"Pocket size" Hosta 'Pandora's Box' slowly browning/dying
Akerman Flooring, LLC (NH)zn5
8 years ago
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josephines167 z5 ON Canada
8 years agoAkerman Flooring, LLC (NH)zn5 thanked josephines167 z5 ON CanadaRelated Discussions
Repel voles?
Comments (25)Hi, everyone. I did try the castor oil treatment, and I am waiting to see if it's worked. By now I probably need to re-apply it. I like Susan's idea about the traps and will probably give it a try. I am losing brown-eyed susies already- plant starts to die and eventually dies completely. My spiderwort starts turning brown and I dig the clump up and toss it in a big hole in the woods...but I have LOTS of spiderwort and it's not practical to dig it all up. Local extension service suggested it might be a fungus, and commented that the clumps were so big there would be little airflow. I will try to get back over there this month w/ a dying plant so they can look at it, ( and my rudbeckia, too). I would like to post some pics of my perennial bed which is doing fairly well, but not too good w/ posting pics. Thanks for all the help!...See MoreWhat hostas do you like the least?
Comments (39)Sandy(mosswitch) I have a hosta which was labeled as Northern Exposure with the same drawstring trouble as yours. Mine is only a few years old. I thought maybe there was something wrong with it or where I have it planted and kept thinking I might dig it up and move it to a pot to see if anything changed. Sounds like that isn't going to make a difference but it is interesting that yours turns out to be something different after all. Wonder if mine is actually a Lunar Eclipse too. I will have to take a good look at it. Here I was thinking that Northern Exposure was such a disappointment because it always looks so crummy, but it may not be NE after all....See MoreUnusual Hosta Question About Root Systems
Comments (21)I find Hornbaker Gardens very expensive but having great variety of hostas. My favorite is Sunrise greenhouse in Grant Park IL which has over 400 varieties with excellent prices and knowledgeble people as well. Got bunch of hostas from them and so far they doing great. Went to Hornbaker yesterday and did not find their clearance sales satifactory- at this time of year most nurseries are selling everything 50% off in our zone. Sunrise greenhouses started having buy 2 get one free after Aug 25 and I was most happy recipient ;) They also were having OOPS sales for $2 where labels got lost so I picked up several plants which I am pretty sure identified as Clifford Stingray, Reptilian, Sleeping beauty and still have yellow leaved NOID. Am going to take it to Foxwillow Pines this weekend for Hosta happening event where owner of Hostapatch Nursery will be helping ID hostas by their leaves. I overwinter significant amount of pots. If they are iffy or hardy only to zone 5 perennials you want to give them decent protection such as coldframe. Hostas will do great if you put them either in unheated garage or under north house wall, water them well, let them go dormant, turn them on the side and dump big bunch of oak leaves over it. I do not have mice or voles so having big heaps of leaves is not a problem in my garden. I overwinter hydrangea macrophyllas which are only root hardy in my zone similar way and have nice blooms as well. Also I had several purchases made from Northern Grown perennials, Hallsons and Chuck Plemmons " The hosta man". Received huge divisions with long roots, was most pleased....See MoreNeed ideas/help for landscaping at front of house NW Illinois Zone 5
Comments (34)First of all KUDOS to you!! I have rock mulch all around my house and it has taken me years to get rid of it in some spots. Of course I'm not as dedicated as you obviously were. Really amazing that you were willing to take the time to do that. Give yourself a big pat on the back!! In IL, I wouldn't plant stuff up close to the house, It holds moisture against the house, in many forms, including snow. Haven for all kinds of bugs that get into the house. I'd leave at least three feet between the house and anything I planted. You might want to start out with the less expensive smaller plants, but make sure to check how big they get at maturity. Below is a link to the MO Botantical Gardens "PlantFinder" search engine. You can look up most of the plants that would grow well in your zone and find out the real deal about them. Give your baby plantings room to grow. Easier to fill in between shrubs with annual flowers than rip out overgrown stuff. Ask me how I know . . . https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/plantfinder/plantfindersearch.aspx Maybe walk around your neighborhood