I just potted 2 bare root hostas, so "they survived". Walking around outside only 1/5 of my hostas show pips, others are still hiding. Only damage so far are on dwarf conifers and wild geraniums which got partially eaten by voles, so started drenching that area with Castor oil.

Sad to say I ditched a Dancing Queen and Ripple effect because of the really poor root system on Dancing Queen and the latter was so small you could barely see it when the order arrived last year. My Bridal Falls is being replaced because it only has one eye this year. I'm keeping Luna Moth and Dark Shadows. The order was not the "generous" one I expected from this popular vendor. I just placed an order with Naylor Creek for hosta with multiple divisions one of which is Rainforest Sunrise - so wish me luck with that one.

Lotsa luck, DONNA...but you really can't go wrong with Naylor, can you?

Bridal Falls was new for me last year with one eye. It emerged with two. How long have you had yours? Sounds like the ones you named came from the same place?

Bernd, that's probably ideal....they may escape the late frosts!

I should look up the hosta dictionary to see what the correct
terminology is for the "fuzzy tufts" that were last year's eyes. Anyone
know it off-hand?

+++ >>> not sure there is one ... its just the remnant of last year stalk .. like the strings on a celery stalk ... eh???

to what do you give credit... did you switch out media??? ... snow cover keep them snuggled in all year??? ...

or should i just take all credit ... lol ...

ken

Yes, JO - Bridal Falls came from the same place. I was sent a different compensation hosta - but not one I would have considered.

Congrats to ya, Jo! A job well done. :)

Being in the far South I'm not sure that comparing my success rate is much related to someone from Canada, but all 17 of my hostas came back. 6 or 7 were from 2012 and 2013, the rest I bought in 2014.

I have added 15 more this spring from two different vendors. Rhino Hide never made a peep and Rainforest Sunrise got started like a racehorse with a broken leg. After a few weeks the poor little thing fell over and croaked before I could shoot it and put it out of it's misery. It never got much larger than a quarter so I don't know what the deal was with that. All the rest are off and doing well, other than some pill bug damage to a few. We are the China of pill bug population this year. It's just nuts.

I purchased Rainforest Sunrise because it was hosta of the year in 2013 assuming it met a lot of criteria in the hosta world. Steve, I hope I don't have to shoot mine!! LOL :(

Just yesterday, I found pips on LS Cindy Cee and On Stage. Those were the two remaining plants in the ground that had not yet surfaced. I also have several potted hosta and the only one that I don't see yet is First Frost. I don't have a good feeling about that one, it should be growing by now since the pot has been sitting in a warm area. I may have to dig around and see what is going on. So out of 80 plants, I may have lost of potted one and I have already confirmed the deaths of LS Shoremaster and Deep Blue Sea. Those both were small new plants that were probably planted too late in the year and they both heaved out of the ground. All in all, not bad although I really did like the 3 that are gone and I guess I will have to replace all 3.

Donna.....I bought a few this year that are likely tougher to keep in my zone than what I had been buying but I didn't even get a chance to test RS out! Maybe it passed out anticipating the Texas summer heat. I can relate to that! :)

Josephine , out of 207 potted hostas, I lost 8. Out of those 8, I feel that at least 6 of them were my fault as I up potted them too late in the season, and they started putting on new growth when they should have been going dormant. Live and learn I guess. I'm glad yours did so well this winter for you.

Great news Josephine, especially after the loss from the previous year. Like Ken asked, can you identify the reason for the difference?

I'm going to claim near 100% survival. It looks like all the in ground are there. On Stage is the last to show but I discovered 2 small shoots today. I'm sure there will be more as last year it was very nice with probably 8-10 shoots.

All of the pots (30) came through, are looking good and have all been repotted with new media. At the end of the year last year I bought 5 small hostas on closeout for $1.00 each. They were pretty scraggly, in 1 gallon pots only about half full. I never got around to planting them and they laid out exposed all winter. Two of them aren't showing up but that's OK.

