Moccasinlanding: I have planted the two hostas in pots and will be leaving them in the house to grow. That should speed things up. Daily temperatures here are just above freezing and night times are just below freezing. It will be my first time "forcing" a hosta indoors. I actually have one hosta outside that has awakened. I noticed it just yesterday with one eye. Today a second eye is making its way out. The hosta is Wolverine. I have looked at the hosta library and there are beautiful specimens to view. Unfortunately no very young GM. But like you say, this forum has loads of pictures and I will do some searching so that I can make a comparison. I agree that we need to put our trust in the sellers. I had "heard" of the growers from which my bare root hostas came from, so I feel optimistic that I will have the correct hosta. (Nothing like last year when I bought a bag of hostas and none of them were what they were supposed to be!) Thanks moccasinlanding for your feedback! Thanks Paul (paul in mn) for the photo! Your Golden Meadows looks so lovely and fresh! I hope my one eye will look like that---then I will (almost) know for sure. Ken: "back in the day.. white oak had an old fridge.. or they called their sale .. a fridge sale ..." That's so cute---a fridge sale---never heard of anything like that. That 's very interesting about the plants coming from division or TC plugs. I think you are right about my bare root hostas probably being from TC plugs as I did not notice any cut area. "so its hard to define a bargain" That's so true, especially when it comes to plants. I thought I was getting a good deal---two bare root hostas that cost me less than one potted hosta from a hosta nursery. But if this hosta takes off slowly, then I think I may not have gotten a good deal after all. Time will tell. As for rambling on---you can ramble on with me any time you want! Thank you Phil (hostafreak) for your comments. I am glad you think the roots are good. Sieboldiana heritage---doesn't that mean slow grower? Oh dear.

So if I understand correctly, if I put the white part of the stems below ground, then the place where the roots emerge from the stems will be an inch or so below ground, correct? ===>>> not in my world ... roots in the ground.. leaves above the ground... the middle part.. the crown.. at the surface level .. in the ground ... but not like an iris ... you say.. where the roots come out of the crown should be one inch deep .. maybe on a larger hosta.. your comment is an over generalization to some extent ... but one thing for sure.. the petioles... the celery-like stalks that hold up the leaves.. which come out of the top of the crown ... should NOT be in the soil.. MUCH AT ALL ... i dont understand why you can not tell.. looking at what you got in the mail ... which creamy white parts.. have never seen the sun .... that stuff has to be in the ground.. if the parts are green.. they were and are supposed to be.. above ground .... now.. here is the real issue ... all of the above [including your thoughts] is within the realm of OK .... but the issue is whether .. when the soil settles.. they end up another inch or two deep ... and then.. all of a sudden.. they are 3 inches underground ... and that is where the problems will be .... now .... something like liberty.. a potential large.. will probably not care .... but if baby bunting ends up 3 inches too deep... you will have problems.. make sense??? it usually ends up being a function of what you use to 'fluffify' your soil.. what you amend with.. and how it reacts to ground freeze and the freeze thaw cycle ... but never forget.. they are hosta ... and but for totally ejecting themselves in the freeze thaw cycle in winter.. you are going to be hard pressed to kill them quickly ... if something just doesnt look right next spring... odds are.. they ended up too deep.. and at that point.. you will lift them.. and set them properly .... most of us.. at looking at a pic.. can quickly tell.. what is planted too deep ... [sometimes i think babka.. in tx.. with her pot culture.. forgets what a witch mother earth can be.. lol ...] good luck .. it sounds like you are already having fun... ken ps: is this your first mail order??? did it make you feel like a child at xmas again.. lol ..

I wouldn't try to "hold" them for a month at this point, but I'm very surprised that you would get bare root hostas in wood shavings this time of year. Had they been recently dug or are the completely dormant, as if they were dug a year ago? The problem is that if they were dug a year ago they will want to start growing as soon as you plant them, thinking it is spring. They will try to put down some roots while it is warm, then when you do get cold there they will start that cycle to go dormant. If you wait a month and plant them you are risking a greater shock if the weather is colder then. They will use a lot of energy to try and grow which will make them weaker when winter comes. As I see it the best thing is to put them in the ground, 2nd best would be to pot them up in some well-draining potting soil, and 3rd option would be to just do the hail Mary and leave them in the basement for another month in their wood shavings, and hope for the best. Hopefully they were cheap enough that if they don't grow it won't be a big deal.

Good eye, Sandy! They were inadvertently mixed up when I posted the pics...I didn't notice until you mentioned it just now. Thank you! Here they are as of a few days ago... Stained Glass - very late bloomer Paradigm Julie Morss Touch of Class. Blue Angel is planted... all the bareroot hostas are doing well - this year's and previous purchases. Rainforest Sunrise and Liberty were the only ones that didn't make it the following spring but I had replaced them last year (although not bareroot).