Hostas do well here in containers. I kept the same ones for 3 years (till I finally just got tired of 'em). I kept them in the shade in various places, left the container out all winter and they came back just fine. I don't know about the ground--My whole garden is in pots!
Betsy

Well that is at least good to here about the pots,I have some hope left then, I just purchased 17 half whisley barrels at lowes at 22 a piece lol lol...

I have some in the ground and some in pots. Only thing you have to watch out for are caterpillars, sow bugs and snails eat them.
I give mine a good compost tea made of seaweed and alfalfa.

Deb and I were just discussing this on a different post. She said that hostas actually need some sun, The one hosta I have that has thrived gets sun part of the day. The others that were in the shade have all died. Also, the ones that were in the shade were grown from bulbs. The one that has survived was purchased as a plant from Lowes, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

Laurie

I have one hosta that gets a few hours of morning sun but sometimes the sun takes it's toll on it, I have about 10 hosta's and all of the rest are in full shade and they are doing best.
I have lost some and some have gotten smaller as the years gone by, I don't know why this is.
Right now the hosta's are getting to much water and not at their happiest they don't like having their roots in standing water, they need to dry out a little but not completely dry.
You have to plant them right too they have very hardy roots, big spreading roots.
To plant them in pots or in the ground dig the hole twice the size as pot, then make a mound in the center spread the roots over the mound making sure to keep the crown at top level not into the soil.

Here is a link that might be useful: mshs - planting & caring

Mine have benefited from a thick layer of mulch in the winter for protection. They should come back if they've got their nice woody blanket.

I would think they'd be extremely winter hardy since they grow all the way into Canada. The mulch always helps everything, here, though.

Hostas like soil with lots of organic matter, and you do have to watch out for slugs and snails. Hostas are the definition of slug bait. Otherwise, they do okay here. I think they probably like the Yankee states better, though.

Sally

Barb,

Do you buy your hostas locally or order them?

Laurie

I would say you are neither...(stupid or crazy). I am amazed at the number of people who say they grow them and they do well. I spent a fortune trying to find a hosta that increased in size, didn't get eaten by slugs and such, and didn't melt in the heat. And the only one I am left with is my original Walmart cheap-o that really took off once its shade tree passed away. It gets dripped on constantly in spring/summer/fall from my dripping birdbath. So, I say go for it - realizing that it's not an easy, happy go lucky plant. I do wonder if all the really high bred hybrids are right for use in Texas. Seems you might want to start with ones that are locally available. I've also noticed the garden centers don't stock nearly as many as they did a few years ago. That might be another clue too!!

You have to be determined to grow Hostas here. I have several that do OK - nothing like what you'll see up north though. I have several that come back every year but the heat really takes a toll on them. Most years they're spent by August. When they start looking really bad I cut them back to the ground. This year they look pretty good with all the rain and cloudy days. Mine do best in bright shade where they get light but no direct sun and they need lots of water. In my yard the darker colored plants do better than the bright green ones and the smaller leaved varieties do better than the huge leaved ones. I've learned to treat them as annuals and be happy if they come back the next year (lol).

I have had better luck with hostas in containers. Something was getting the roots in the ground. The plantagineas like Fragrant Bouquet, Guacamole, Stained Glass, and Fragrant Dream keep producing new leaves, and they have the bonus of fragrant blooms. Krossa Regal has been a pretty good performer for me. I spend a lot of time at the hosta forum, and even up north, many of their hostas are ragged in August. I was just in OK City visting my daughter. We saw some amazing hostas at a nursery there. They are a plant that will grow in shade, and they can be beautiful. Good luck with your barrels.

Are you talking about "slug salad?" I've heard that the thicker the leaves, the better they'll do here. There is someone in my neighborhood who has them growing on the north side of their house and maybe because they use a slug bait or something - they're doing fine. They actually receive some afternoon sun and still thrive. But, I know the homeowner and he is a landscape supervisor for a local landscaper, so I'm sure he knows exactly what to do to keep them alive and thriving.

Yep, for my money, anyways. I have a couple that come back every year, but they have never done well, and all others I have tried have died.

Lots of better plants to invest in, for Texas heat.

I have been growing these for about 12 yrars. These pics were taken this spring.

That last pic is of "Honeybells" It gets 3"X 4" wide. It is also fragrant.

My best advice for hostas is to not mulch at all. Keep all debri out of the crown of the plants in early spring to avoid slugs & other chewing insects. I only fertalize mine one time a year if at all.

gardeningartist, your hostas are amazing. You're really an inspiration.

I have hostas and the thicker leaves do the best. I would never think you're crazy for trying hostas. I've had several for about 4 years now and they get bigger and better each year. The first varieties I tried died but I didn't give up because I love them so much and now I have several different ones that do great under my trees.

Thanks so much for all of the feeback and picts of the hostas. Someone asked about me getting them from around here and the answer is yes and no. I did get some off of Ebay from up north so I will keep my fingers crossed that they will do ok here. The area that I will be putting them in will have mucho shade so that very well be the key to getting them to make it through our hot summers here. As I said earlier I am going to put them in the whiskley barrels with 100% pine fines which is just pine bark mulch that is just smaller than the chunks, most people use this in their barrels on the Hosta Forum and have good luck with it as it retains water really good. Thanks again guys and gals you have my hopes up that they will do ok down here..

I got mine at Walmart - potted them up in small pots to give them a good start and transplanted them once they were up and going. Mine grow in full shade to bright shade and all seem to be thriving (for 3 years), in spite of being transplanted a couple of times.

These were transplanted this spring - they'll probably be twice this size next year.

I put out a slug/snail/pillbug bait early in the spring when they're first coming up; otherwise, they get chewed up. With all this rain, I've continued to apply it every few weeks. It seems once we hit the dry summer, the bugs aren't much of a problem.

The black elephant ears keep popping up everywhere...

Here is a link that might be useful: Hostas