Ken said ... >>>>to what do you give credit... did you switch out media??? ... snow cover keep them snuggled in all year??? ...

or should i just take all credit ... lol ...<<<<

Ha ha ha, funny guy! ;-). To what do I give credit ? Well, let me think.

1. No, I didn't switch out media. I had mixed potting media and small bark chunks (orchid media) when I first potted them all up and they remain undisturbed in this light and fluffy mix to present day. Drainage is excellent with that mix. I love working with it.
2. Definitely "snuggled" (nice word, Ken) in a few feet of insulating snow was beneficial :-)
3. One of the differences I feel was that they had a year to grow out in the pots, the roots taking up more space, the media less. All pots were tipped on their sides as close to shrubs as possible.
4. Warmer and shorter winter

Steve, thanks! I laughed at the horse analogy, lol. Yes, I'm on my 2nd RS too...it's coming but oh so slowly...I'm hoping for same fullness but who knows? FYI: I Discovered that those pill bugs like to eat the slug pellets too. They curl up and croak. I don't have as many now as two years ago. I'm surprised at your Rhino Hide. I thought it was a tough hosta. I'm hoping for more than the one pip but it's a biggie. Best of luck with your new acquisitions but I think you'll do just fine ;-).

Linda, you've done well and I hope your FF surfaces, it's such a beauty. I'd already be rooting around in that pot! Lol You're right, it should be up already. Hope there is life under that media! I've replaced at least half of my losses last year because I really liked those cultivars and didn't want to be without them...same plants!

Thank you, Gary! 200+ is a lot of pots! Your retention rate is impressive! It's always easier to accept a loss when you understand why some died, isn't it? I know there was "operator error" on my part the year before...potting too late also, too much sopping media, etc.

Jon, good save with Elegans!

DONNA, keep that gun in your holster, lol! Maybe we'll do a Rainforest Sunrise survey? It doesn't seem to have a good track record?

That success rate must make you happy Jo. Out of about 100, it looks like Cracker Crumbs isn't back - too much root competition is my guess. And then Golden Bullion hasn't made an appearance yet. This is quite disappointing as it was my first 'sport' and I separated it from Tok. Flav at the beginning of the season and thought it was going to make it. Both were in the ground. I have at least one pip in all my pots but not absolutely sure they are all going to pull through, but I am hopeful.

Good for you! A better way to start the new season when compared with last year. As for me, lost a couple, Dancing Queen and Flemish Gold, by placing them too close to a washing machine vent. They rotted right through. A few others are back, but I'm losing patience with their sloth-like growing habit - Blue Ivory is slated to be passed on to a friend, as is Lakeside Kaleidoscope (this one suffers from drawstring and has failed to shine for several years in my garden), Marrakech (could be another victim of the washing machine vent) and maybe a few more before the season is through.

BC

So far, I'm down Dream Queen and Abiqua Drinking Gourd. Hopefully I won't have any more to report. Very glad you got 0% loss, Jo. Outstanding, my friend!

Don B.

Woohoo, Jo! No hostas lost is pretty great.

I'm still waiting on some in colder parts of the yard, but my concern for Bridal Falls proved correct. When everything around it came up, I decided to go digging. I didn't realize the soil in that area is like silt and BF sunk down too deep. Sadly, it's now a shadow of it's former self. It's in my Hosta ICU with barely any roots and one eye the size of a pen head. :-(

Don were both new first year plants?

Thanks a bunch, Sandy! :-). Like you, I refuse to give up on any of my hostas so my ICU is located near, outside the kitchen slider on the deck/balcony and has held one-rooted mini hostas, rootless divisions, etc etc.

Say, that reminds me...my daughter sliced through her Orange Marmalade last year while dividing it for me. She brought both rooted piece and rootless one. I kept it in water for 5-10 days I think and it grew roots. The pips are up this year! Would you consider placing it in water to allow it to gain some more roots? It would help it out. My bare root hostas sat in water for more than 30 days before being potted - I kept rinsing the roots and changing water. They look terrific, developed some new roots. If it worked for me ...(more than on one occasion) just a suggestion...or just let it grow :-)

Here's some incentive..

