, compacted soils and urban pollution. Unfortunately, despite its good looks and urban hardiness, it releases chemicals to discourage undergrowth[9] which tends to create bare, muddy run-off conditions immediately beneath the tree. As a result of these characteristics it is considered invasive in some states[10] although it has not been proven to be and is still widely used for urban plantings in many areas.
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it NEVER hurts.. to put harden off a plant for a week or so .... avoid opening the box and running out and planting it ... first.. where did it come from .. and compare to your location .. odds are.. its coming from a much warmer zone.. so harden it off .. besides .. theoretically .... in our zone.. you could have frost or freeze.. for another week or two ... and though it might not kill it.. it wont do it any favors to lose all its leave right after a transplant ... so put it on the north side of the house .. outside .. for a week.. a little sun any time other than the intense hours of afternoon.. is good enough ... i agree its probably unkillable.. but why risk it ... my only caveat .. is that it will probably become a hard tree to garden under in the decades to come.. so site it where you dont care about what you plant under it.. e.g. its aggressive roots would make it inconduscive to growing hosta under .. but there would be plenty of of things that will grow there .. ken
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cobalt_blue
13 years ago
I'm not sure I understand, sure I guess I can see how these bags might keep the maple tree roots out, but don't they also keep the hosta from being able to send out roots and expand?

Rick
keanaz5a
13 years ago
Good Job Paul! I've been planting my hosta in spin-out bags under my silver and sugar maples starting three years ago. I experienced the same thing as you with my hosta just dwindling year after year until I starting planting them in the bags. I used the 10 gallon for the majority of mine. I wanted to make sure they had plenty of space to expand. Although, a few of the smaller ones are in the 5 gallon like you used. Here are a couple pics of them now. The majority were planted 3 years ago:

It's made a world of difference and I think you'll be pleased.

Ken: I was told to plant them with an inch above the ground to keep invasive maple roots from getting in the bag, which I did. I haven't had any problems with water in mine. I actually kind of like it when I do have to water. The lip holds the water in for a short period, so I know I'm watering my hosta, not the darn maple roots.
hosta_freak
13 years ago
I guess there are Maple trees;and then there are Maple trees! I don't envy any of you trying to grow hostas under them,and I wouldn't know an Amur maple from a silver maple. All I know is,I only have one red maple tree in my garden,and,if you look at this pic,you will see Gold Standard,Hyacinthina,and Robert Frost growing happily under it. The trunk you see is that red maple. The secret is,"don't tell them they are planted under a maple! Phil

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