They really are tough plants (for the most part) and repotting isn't difficult tho' I know it's scary the first time or two. First be sure you have some good free-draining potting mix. Then knock it out of the pot--turn it upside down and hold the plant with one hand while you rap the rim of the pot against the table or wherever you're going to be working. Usually just a good rap or two will knock it loose, but it tends to be pretty messy so I hope you have a nice place outside to do it. Sometimes it takes a little more work to get it out, but don't worry about hurting it. Might even be necessary to run a long thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pot. Cut back any weak or damaged growth. Work the root-ball so you get as much of the old soil off as comes easily, and check to be sure the roots are healthy. You can prune them back, especially if they've circled around the inside of the pot a few times. Be sure you put a little something in the bottom of the pot to be sure all the potting mix doesn't wash out while the roots are getting re-established--I use various things such as scraps of coir from old basket liners, or a wad of long-fibered sphagnum moss; you can also use the liners from meat trays, and I have a friend who swears by used dryer sheets. But don't put a layer of rocks or broken pots or whatever might be suggested for 'drainage'--it actually stops drainage. Put a little potting mix in the bottom of the pot, put your root-ball on it, fill around it and rap it on the bench a few times to settle the soil in well and prevent pockets of air. Don't put very much soil over it, but a little is probably a good idea. Water it in well, and set in the shade to drain. Does that cover what you need to know? And sorry to the original poster who gets to read all this! In the future it's probably a good idea to start a new thread.

McTavish, I brought somewhere around 50-60 hostas with me, I believe. Only one duplicate in the bunch. The minis aren't planted yet, but everything else is. I brought them all with me from the previous home, but these were ones I'd bought last fall, and had never been out of the pots yet. I DO see the owl's head in the first shovel pic, but didn't notice it until you pointed it out. It really DOES look like an owl! I love unique things in the garden too. Can't wait to see your fairies... even if your husband did look at you like you were nuts :-) upnort, about the slugs.... I'm not worried about them hiding under rocks because I have so much mulch that I'm going to have a million of them anyway! The only luck I've had with keeping them under control is to use Sluggo every few weeks. It's awfully expensive but it works. And this yard is so small that it won't be nearly as pricy as in the old place! I figure the pluses of mulch outweigh the negative of the slugs. It keeps the weeds down and keeps the moisture in, plus I like the way it looks. And I absolutely LOVE the Rocks! Try Sluggo if you can afford to. It's great.

I think I saw a Vulture yesterday but it could have been our resident Eagle, didn't have my binocks. It was over a favorite Vulture hang out. Gotta make a positive ID before I put it in the books. I hope my Blues are not early I'm going out of town for a long weekend next week.....

Gooooooo CATS!!!! Big blue through and through here. Ought to be interesting as my husband is a Louisville fan. Sweet 16 is here in Indy so we will definitely be at the game. Me in blue, husband in red and our son has decided to rock the blue and white too!! I'm so proud he had the good sense to pick my UK wikdcats. And everyone said the SEC is weak. Yet we're still dancing with our measly three teams. Coach k ought to rethink mocking the sec and lauding the acc as strongest conference in the nation. It was nice to come out on the right side of one of the more memorable tournament games unlike the duke-uk fiasco from years ago. I was in grade school then but every year they show that stupid non defended in bound pass and turn around jumper. It still stings. I worried that the shockers would pull off something similar, but we prevailed. Amazing game! This post was edited by iheartgiantschnauzer on Sun, Mar 23, 14 at 22:50