Where you see the roots begin, there was nothing but an intact division (all petioles attached) with not a single root attached. I planted it shortly after this photo.

Here it is as of yesterday...

I've never tried it with hosta, but roots I've started in water for some other plants haven't done too well when they get transferred into soil. I've read that water grown roots aren't the same as soil grown. But it sounds like you had good luck with it, so I'd consider trying if my ICU gets any new "patients." I already messed with BF again to mix bark into the soil, trying to follow directions of successful pot people, so I'll let it be for a while.

....I did overwinter Mt. Tom in a pot for the second year in a row and it came through fine. That's a victory for me because I haven't done well with pots. (My fault for using MG moisture control. :) I've promised him a home in the ground this year.

Jo....the online store where I bought Rhino Hide (also where I got Rainforest Sunrise) is going to replace it. It's the first hosta I have ever bought that didn't come up and do well. Just one of those things I guess.

Steve

Santa, I think Rainforest Sunrise is pretty tough. I had one in all those TC's I bought from Wild and Sons in 2013. Most of those died in that winter. RFSR has held on and is looking like a reall hosta. It seems to be pretty tough.

Congrats, Jo on your successful overwintering. I only lost one, Summer Breeze. I have a few on life support, though.

bk

bk....I wondered if I just got a dud along with Rhino Hide. It was my first order from these people.

Which ones of yours are barely hanging on? I might as well make a note of those so I will know to stay clear of them.

Don, do not give up on Dream Queen! It is still in hiding for me as it always has. It will probably surprise you. Once DQ has shown itself, I will suspect any among the missing are DOA.

I'm afraid I must, Jon. I investigated Dream Queen and dug it up, only to find the crown was mush. : (

I got DQ in 2012 and ADG in 2013, Jo. It happens. I have a second ADG that was sent to me in error (ordered Abiqua Moonbeam) that is in good shape. I'll try Dream Queen again. It was doing well.

On life support;
Queen of the Seas
Brother Stephan
Wide Brim
Diminished since last year;
Francee
Paradigm
plantaginea
bk

Bummer. I'm surprised about Francee, but I guess you never know. Undulata Albomarinata I believe is supposed to be pretty hearty for our zones but it went downhill for me last year and came back weaker this year.

I thought after the warm winter I had her that I was going to have a bad hosta year. I even told my friends at work that this was going to be a bad hosta year. They really have no idea what I am talking about but they listened to me. Much to my surprise I only lost 3 and it has been , so far, a great hosta year.

Hudson Bay ~ I think I lost this one last summer. Something was not looking good at the end of season.

Francee ~ just gone. It is ok I have 3 more.

Camelot ~ just gone. probably tired of my singing In Camelot.

It is going to be a great Hosta Year.

I can relate to your talking to your friends. I tell me wife.....let's look at the hostas to see how they're doing, and pretend that you care. :)

The Camelot thing really cracked me up!

Wow, Jo - no losses, and in pots yet. Well done!

We had a weird winter - lots of rain in October, a very cold November, warm and rainy in December, fairly cold and windy but no snow Jan and Feb. I'm still hoping, but a lot of first year plants aren't up, and neither are a few others. Frozen Margarita was nothing but mush, and Moonstruck was a dud with very few roots when I got it, so I've written those two off. Robert Frost and Clear Fork River Valley both have rot, but have some firm areas - fingers crossed. No sign of Lakeside Black Satin, Warwick Comet, War Paint, Powder Keg, Ice Follies, Curly Fries, Half and Half, one of the Francis Williams, or Aphrodite, but it's been cold. This week will be in the 70s, so I'm hoping some of them made it and will put up pips. Sea Lotus Leaf, On Stage, and Royal Tiara popped up today.

