Welcome! If you post your hosta pictures here someone should be able to identify them for you.
Vanessa

Welcome! I'm a newcomer as well. Watch out around here, these folks with their lovely photos and their enabling "suggestions" will have you stockpiling hosta by the dozen!

As for tips, watch out for root competition in your new beds. Some trees (maples!) are notorious for slowly choking out hosta.

Enjoy!

Welcome: You are showing symptoms of a wonderfully satisfying disease. lol
Being in KY you may have American Black Walnut trees. When Iived in AR I did and hated them. If I only knw then what I do now. Their deep roots and weed suppressing juglone, to which hostas, daylilies and Heuchera are immune, makes them a perfect csnopy for a hosta bed.

You know you have become a hostaholic when you cut down a maple tree and plant a walnut tree.

Please do repost your pictures of your hostas here. You will get much greater response.

Theresa

This post was edited by gogirlterri on Wed, Jul 31, 13 at 9:15

It is raining today so I am holding off on taking pictures.

I am planning on establishing my hosta garden under a Japanese Cherry tree and I am concerned about root competition.

I also want to amend the soil really well. I am going to use my old favorite, manure and compost but I am also looking at the "nuclear" option of using a product called "Claybreaker." But I have no experience with that stuff and I am concerned that the gypsum might make the soil too salty.

I have always liked the look of a hosta/fern garden...but the variety of hostas has always been really intimidating...I always look at them and end up not buying any because I could not make a decision....

At one time I thought I did not like the verigated ones then my wife brings home a verigated one and now I think verigated hostas are beautiful.

We went through using gypsum here (Dallas) for a while about 20 years ago. (We have really heavy black clay soils.) I think the consensus was that it didn't help. I don't remember the specifics - whether it didn't work to break up the clay or made the soil more alkaline or some other reason. I would suggest you you do some research before going to that expense and extra work.

bk

Hey there, and welcome, OldTao!
You've found a good group of hosta fanciers, and a lot of experienced hosta gardeners willing to help you grow them well, from the ground up.

I was new here a year ago. May I say, making choices with hosta is easy......decide right now that if you are considering a choice of one hosta from a group of three, or maybe five, you might as well get all of them. One of each. That's the spirit! I do not think I've ever regretted adding a new hosta.

You will also get some good advice about sources you purchase your hosta from. It is always a good idea to look for a world class retailer if one is in your area. Since no local nurseries grow and sell hosta here in south Alabama, all of mine come from mail order. Hosta nurseries with healthy plants are proud of being disease free. It relieves the worry of contaminating your garden soil.

Enjoy your newfound interest. Hosta growing is fun, along with the good exercise. :)

prunus... the cherry ... is extremely shallow rooted...

and if you go in there.. severing all its roots by digging around.. and adding nice lush amended soil/amendments ...

want to guess.. where it will grow new feeder roots???

if your clay is that bad.. consider growing your hosta.. under that tree IN POTS... we have a couple experts here.. who can guide you ....

that and it will save you a lot of backbreaking labor ...

potting media is the most important variable ... then winter storage ....

start new posts on any variable you wish ... we like to teach ...

ken

In my maple (closeby silver maple) I have had success growing hostas in pots sunken in the ground, while others use spinout bags. I can't tell you much about them. In pots good drainage is a must, but it is easy to lift them and repot into larger pots, removing the maple (or cherry) roots every year or so without destroying your hosta root systems.

We are just scratching the surface, hon, but it isn't rocket science.

Theresa

Since I just did it, here a tip. When you must dig holes in an area with a lot of tree roots and later use spin out bags or pots in those holes, use a post hole digger for those holes. That post hole digger is so much better than digging with a spade or shovel. Bernd

Terry I put a piece of tile or some bricks under my pots where the root competition is great.

Welcome to the site. We enable. Paula