OK, we can help.

Can you please post a photo so we know how to help.

I have seen in the past a beautiful hosta garden up in Vulcan MI at the far west end of the UP, in David Reath's gardens (which are now history). I know the hosta will grow up in the UP so let's try to help. Time is of the essence for Fall planting.

they are not houseplants ..

plant them in the ground... mulch heavily late in the fall .. so they dont heave out of the ground ... in late winter ... or for you.. mid june.. lol ...

temps are irrelevant ... they are fully hardy in MI ...

deer will probably be your biggest problem ... unless you try to love them to death indoors ... they have a requisite cold dormancy ...

ken

Hi Ken, thanks for your response. If I plant them in the ground, should I water them for a certain period of time or leave them alone? When you say "mulch heavily", do you mean a couple of inches of mulch? Should I cover the hostas themselves or leave them poking out? Should I fertilize? I will have plenty of leaves to mulch with my mower. Will this work or should I get wood chips? Sorry for the incredibly ignorant nature of my questions, but, I'm pretty helpless on this subject.

First, don't plant them any deeper than the root crowns, or in other words where the stems show dirt should be underground but not the white parts of the stems. Yes, water and then let them get established in the Pure Michigan Fall. Once the hosta leaves die back after frost, then wait 4-5 weeks into Nov and put chopped leaves on them , depth probably 2-3 inches.

Ken, comments - recall it is the UP.

Wish our friend Dan Atkisson could help - he lives in the UP somewhere and knows hosta inside and out!

plant to the point where the stem is white.. that is where it was planted before ... err toward high ...

those are tiny .... do you have a spot.. right up against the house... as a temp bed for this fall ....??? .. like within a foot of the foundation???

NEVER FERT A HOSTA IN FALL .... late next spring would be ok ... but you need years.. not fert.. to get them big ...

what bruce said on mulch ... we arent mulching to extend the season ... we are piling it on.... NEAR GROUND FREEZE ... so they dont pop out of the ground... in late winter.. early spring ...

leaves from the lawn.. have to be cut pretty small.. so they dont suffocate the plants .. i used to suck them up ... very dry ... put then in the street.. and then reduce them to about little finger nail size .... so they stayed fluffy ...

snow cover is irellevant ... its good ...

ignoring my crack about snow thaw in june.. lol ...

dont leave them in the glass of water for too long.. they are not aquatic .... few days is OK ...

ken

And here I thought I could just throw them in a pot and watch them grow through the winter. Wow. This gardening thing is a lot more complicated than I thought:-))! Actually I plan on planting them within about a foot of the foundation so it sounds like that will be helpful. Thanks a ton to both of you and Ken you aren't too far off about a June snow thaw:-).

Those little plants have excellent root systems, once they are in the ground they will do just fine. I would hesitate to put anything within a foot of a foundation. You might find that promotes a freeze/thaw cycle that is more damaging to plants than extreme cold. 18 inches away from the foundation would probably be safer.

You might want to amend your soil as you plant, it's very easy to add some peat moss, compost or topsoil as you dig the holes, mix it thoroughly with your regular soil, then plant. What you add depends on what sort of soil you have, but organic matter of many sorts is always good. When I plant hostas, I add about 1/3 by volume of peat moss or compost, which gives the roots a nice light soil and allows for good root development in the first year.

Since nobody has warned you yet, be aware that hostas are extremely addictive! And welcome to our hosta world, it's a little crazy, but lots of fun.

Thanks for the advise and welcome dhaven! Much appreciated:-).

Elaine, never fear - in a few years those little guys will be grown ups and you will have a new addiction. Just make sure you mark were you put them with something so that you make sure and give them time to pop their heads in the spring! If they don't make it (so doubtful) there are a million sharers on this board. :)

Welcome to the hosta forum, Elaine, and to the world of hostas. Make sure you come back to the forum on the day after Christmas, that's when we start the Hosta Alphabet and post pictures of our hostas, starting with the letter "A" and progressing with a new letter every other day. Eye candy to the extreme! : )

Thanks Don!