It would probably benefit from separation - remove the other side and repot/replant separately. That white-rooted section looks great by the way!

Hi Jo. I was thinking of cutting the crown, but didn't think of planting both pieces! But then, why not? Heck, two plants are better than one! Thanks for weighing in.

Also, I think it looks as though this hosta was planted too deep in the pot. I'll do a better job when I repot it. In addition, I barely saw any bark fines in the media. I will make an improvement and hope that next year I will see a happy GA.

do not cut now ....

i think you need a better potting media .... maybe cut with some bark chips or something.. to loosen it up ...

and i would suggest that once every 3 years is not soon enough.. media wears out ...

there are viable buds on the part of the crown you dont like ... but it just spent the last few months storing energy in what little roots there are.. and now you want to remove the roots form the whole of the plant ...

repot.. store for winter..

see whats going on .... next june when you bare root it again ...

if you already did the deed.. what was the point of asking.. lol ...

ken

That makes sense Ken---not to cut now. (I think you'll agree Jo.)

I also agree that I need a better potting media. I've already prepared it and plan to do some repotting. Repotting every three years is not what I was aiming for, but you know, sometimes too much "life" happens, and you can't quite get a handle on things.

Of course I didn't do "the deed" already! Tomorrow is the day!

I agree about the previous depth of the plant. I also surmised this spring that GA likes a shallower planting and I have the task of refreshing my media as well (huge pot). As far as separating the plant you should be able to wrench it apart by hand carefully, whenever you do tackle that job. The storing of energy process is basically complete (?) and it is now approaching dormancy which is why I would have done the deed now had it been mine.

I don't think it matters to the plant at this point if you do the deed in the spring and just repot it now in a fresh, optimum-draining media.

By the way, an interesting point... my Knockout hosta emerged this spring looking like the odd side of your GA. It had quite a few viable-looking nubs that unfortunately did not progress further and the plant died soon after despite my efforts. (Ken actually predicted its short-lived life a couple of years ago when I first bought it, lol).

I hope yours develop further and that you have better luck with that section. To reiterate, the other half looks fabulous - roots are plentiful and healthy looking! Hope it wakes up rejuvenated and fuller for you next year!

yikes.. i ddint even notice the leek like depth .. and that again.. can be a media failure .. or your fault.. in the sense of potting it too fluffy.. and it sinking in the pot ... when you use the right media.. you can pack the plant in there... so it wont sink ... yet the good media.. still allows water flow ....

i hope babka sees this.. and maybe gives us a pic of an unpotted hosta of hers.. in her supreme media mix ...

to my eye.. your plant.. looks like it was struggling to put roots down the center.. with a few longer roots that went to the side of the pot

that reads media failure .. in the sense that when you watered.. the water did not flow thru the media as a whole .. but tended to puddle and run down the sides of the pot.;. so thats where the hosta put the roots ... but that leaves most of your root mass .. not performing to perfection ...

most of us.. deal with annuals in pots.. and since they die or are replaced every season.. you never really experience this ...

but we are .. quite out of the ordinary ... growing perennials in pots.. and that add another level of problems ... and requires more frequent replacement of media ...

and.. i am discussing this so you can learn .. and trust me on life getting in the way.. i have many more pots than you, that needed to be repotted 2 years ago ... lol ... so dont go all touchy feely on me .... unfortunately for me.. its more of a .... i dont care anymore thing ...

ken

Don't cut anything off. It wants to be a fine multi-eyed plant, and it has been trying to do that but it was planted to deep. That crown looks firm and healthy from here, as I can see all kinds of little dormant buds. Put it into a pot that fits the roots, not much bigger. Just barely cover that crown. I only up-pot when they get pot bound, and some do that more quickly than others.

-Babka

anyone else think that new pot is rather small ... or perhaps i should say ..not deep enough???

where are all those long roots.. wound in the bottom???

what is the media you used ... did you cut it with anything like bark fines ...

ken

Ken, the pot measures 5" x 5" wide and 6" deep. Some of the long roots I shortened because I thought they didn't look healthy at the ends. I don't think the longer roots wound around the bottom. I could put more media at the bottom and lift the hosta up. There is still room for that. My thought process was that since the hosta is not going to grow any more roots now, I didn't want to surround it with too much media that would stay wet for an extended period. I used promix and added 40% bark chips. I can see from the photo that there doesn't appear to be a lot of bark. Heck, where did it all go?

That's the size pot I use for my babies that are 3-4" tall.

When we pot a hosta, how much room should the roots be given?

Where does one find bark to add to potting mix, and why is it helpful? To ensure adequate drainage?

whats done is done ... for next time ....

roots are where the H stored energy for next spring ... and you cut some of them off ...

let us know if there is any impact next year ...

rp.. a new post for a new subject .. would be great ... but generally.. H like to be a bit pot bound ... wood chip answer in your new post ... make a title that is spot on for future searching ...

ken

rp - there are a lot of posts on the forum that discuss potting media... I've asked about it before, and then there is this good thread which includes suggestions from a few serious pot-heads. If you search 'potting media in hostas' up above, you'll get lots of info.

NHL - when you watered it in, the perlite all rose to the top, like it does in my pots. I've been using a potting mix from a good nursery here locally - I like it partly because it doesn't have any fertilizer added. And then I buy a bag of plain pine bark - which they call "soil conditioner" at that same nursery, and mix it with the potting mix. But the perlite in the mix always rises to the top. Babka warned me about this a while back, but I have yet to find something that doesn't have perlite in it. Mostly I don't like the look of it, but also - as Babka warned - if it overflows the pot a bit, the perlite gets stuck in the deck boards... and that drives me nuts (but then, it's a short trip! Lol!).

Ken, I just shortened a few of the long roots by 25 percent. I did not totally remove them. So maybe it will be OK? I get your point about roots storing the energy.

rpwoodard, the size of pot I used is way too large for your 3-4" babies. You don't want to get root rot because the media is remaining wet for long periods.

Windymess, promix BX has a lot of perlite in it. I don't think it all rose to the top when I watered because the media is full of perlite. I remember Ken saying (isn't that great Ken---I'm remembering what you say!) that perlite and media with perlite needs to be moistened before using it. Have you been doing that? That way it will stay in place instead of all rising to the top. For me, the look of the perlite doesn't bother me too much (especially if I think my hostas are happy). But if it did, I would just add a bit of compost to the top of the pot. I haven't noticed that the perlite gets stuck in the deck boards. I'll have a look. My husband won't like that at all!

I was going to create a new post with my questions, but no need now.

Windy, thanks for the link & for suggesting searching old posts. There are a lot of good discussions about potting media.

Rita (NJ, by way of IA)