My Sagae bed looked terrible, and I dug most of it up and added compost and manure. I found a lot of rotted eyes, and that bed has been there for years. Elegans went from being a huge hosta to a couple eyes with small leaves and very few roots. Guess Mother Nature just wasn't kind to hostas this year. On the plus side, some really leaped in spite of the weather.

Re your media: I put mini bark mulch in the bottom of a couple monster pots and mixed more of it in Miracle Grow for the top half. The hostas went in the ground in fall, since the pots are too big to tip, but I think they could have made it though the winter. The drainage was fantastic, and they had roots down into the mulch. Another big pot just had potting soil, and it turned into a swamp. As soon as I get to it, that one is getting the mini bark treatment. I think I'll add it to the mix I put in spin-out bags, too.

Thanks, MadPlanter! I am so sorry about some of your losses, especially established plants like Sagae and Elegans. So disappointing. :-( It sounds like snow cover would have been very welcome in Dec Jan and Feb and would have insulated all those plants! What with all the rain, then cold, then rain and warmer temps( sounds like spring in Dec), then cold again, windy, no snow...no wonder there was rot in some. We learn to roll with the punches Mother Nature doles out but we don't have to like it!!

Let's hope more of those no-shows (some very attractive hostas!) will come up..better late than never, right? It's amazing how quickly things pop up when it warms up. The last two sunny days have produced more pips here (hard to see some of them unless I'm almost nose-to-nose to them, lol) so I think you are in store for a pip invasion very soon!

You must have been so pleased to see the root growth reach the mulch in the large pot! I think they really flourish when the roots have oxygen...which is difficult to achieve in plain potting mix that eventually becomes a blob. Love the mini bark mixture (and when it's moist, the smell is heavenly, lol)

Enjoy this year's leapers (silver lining), the upcoming pips, and please post some pics when it's opportune. Would love to see some stars from your garden this season.

Paula, thanks for your funny post, lol. It's hard to show genuine sympathy when one is laughing at the same time! I'm glad your losses are so few but Francee's demise is surprising. Steve, Bkay, now you. I didn't think anything affected that hosta! P.S. Camelot wasn't a Karaoke (sp?) fan? Lol

Jo, I had a single eye "Hole Mole" that got snapped off at the crown, but had no roots that I could see. I took the piece and put it it very shallow water at first, trying not to "drown" the piece. I changed the water every day as well. It started growing roots! And in six weeks I had roots about two inches tall and maybe three inches wide, molded into a disc shape because I had it soaking in a 32-ounce cup. I planted it in the fall, and now I see two pips poking out where I planted it. I also have the original plant. Your pic above just reminded me of that experiment.

: )

Cool, Don! You are quite the hosta enthusiast. I would have let it die a painful death.

As long as it has part of the crown (meristem) attached, it will root. A cut leaf won't. That fat part at the bottom of a pulled off leaf may have some meristem.

Bkay- I've had some since 2001 (my old friends) and then they rot. Just get more. ;-)

-Babka

Way to go, Don!!! How gratifying is that? Grow, Hole Mole, grow! :-)

Perhaps 2/3 of my hostas show pips, and none of the pips has been eaten off, that's the good news. Yesterday I gave all a spray of Liquid Fence as a thank you. I thought there might be rabbits coming through or under the fence, or squirrels eating off the new growth, so nothing. There is only one squirrel left, and there might be predators out there getting rabbits. I am happy so far!

Here in Wales we had a very mild winter. Lots of rain, very little snow and a few hard frosts.

I have never done anything to preserve my plants through the winter either here or when I lived in Kent and East London.

My only winter casualty to crown rot was Flemish Master which was a new single division last year.

Cliffords Forest Fire is on life support, also crown rot and the outlook is bleak!

I have a Fire and Ice about 6 years old which went downhill for no apparent reason last autumn and has come back very small.

Earth Angel also went backwards last autumn, that also appeared to be crown rot. I saved what i could as it was a mature plant, Ended up with it split between 3 pots, nothing showing on the surface yet but when I had a poke around there seemed to be signs of life. Fingers crossed on this one.

