I moved here a little more than a year ago, and brought about 50 hosta with me. I planted them -- okay, threw them in the ground -- last fall, hoping they'd be happy over the winter.

As I walk around my garden now, I am pleased that they all survived, that they all seem happy here. Yes, there are a few that should be moved a bit, but for the most part, I'm glad to see my old friends in my new garden.

Now if I could just afford a gardener, lol....

I can't honestly answer your question Ken. I treat all my hostas the same...the same amount of water, the same attention
to other care as necessary. But, some are doing well (except for the deer browsed ones,) and others are rapidly succumbing to fall weather. For the most part, they look like they want the season to end more than I do.

Could it just be the individual cultivar and its "genes" so to speak? That some are just destined to do better than others?

OK Ken,

I haven't been as "loyal" this year, had dought spells and gardening raised beds under bad trees, in keeping a wartering regimen as I should have (home remodel project) I'll give it a go. I'll do the spring thing, take pics and notes then spring dig.

Deb

"That some are just destined to do better than others?"

I don't think "better" is a term that has any meaning in this context. They do go dormant at somewhat different rates depending on genes but that is just the natural process. If you have 2 of the same var in different spots and they perform differently then you may want to know why.

Water is the main controlling factor with hosta so did you water the same, if so then you may want to look at light difference or tree root interference if of course you care to the extent that you want to change something.

I generally plant them and forget them, if they don't grow as big as I expect then I try to enjoy them as they are unless they appear to be dying where they are.

Ken has a good method of dealing with tree roots entering the hosta root zone. This is an old nursery method called "root pruning" which is normally used to keep roots close to the trunk of a tree that is going to be dug. In this case you are pruning the tree roots from the hosta root zone. I don't think it is necessary to lift the root ball and put it back in the hole, just make the dig and leave it in place.

Mulch is the best defense against heaving.

'Emerald Tiara' looks like the devil, and has looked that way for a good bit of the summer. but it's only in it's first year with me. may need to re-assess its location & the fact that it is sitting right in front of an arbor vitae. 'Summer Breeze' is not looking so breezy either.

arbs have an extremely dense matting type of root structure..

ebb ... slice/dig around it.. and break the mat ... and leave the plant there ...just about everything in the tiara group grows like a weed.. but for the trees ...

ken

I don't doubt the arb root question but I don't believe the problem will show up the 1st year?

I would never move a hosta the 1st year unless I feared it was going to die. It takes at least 3 years for a hosta to get established as well as 3 years for tree roots to start to be a problem.

if she put a pot full of potting medium.. peat based.. into the roots of the tree.. the arb might be wicking all the water out of the peat so fast.. that she cant water the hosta fast enough for the hosta top thrive ...

i call it promix disease in my sand... she can call it promix arb disease ... ken

Ken, this pro-mix disease is really great information.

You know I believe that potting media belongs in pots and soil in the ground period. The soil is a living organism like a coral and simply doesn't act like a pot.

BTW, have you tried the "solution" yet.

FWIW, my Hosta observations for late summer/early fall in my corner of sunny Richmond, BC.

Our month of August was quite dry and if you looked carefully you could see the earliest signs of senescense at the beginning of August already for a few clumps of Hyacinthina. The ones I have potted and keep watered much more regularly seem to hang in there a fair bit longer. Even the first couple of weeks of September have been quite balmy and comparetively dry, but the fall rains are here now and I hope the temps stay high enough so that the 3 scapes I have on my first year Venus will actually flower, keep my fingers crossed.

What all of this tells me is that one cannot underestimate the importance of water, water, water, when it comes to members of our preferred genus. The potted ones were watered (predominantly with rainwater collected in barrels) much more regularly than the ones in the ground and I found that the ones that did best were the ones with saucers so that you could pretty much always keep the lower part of the soil mix nice and damp. It sure shows in how much longer those hang in there. Keep the roots wet and the crown dry and you're off to the races. Certainly next year I'll make a point of keeping potted divisions predominantly watered from the bottom up, that seems to have worked well for me with a few this year.

Now, Butch don't tease us, what 'solution' you talkin' 'bout?

Hi Ken. I read this post today and thought, It's about time I dug up that Sunpower Hosta that has looked bad all summer. Tree roots, actually just one big one and it was coming up from the bottom. I went around that Hosta several times, finally ended up "popping" it clean out of the ground, moved it aside, and dug a giant hole, put it back in and watered. It was a really big plant, but it wasn't acting right, and I knew it. When I did get it out of the ground, I noticed that the tree root, big as a carrot, had actually been pulling the plant down, into the ground. The crown was about 7" deep. I had the exact same thing happen to an Olive Bailey Langdon Hosta a couple years back. It is recovering now, finally.

My water bill is all time high, my garden still looks good. Some perennials went to sleep- those that bloom early, which is natural process. I got many new hostas this year, some of them blooming now, almost all seems to be enjoying themselves.
I do not have yet pictures of my hostas but this is my sedums "sunny" bed couple of days ago.
{{gwi:244961}}

Linda, I bet my water bill would make you drop in your tracks! lol
Great picture. Looks like a slice of paradise. :-)

A couple of University Profs want to help with an experiment with water; which we'll report on in a year or so. I had told Ken about this ahead of time.

I really don't care to get into arguments about whether it will work or not online.

I will tell you this about water in pots, look at this 5 gal bucket and you'll notice holes about 5 inches up the side. This is the only drainage the plant has period and I keep water in the bottom of the bucket constantly, grows like a weed. I do recommend that one cuts down on the fertilizer to about 1/20th with each watering. Before you ask what can go wrong, IÂve grown hosta for years by this method without any problem.

The first is at the end of the first season going dormant, then the next summer.

Then a few purchased this year in this constant water reservoir container.

{{gwi:280600}}

I don't really see any real decline in any of mine other than nematodes previously discussed. What I do see are a few individual hostas that I really have to do something about slug-wise. My Maui Buttercups looks like its been peppered with a shotgun blast, for instance. I've been spraying with the ammonia solution all season but I must not get up early enough - I only saw a total of five all season. Time to get some slug bait!

All in all, I am extremely pleased with my hostas this year!

EO, that's a very interesting experiment you have there. You didn't explain how you store them for the winter. Looks like lots of water in the bottom third of the bucket which appears to be fine during the growing season. But you must at least have to tip it on its side in winter so they don't freeze, I would think. And then, I bet, cover with your leaf piles you speak so often of? Please tell us more.

Char

hosta-haven I'll start a new thread to talk about this.

I have had approx 50 hostas in my yard for years - mostly Undulata, Francee and Patriot. Last year I added a new bed and started a rapid expansion of different hostas. I now have about 70 hostas and about 30 different kinds and I began a 3rd bed this year. We have had a severe summer here in Alabama, so I am looking forward to fall and next spring. This week I purchased Fire and Ice and Antioch.

I decided Fall isn't so terrible. The next time I see the hosta it will be spring and they will look so much better!

EO, that's a very interesting experiment you have there. You didn't explain how you store them for the winter. Looks like lots of water in the bottom third of the bucket which appears to be fine during the growing season. But you must at least have to tip it on its side in winter so they don't freeze, I would think. And then, I bet, cover with your leaf piles you speak so often of? Please tell us more.
Char

Last year I left them out side with no protection but this year I will tip as much water as I can and but them in a unheated garage.

Why are you changing it EO? I thought it worked last year.

Last year I had 3 potted this way for 3 years without a problem now I have 25, I'll leave this no name green outside plus the wide brim and wolverine.

I suspect but don't know that the coffee grounds acts as a mulch preventing the freeze thaw problem.

lindalana, what a peaceful garden !