Thwarting freeze thaw for potted hosta's

9 years ago

The wife thinks I am off my rocker......

We are having another unusually warm winter with temps from 3 to 10C during the day and lows from -5 to -10C. I have several hosta's that I potted last fall and was worried about losing them to these freeze thaw cycles, even with decent snow cover. So, and much to the DW's dismay, I moved them beside the t-bone steaks in our large freezer to help moderate the temperature.

I already suffer from several gardening related illnesses and am wondering if I have been afflicted with another? Or is behaviour like this "normal" for folks suffering from gardening disorders?

SCG

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

bkay2000
9 years ago
I've thought about it. I haven't tried it yet, though. I'm having trouble with plantaginea. It comes up with the slightest warming trend, and we go from the upper teens to 60 F all the time.

Be aware that a freezer wicks away moisture from your plant. Keep them well wrapped. I lost several from a dry winter last year, so I'm more cautious with that now.

Also be aware that the freeze/thaw is not the problem. Mine freeze and thaw all the time. But, they completely thaw. The problem is the 1/2 thaw that traps moisture on the top of the plant around the eye. The water can't drain, because the bottom is still frozen. It causes rot.

Let us know how it goes. (Maybe I could buy a refrigerator just for the picky hosta.)

bk
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
So, and much to the DW's dismay, I moved them beside the t-bone steaks in our large freezer to help moderate the temperature.

I already suffer from several gardening related illnesses and am wondering if I have been afflicted with another?

==>>>

yes.. yes you are ...

treat with bacon ...

ken
Related Discussions
Hosta freeze vulnerability- urgent
Q
Comments (30)
You can snip the leaves off but make sure you do it in the middle of the petiole, NOT close to the branch. That is the area where the dormant buds will pop out and you could damage the dormant buds. Don't do any trimming on the branches until you see they are dead. You will be able to tell the dead from the live because the dead will be a tannish color and the live will be reddish in color. All of mine are in the same condition and many of mine are too big to try to trim. As are almost everything else in the garden - whadda spring!
...See More
Questions about Hostas in Pots
Q
Comments (27)
I did not read all the responses to the original post, so I am sorry if I repeat some already posted thoughts. OK, Hosta (or Hostas, see thread on Hosta pluraldom earlier posted, teehee). Here, mixed experiences. For many years now we took all the potted Hostas to a 'wintering' area, packed them in close (note: Zone 4 here), surrounded them with straw bails. The idea was to create a stable, temperature 'mass' to protect them over the winter. As we have about 200 varieties in pots, and at an average of about 5 pots per variety, this was a very time and energy intensive project, both in Fall putting them 'down' and then again in Spring bringing them back out. Last Fall I broke my foot and ankle, so all the usual Fall projects went undone. My wife and I discussed this problem. I said, 'Hey, we have, for several years now, left potted Hostas in a few 'back' areas for evaluation, quarantine, and other reasons, and they've, by and large, lived, so let's relax and leave all the several hundred ones out exposed this winter, take a chance. Worked! So many hours and stress relieved, woohoo! Then again, this past winter was very mild, even here in Z4. Shifting gears: Every so often m'lady plants Hostas in an un-drain holed pot. WHOOPS, not good. You are now aware. Prepare various drill bits to give drainage. Shift to 3rd gear: Every so often we've, in a hurry or lazy, dropped 'potted' hostas into holes in the garden. Most of the time we've gotten away with that. However, . . . just last week I had red-flagged (I bought some Home Depot 'Red Flags') a Hosta that was exhibiting all of the classic 'root bound' symptoms. I assumed it was our usual problem of Red Pine (almost as bad as Maple) tree root strangulation. WRONG! Turned out this time it was a Hosta that had been 'dropped' into the garden in a pot, and it root-bound itself. No wonder, it was a big monster type Hosta (one of the several dozen S&S children) and was only in a nursery gallon pot, yikes! We've gotten away with this before because the pot planted Hosta just grew out the bottom and went on to thrive, but this time we were burnt. I could go on with another gear, but by now I'm sure you get the picture: potted Hosta is a whole 'nother discussion, and many folk will tell varied stories, or so I hope! Thanks for re-starting an always interesting story! Potted plants are what some folk have to do, others choose to do, and so many other points in between. As alway, we wish you all the best with your green thumbs, hh
...See More
Ovwerwintering hostas in pots question
Q
Comments (15)
You do not want to let the pots stand upright and collect water on the surface because many times the plants will rot. Oh, did I find this out the hard way :( I had a stunning Great Expectations in my garden. When my garden got hit hard by voles, I dug everything out and potted them up. The first year, I tipped them on their sides after the first hard freeze. They all survived. The second year, I got lazy and just left them upright. Most survived, but I lost a few to crown rot because I didn't tip them, including my beautiful GE. It was the only time I've ever come close to tears about losing a plant, and I'm still very sad about it. From my experience, I think it is fine to leave them out in the elements, as long as you store them on their sides after the first hard freeze.
...See More
My head is spinning---how to winterize my hostas in big pots!
Q
Comments (38)
As to the garbage can idea---if you have it exposed to the sun at all, it's going to heat up. (Think how a car sitting the sun will heat up in the winter.) You don't want that. I'm familiar with zone 6 weather, having lived & gardened there for many years, so I have some idea of what you're dealing with...that is, you need to keep the soil cold when you get those weather warm-ups in mid-winter. i.e., the idea behind the insulation is to keep the heat out and the cold in the pots, to moderate the inevitable wide swings in temperature. (Think 'ice chest'.) If the pots are not in the sun, then the insulation board on top of the pots is prolly going to be sufficient. If the pots get any am't of sun OR are close to a bldg., then you need to think about keep the whole shebang cold. Naturally, you would place the insulation barrier around the pots after it's turned cold, really cold. About the wood tops idea...an inch of wood has an R-value of less than 1.5...compared to R-5 for an inch of XPS (the pink stuff) and R-8 for ISO (the foil faced yellow stuff). So, although wood is an insulator, there are better choices. Of course, you could glue XPS to the wood if you want to. Oh yeh, the pink stuff, XPS, will hold up to the elements much better than the foil faced ISO--it's yellow underneath the foil and is much more brittle than XPS. Also, the R-value of ISO degrades to where it's only marginally better than XPS.
...See More
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
9 years ago
Well, cha!

