How old are they? Do you have mature root masses?
John

They've just finished their 3 summer so 2 years old. They were divisions of 10+ year old plants
Peggy

I'm not sure this is relevant, but my hostas's leaves are never as large as the books say. I grow all in pots. If the book says 6X8, then mine will be 4X6. Of course, there are lots of other possible reasons for this - heat, fertilizer, watering, etc.

bkay

I know from experience that if you divide a mature hosta into smallish pieces, they will go back to their juvenille stage--just a thought.

I realize that they'll be smaller than the parent for a year or two but these plants have like 15-30 leaves. Wouldn't they (each leaf) be the mature size by now?
Peggy
I don't have this issue with the majority of my hostas. It's just weird.

Peggy....
you know what I'm wondering. Nutrients.

I don't know what you've filled your buckets with, but even if it is native soil, perhaps the earthworms and other beneficial critters aren't getting in there well enough to do their thing, adding their own nutrients to the soil.

Big leaves mean big fat roots, so I wonder if they just need some help in that way? Perhaps some good compost? Maybe you could even do compost tea in the ground and as a foliar feed.

Peggy-

Do you think that they might be growing so well that they have become rootbound in their pots? I grow all mine in pots (above ground) and some of the larger varieties can pack a 3 gal. pot in 3-4 years and give me smaller leaves. I think your best bet is to lift (arrgh) one up and take a look-see. Please tell us what you find.

-Babka

Being it's not raining anymore, I'll dig up one and take some pics.
Melissa, even though I give them about a teaspoon of 10-10-10 twice a summer, I may need to dig up some worms from the edible garden and put in my buried pots.
Peggy

Perhaps Peggy, but earthworms need organic material, so you may need to toss in some of that too! If you're going to dig one of your babies up to inspect the root ball, you should toss the worms and organic material in the bottom while you're at it!

Oh, and 10-10-10 may not have a balance of the micronutrients you might be lacking!

Peggy,
I agree with jennaj.
I have put monster divisions in the ground or pots and they revert to juvenile stage for several years. I have a Big John in a pot in the ground that has taken 5 years to reach its mature leaf size. I really don't think that it has anything to do with pots. I think that it is genetics and light.I have Hostas in pots that Have much larger leaves than I have seen at other folks places that are growing in the ground. If anything I feel that pots help by controlling moisture and fertilizer that would normally be shared by tree roots or adjacent plants. I think that this is a patience issue and as we know ,Hostas are more than willing to teach us this! :)

Denny

Which brings up the old prayer, "Lord, Please give me patience, and if you wouldn't mind, could you hurry?"

bkay

I think the triple 10 is enough nutrition for the plants.. if most of your other hostas are growing fine in the same native soil, I wouldn't assume that there is a lack of micronutrients.. micronutrients generally are relative to soil type.. and more often than not you will never have to supplement for a micronutrient... I would honestly go for either the reverting to adolescence theory or the root bound or smothering theory... a replanting would be nice...just to see the roots and get the soil cultivated again... growing in pots with native soil instead of growing medium is like growing in clay soil... the roots are very compacted and have a hard time moving and growing and they don't breath nearly as well...they smother...like melissa said, I would replant and drop in some organic matter and worms in the bottoms and then plant over that... then you'll have worms present to keep the soil cultivated a bit better... I haven't much experience with pots... though I've been told that too heavy of watering washes most of the fertilizer right out of the bottom of the pot before the plant even gets a chance to use some.. I would say a planted pot wouldn't have as much of an issue with this as one unplanted... tho food for thought...
Thanks
John

I dug up h. Reptillian this weekend. Roots are white and firm. Soil was very wet as I didn't have any drainage holes in that pot. I drilled a few holes in the side of the pot so it doesn't get crown rot.
I guess it's a false alarm and I just need to be more patient!
Peggy

Is there anymore without drainage holes? I would take care of that lol!
John