I personally don't use pots, but from my constant perusing for inspiration, there are a lot of people who have success with growing their hostas in pots. I say if that's what you want to do, then do it! :)

I'm in a slightly warmer zone but I grow All my hostas in containers to hopefully keep them out of the reach of slugs and snails. Works moderately well for slugs....not so much for snails :-( They have an amazing ability to climb just about anything if they detect dinner lurking over their heads! I have not tried hostas in hanging baskets yet......that may be my next approach.

I grow mine in pretty good sized pots but they are left outside year round. The soil never really freezes here to any degree and the plants themselves are exceedingly cold tolerant. You should be fine in z7b.

Something else i just realized about putting my hostas in pots is that I can place them right next to my Japanese Maple tree. I have a fairly large bare area there because I didn't want to plant too close and have the plants die due to root obstruction.

Pots! Good plan! I put them where I want to see them, and get them outta sight when they go to sleep. Leave them outside, perhaps tipped so they don't get water logged over winter while they are dormant. They need to get as cold as you can keep them to maintain vigor. Out here we rarely get a frost and our air temps get colder than our ground, so mine get put on benches in a covered area to keep our winter rains from drowning them.

-Babka

I'm with Babka,

Pots can fill in otherwise empty spaces. If you do not like them in a place, move them...if the hostas do not like the place, move them...if you don't like the arrangement of colour and size, rearrange...

And in winter I put them near to a hedge to protect them a little. Only check out you don't have rainwater standing in the pots when the soil inside is still frozen, then tip them over to the side...

Karin

After doing some research it appears that putting copper tape around a pot will keep slugs from climbing the pot, as slugs hate copper.

However, I think I have an even better plan. I have found some antique copper boilers on e-bay that are 100 percent copper. They are a little expensive, but if a little strip of tape will keep slugs out then a planter made from all copper should really deter them !

Yeah, but... the copper quickly oxidizes and those critters climb right over it, smiling. Sluggo works very well, and it doesn't leave the bodies for the cannibals to eat. We get snails about 1" big, nothing compared to the PNW, but they do climb our stucco houses and hide under the eaves here.

Have fun with pot, easy to move around at will .

-Babka

Thanks Babka, didnt realize they would climb up an oxidized copper pot. I will also check out the Babka sticks.

Found this web site which sells pot feet. A little too much for me personally, but I think they are neat.

Pot Feet

lowes has some less expensive no-frills terra-cotta feetsies ...

I am in NJ more in zone 6 or zone 6b. I keep some "pet" Hostas in pots.....even smaller size pots. They do fine, I don't even bother tipping them over in the winter. I have a little mulch around the base of the pots and usually in winter I loosely throw some cut branches and old mums on top of the pots to shade the surface and prevent too much freezing and thawing. They have done well there and my Hostas in the ground have suffered the last two or three years from long summer droughts and tree roots. Enjoy!

Koffman, I "assumed" that those photos of babka sticks would still be up. Sorry about that. Maybe she will post one. The sticks are just straight sticks that she puts under her pots to keep the pot bottom from staining her deck and to help with drainage and air circulation. She doesn't think they help with slugs. I thought they did. My "demon doglet" loved them. She would knock the pot over to get the stick to chew on.

Those terra cotta pot feet that raise the pot about an inch and a 1/2 seem to help. Or, maybe we just don't have a lot of slugs. Make sure you use pots that do not have a built in bottom. That is a perfect breeding place for slugs.

Good luck with your hosta pots.

bkay

I've been a pot head for years, one has never seen the ground in over 15 years, they do need more water and a changing of soil every season, I keep mine, I now have 8, in my screened in porch over the winter, just last week, they broke ground.

In my zone (7b) will I have to bring them inside during the winter ? I
had several planted in large whiskey barrel planters that came back good
as new

==>>> they are not houseplants.. and will fail.. if you meant indoors ... they have a requisite cold dormancy ...

besides.. if the others made it outdoors over winter.. why would new ones need anything different ...

they survive down to z 3 or 4 ...why you think your z7 is somehow too cold for them .. is bordering on trying to love them to death ...

after they go dormant ... tip the pot in its side.. and go hibernate ... and even better if you can place the pots.. where they will stay out of winter sun.. so they dont come out of dormancy in some weird mid winter warm spell ..

the only other real concern.. is too much water in your potting media ... when the plant is dormant.. that is why you tip them over .. but you might also think about how to reduce water in the barrels....

ken

Koffman-

I started a new post with a couple pics for Babka sticks.

I just put about 3 or 4 little Sluggo pieces under each pot every once in awhile to keep slugs and snails away. It works well on decks, but you would have to put it all around if your pots are sitting over soil.

Welcome to Pottsville!

-Babka

Soil needs to have a good bit of bark. I like to mix soil conditioner
with either Sta green garden soil or shrub and tree soil and MIRACLE
Grow potting mix

==>> the most important thing in a pot is not the plant.. but the media ... and it nothing that comes straight out of the bag ... perhaps someone can link you to old posts on topic ...

one thing for sure... about 90% of post in houzz garden forums.. do NOT favor MG media ...

all the power to those that use it.. and succeed ... but you can do better ...

really its the adding of large particles/chucks to your media.. to increase water and air flow ...

and then.. after that.. winter storage ... as per above ...

ken

I'm forty miles south of Chicago and I once had a Kamodo Dragon that stayed in the pot outside for 2 years and 2 winter's.You can probably keep yours out during winter too.They are more hardy than you think. I finally planted the dragon in a place of honor for abuses inflicted, and pampered it with good organic fertilizer.

If I put my hosta pots on the deck, they generally don't attract slugs. But if I put my pots on the soil---and it doesn't matter if you put them on a raised platform--they attract slugs. The slugs travel up from your platform or stand and from one plant touching (or almost touching) another.

I am sure you can be successful being a pot head.

They have stuff to kill and repel slugs and that's eco friendly.Have you tried any? Would sand or something dry prevent them from reaching the pots? I forgot to mention that the Komodo Dragon I had in z5b/z6a outside in a pot for 2 winter's was in a small black plastic pot.It was located next to a trellis with grape vines on it.In summer the hostas always had a little partial shade from the vines spilling over and in winter the pot got more direct sun with the grape foliage gone. I don't know if pot color and location had a factor with it surviving. I had a vole problem a few years ago.It got really bad for a couple years and they went nuts and ate almost everything.Then they all suddenly disappeared and I haven't seen one since.It's like they all jumped off a cliff like lemmings or something. I guess things are way different by you.Slugs are not a problem up here,but you probably have more because of the moisture.

As they say, YMMV. I tried a cheap hosta in a pot this year to see if I could make it work. It was a fail for me. I tipped the pot on its side and put it in a protected spot for the winter. And we had a really mild winter this year. Still, it didn't survive. I'm just glad I didn't try a good one. I may try again this year with different medium and storage place. Maybe the garage which is where I store my cannas.