and take pictures of houses you like the landscaping of, and copy some ideas from that. That's what I did when I moved into my first house, for ideas on landscaping. I took nightly walks and got a lot of ideas from peering into neighbors yards . . . Check out some books from the library, there are lots of books on how to basically landscape a basic home. My favorite, probably out of print, is Cass Turnbull's handbook. She goes into not just how to design your plantings, but how to maintain them too. https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-complete-guide-to-landscape-design-renovation-and-maintenance-a-practical-handbook-for-the-home-landscape-gardener_cass-turnbull/389930/item/391485/?gclid=CjwKCAjwrPCGBhALEiwAUl9X0_79Z7hoPI67oemQK8eqUFYDEz_xHv3F_eRviJaKq4gNPhsTl3Z0GRoCO00QAvD_BwE#idiq=391485&edition=2871674 Another older book I used was "Better Homes and Gardens Complete Guide to Home Landscaping." In general, think big swaths, not tiny little edges against the house. Most people don't look at the whole landscape, the lay of the land when landscaping, they just throw plants right up against the house. Look at your yard as a whole. It's even hard to recommend things just from the sectional photos you posted. Obviously you're going to do something about that weird "C" shaped bed in front of the house. It's unnecessarily difficult to mow around. As for "something with some height" I would recommend looking into some type of viburnum shrubs. The question is, are you going to a nice professional nursery or a big box store. If you go to a big real nursery, there might be someone there who could help you find the kinds of plants you are looking for. I know last time I visited such a place, a lovely woman helped me find the perfect tree for my yard . . . You might consider a rose trained against a trellis between your front windows. Just a thought. And here I'm breaking my rule about not having plants up against the house . . . ! Here are some lovely shrubs that I've dealt with that keep themselves tidy--weigela "Wine and roses" "Margic Carpet" spirea, "Miss Kim" lilac, Gold mound arborvitae, dwarf mugo pine, dwarf fothergilla. I also love the landscape roses, but that's me . . . One kind of hosta alone is sad, a whole selection of different colors and leaf shapes is cool. No go if you have deer browsing . . . I agree though, the purpose of landscaping up against the house is for your pleasure. Curb appeal is just al little welcoming thing at the entrance. Can be a simple planter with red geraniums. The rest is what you want to see and enjoy. From the street, you want big structural elements, well away from the house, but places so they don't impede the view in or out. Unless you want a lot of privacy in the front . . . There's really no reason to obstruct the view of the front of your house with a lot of heavy maintenance shrubs, etc....See More- PRO
Akerman Flooring, LLC (NH)zn5
8 years ago 
bkay2000
8 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years agojosephines167 z5 ON Canada
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoI can only hope you plant it outside - giving it best odds to survive in "Mother Earth" regardless of the fact that it has been sheltered indoors all this time. It's dormancy time - allow it to do its thing. :)
If you decide to follow my suggestion, and by some chance it doesn't make it, I will order a new Pandora's Box hosta for you in the spring via a nursery near where you live. I promise! My gut says it will survive if you plant it in the ground ASAP. :)
By the way, I've lost potted hostas two winters ago, mini and otherwise. Happy to say I've had almost 100% success this past winter. The two minis I lost were over wintered outdoors in a large pot that had too much media in it. Too much rain before the freeze. They rotted during the thaw in the spring.
Here is my young Pandora's Box - new last year.
This was just taken moments ago...second time blooming this year and still a flower bud or two to open. It hailed sleet here about an hour ago - tough little scape!
As you can see, it's well on its way - I have about 8 minis to still plant. This is the only pot with multiples (3) and I don't want to chance it, so in the ground they go and I will pot them up again when they are emerging in the spring.
- PRO
Akerman Flooring, LLC (NH)zn5
8 years ago - PRO
Akerman Flooring, LLC (NH)zn5
8 years ago josephines167 z5 ON Canada
8 years agoAw, so sad :( - mine survived in pot...still tiny pips but coming....a promise is a promise :D
PB is in foreground.
U can message me or my email
hostajocee@gmail.com
josephines167 z5 ON Canada
7 years ago
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5