Whatever you are doing it is working.

Looks good to me.

bk

Nice!

That's only one year? Happy hosta! Satisfaction has grown fast for me, both of mine being in the ground.

(I like your Felix the cat. The.... wonderful? wonderful cat. ...I'm not sure I'm remembering the theme song right :)

Felix the cat, the wonderful wonderful cat.

whenever he gets in a fix he reaches into his bag of tricks.

I remember the dumbest things. Want me to sing Purple People Eater?

"He was a one-eyed, one-eyed, one purple people eater, one-eyed, one-eyed, one purple people eater..." Lol

That is an impressive root mass, Santa! I've still got a few hostas in pots. Curious now to see their root systems - I'll be happy if I have half of that!

Felix The Cat intro

I haven't checked any of my other plants that I got from Hallson last year, but I did notice that one of them has a couple of roots attached to the inner pot and growing in a circle just above the soil line, so it might be the same situation on that one. Does Satisfaction need repotted or should I leave it as is for another year? I guess when they describe it as being a fast grower they aren't kidding.

What are you feeding that thing? :)

During the growing season my plants get watered every other week with aquarium water from my 150 gallon planted tank. I fertilize the tank with potassium phosphate, potassium nitrate and trace elements. I know they say that aquarium water is good for plants, but what effect my specific water has, if any, I haven't a clue.

Does your Satisfaction hosta need to be repotted? My best guess is that it does not. Here is my experience to date. (I have many hosta in pots due to root competition from trees.) This last season, my Striptease would wilt quite quickly if I did not keep up with watering. That certainly is a clue to repot I think. Due to a lack of time, I did not. But this season it will be one of the first ones to be repotted.

I have other pots from 2012 and 2013 that were not repotted. In early spring when the hosta are emerging, the squirrels dig in the pots. I have often put a precut piece of mesh around the soil of the pot and held it in place with a ground staple. This last season I was not able to insert this ground staple in several pots because the roots were so compact! Another clue to repot, but I did not. This year I have several that will be repotted and those are certainly on the to-do list.

So I have never been in a hurry to repot and can say that my hostas have continued to flourish and increase in size (except for one or two). Having said that, we must note that you are in a different zone than I, and you would, therefore, have a longer growing season. That certainly would have to be taken into consideration.

Thanks for the lengthy and helpful reply. That was pretty much my thinking also but wanted to be sure. I repotted my first hosta a week ago, a Guacamole that I bought in a one gallon container in early 2012. It had gotten to the point where you couldn't get your finger down into the soil. There is no issue in that regard with Satisfaction.

It's been a long time since I heard the Felix the Cat song. It's funny what sticks with us, well, for me the first line only.

Another good reason to have an aquarium. If I ever set mine up again, I'll know to give that water to the plants.

"one-eyed one-horned" is how I recall it, Jo, not that it makes a big hoo-haa difference. You had the rhythm of it all.

Steve, that root system looks wonderful. Yes, you are doing something right!
I took pictures of Empress Wu after a few months in a pot--before I removed it for planting in the ground (my experimental driveway bed).
And here was my VENUS on 3/13/14 (eyes are crooked from tipping the pot).

LolMocc! I know I had the words wrong but that was all that kept dancing in my head...then and now, that's the biggest laugh...like a jingle that never leaves your head, you know?

Whoa, look at those fat roots! They certainly are more than sufficient to sustain that WU.

Signed,

One of the snow cones.

NHL, great post about clues to indicate a repotting is needed.
Was it just last spring that I was forced to repot because of poor drainage? Yes, I think so. I spent at least one maybe two weeks repotting, if you count shopping for mix components, mixing it up, dumping the old mix out of the pots, rearranging roots in the new mix, etc. See, I had 200 hosta purchased in 2012 alone, my first major year of hosta gardening. Many of those, probably over 100, were in substandard mix, I learned as I went along, and so I changed out the ones which were not growing properly. Mostly they had drainage problems in either a bad pot or a funky potting mix.

Thanks, Moc. I think I am pushing the limits as I delay and procrastinate to repot. I am reminded of Ken's words---that is, that you can pretty much throw them on the driveway and they survive. And so, I continue to experiment when it comes to repotting. A big challenge for me will be with my Great Expectations. It has been flourishing despite not being repotted since 2012! I am anxious to see how many pips will emerge this year. I think that that will be a good indicator for sure.

But if I were a hosta, I would love to live in your garden!