Dave

Dave: Nice to hear from someone in a different part of the world! I don't have Earth Angel but have seen photos and it is quite beautiful. Hope at least one if not all of your splits pull through. I too have had some return much smaller and you always wonder what happened. I had that happen with Big Daddy and I decided it must be root competition and I replanted it in a new location and it is coming back.

Keeping fingers crossed for you.

Barb (Canada)

My 'Big Daddy' needed 10 years to look good, he was a very slow grower, probably started as 1 year out of TC at full price. I have 4 'Earth Angels' in different parts of my garden, different soils and sun, and none is a good grower. Most people have no luck with 'Fire and Ice', my 2 or 3 also slowly disappeared. Last year I had some crown rot on plants, some recovered, but have not seen many plants yet.

Frosted Jade has been, apparently, attacked by voles. Bummer!

Bernd, I learned something about Fire and Ice...I'm on my second (in its third year) and it's looking positive.

I actually think it does better in a pot than planted in the ground!!! At least here anyway. My first one came up the first spring as a "mini" and took forever to grow at all. I gave it to a relative, lol. ;-). I have never planted this one and last year it was especially superb...I posted pics whenever I got the chance! Even last September it looked fab. No melt-out, nada... just a very happy hosta, in an ugly black nursery pot, getting sun exposure until about 2:00 here in zone 5. Just wanted to share that with you, for what it's worth.

Edited to add:. still in ugly pot, purple pips just starting to poke through... I forgot to bring it into the sunlight until just yesterday. It was over wintered on the northwest corner of the house. Think maybe I'll spiffy up the pot by placing it inside a nicer one! It deserves it.

Newsflash...you'll never believe it! I just went to check on the number of pips on it and I'm ashamed to tell you that the potting media is the pits! There is gravel and dirt in that pot...no wonder I had to use both arms to lift it!!! Two winters ago when I was potting I ran out of mix and used dirt and some gravel. I lost a piece of my Frances Williams (rotted) but F&I was fine. I had better repot it before I lose it! Duh!

Don, my daughter had same problem. A hosta has crown intact but not one root! Only the nubbins where the roots were. Looks funny. she was planning to root it in water. Darn voles!

I'm surprised and happy to report no hostas losses from last winter. I do have a few that were small and not doing well last year and came back tiny: London Fog, Rosedale Golden goose, and Whirlwind. I should just remove them to make space for others. Even if they come back, it's going to be YEARS before they're even as large as when I bought them.

I'm glad I don't have to start another thread (thanks to Barb and Eleven) because I have to update my 2014 report.

I actually have two losses as of May 22/14: both were new in 2014, both grew really well!

1. Dixie Chickadee - one pip was emerging from last year's stored energy, but never grew past about 1/4"

2. Mini Skirt - emerging pip did not progress, same as above (replaced)

After digging them out, both had rotting crowns and soft roots. I think there was too much media all around them. I did not turn the large pot on its side.

Blue Mouse Ears and Cracker Crumbs made it but I rescued them out of that huge pot and will replant them. I had forgotten all about them during the two frost warnings. BME's leaves are the tiniest I've seen in comparison to the other BME "hulks". Lol They will go in the ground sometime during the summer...maybe beginning August.

Here is the sad sight...Mini Skirt and Dixie Chickadee

Jo, that is a sad sight. Sorry about your losses. Wish you lived closer. I have two clumps each of Blue Mouse Ears and Cracker Crumbs. They have both done well enough that I have been able to divide them. Those are some really tiny mouse ears - more life size I guess LOL

Barb, I'm glad you went digging for Cracker Crumbs and Gold Medallion! You saved them! lol. No losses, woohoo! :-)

Eleven, congratulations on no losses! And....it's not so bad if London Fog, Whirlwind and Rosedale Golden Goose are smaller - they are still alive. I think next year they will be better ....but if you can be bothered, maybe pot the three of them up for the season? It just might jump-start them!