If you can still get to the extra bacon, you should be ok.

tj
in ny zone5
9 years ago
I am in zone 5, so have those thaw/freeze cycle too. I usually tipped pots with hostas on its side in a shady spot.
But I have a 10 gallon black plastic nursery pot with a not important hosta standing upright uncovered and unshaded in the open. The plant surface is 2 inches below the pot's rim. That plant survived there now for several years. Probably thaw/ freeze generates a gap between plastic and soil for drainage. That is, plastic and soil act differently due to thermal expansion/contraction; plastic expands more on increasing temperature while the soil stays frozen, creating a gap.
Bernd

This post was edited by berndnyz5 on Wed, Jan 21, 15 at 10:11
SouthCountryGuy Zone 4b-5 SE BC
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks, I think it is often important to see how others that have conditions like you deal with situations.

As per advice, I bought a whole pig to surround the Hostas.

Curing some to be smoked for bacon now BUT bought 8 packs of bacon, thawed, wrapped Hostas. Good advice.

Then based on all the bacon advice I decided to start my hosta seeds in bacon, no soil, paper towels or what have you, I am stepping UP!!!

By chance does starting in bacon provide more streakers, or maybe more rugous leaves?

SCG
bkay2000
9 years ago
Bacon cures everything. Just ask Ken.

bk
User
9 years ago
SouthCountryGuy, you have come to the right place with your health problems. If we cannot fix it with hostas and bacon, it cannot be done.

Ken keeps telling us that hostas are strong, just throw them on the driveway, maybe a little bacon grease would make them taste better when ready to harvest your crop.

Little did I know when I put up the picture of my DH's bag of Hormel bacon bits that it would lead the forum down the pig trail so happily.

Perhaps BK could find a cold storage locker to put her pots inside, she has connections with foodies I'm sure. For me, I have not tipped a single pot this winter. We sat in my hosta garden yesterday, and from what my DH said about it looking good, I realize he has a vision problem, added to his hearing problem, and his knee problem, Perhaps by spring (which comes early in this zone) the remodel will be over and I'll be in gardening mode. I'm having the professionals paint the house so I can go straight to the garden.

My computer was on the blink from unexpected power on/off/on/off so often now has come back to life with a few strange issues. Overall I can now use the computer, no problem. It is bringing home the bacon with remodel in progress that is occupying my time. Once the process began, it does not want to stop.

Thwarting freeze thaw for potted hosta's

Comments (7)

bkay2000

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Related Discussions

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱

in ny zone5

SouthCountryGuy Zone 4b-5 SE BC
Original Author

bkay2000

User

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Thwarting freeze thaw for potted hosta's

Comments (7)

bkay2000

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Related Discussions

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱

in ny zone5

SouthCountryGuy Zone 4b-5 SE BCOriginal Author

bkay2000

User

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

SouthCountryGuy Zone 4b-5 SE BC
Original Author