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Broke leaves off roots

angt29 (Minnesota, zone 4b)

6 years ago

I got a new hosta this weekend and planted it this morning. Because it had multiple eyes, I divided it so that I could put it in two spots. I have done this many times before with success, but this time one side that I broke off was just roots, and I broke off all the leaves. I'm so mad at myself! The other half is fine; it has beautiful roots and leaves are intact. For the half that broke, is there anything I can do to encourage it to root and send up some leaves? I planted the root ball as I would plant a normal, intact plant, as I wasn't sure what else to do with it and thought I might as well try it. I'm not sure it's any different than my hostas bein mowed down by rabbit and having to send up new leaves. Anyhow, and help is appreciated.

Also, I saved two leaves and cleaned them off and was wondering if there is a successful method of rooting leaves? Maybe it's very hard.

Thanks!!

Angie

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Comments (7)

teuth
6 years ago
I think that there is a good chance your leaf-less crown piece will recover with new growth eventually.

Rooting leaves is very unlikely unless there is a piece of crown attached. A couple people on the forums also mentioned that it is possible even without crown if you get the leaf piece in the early spring.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/4645155/propagating-hostas
Babka NorCal 9b
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Dormant buds will be swelling and sending up shoots soon. You are right about "bein mowed down by rabbit and having to send up new leaves."

If the leaves have any little bit of crown material (meristem) attached at the bottom they many root for you in water. If they were broken off higher, that is much less likely.

-Babka

Edit to say I didn't see Teuths response when I posted. Sorry for the repeat.
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Mike said it all. B-1 is generally very inexpensive and is sold at all garden centers (home depot, Osh, Armstrong) or practically anywhere that garden stuff is sold. The B-1 needs to be applied yesterday.. Imagine that your plant has a serious infection and the B-1 is like and antibiotic. The plant may survive without any action, but quick action is the best recommended idea. If your plant goes into heavy shock it is done without immediate treatment. Plumerias do not require a lot of care and are usually killed by overeager gardeners. My neighbor has a pot that she always forgets to water and that plant is doing fine. The only difficult stage is during rooting and dealing with frost or freezing temperatures. The benefit is when the plant flowers it will be such a beautiful piece of nature to enjoy. Also on watering, that leaf was there because of the roots that got ripped off. It is not indicating root growth. Dry is better until you get the B-1 and then once every 10 days until new leaves show at size. Wet soil right now is dangerous because it can spawn root rot in the damaged root ends. The plant has water inside it. If you give it B-1 and then the one leaf droops or turns yellow, cut it off a quarter inch from the stem. Do not give up. As long as the stem at and below the surface is hard and not mushy, your plant has a very good chance of coming back. Gently pinch the stem at the ground level and stick your finger down in the soil to feel below the surface. If hard, you are still in the game. If mushy, cut off the bottom inch or so to green wood, and then ask for info on how to start a cutting. You can do it nurse sunshine.
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angt29 (Minnesota, zone 4b)
Original Author
6 years ago
Sorry to bring this thread back to the top, but I just wanted to thank you both for your input. At the worst, I lost half the plant and the other half should survive just fine. At best, hopefully part of that root clump (there was some of the white, crown part still attached) will send up new growth and I'll have two. I put the two leaves in a jar of water, and stuck the other broken leaves in the ground above the roots. I guess those things will just be an experiment and we'll see what happens! Thanks!!

Angie
miles10612
6 years ago
Let us know how that works. My husband just ripped off most of the leaves from a hosta with the hose last evening. He was quickly watering a bed and didn't see that the hose was caught on the hosta. Oh well, I am going to replant it and see how things work out.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago
you can not root a leaf.. unless there is some little part of crown on the petiole ... over all the years.. there was one person who claimed they could do it ... yeah.. sure .. lol ..

as to the hose ... nbd .... your plant will releaf ... the downside is that it is root growing time .. to store energy in the roots.. for energy to emerge next spring ...

instead.. yours will be wasting a lot of energy releafing ...

i highly doubt it will die.. it just might not increase next season.. like it might have otherwise ...

frankly.. its no different than if you got one heck of an august hail storm ...

ken
miles10612
6 years ago
I see a lot of hose guards in the future--all around all the beds so that we avoid future mishaps!
angt29 (Minnesota, zone 4b)
Original Author
6 years ago
Like Ken said, the two leaves I put in a jar don't seem to be doing anything. However, the leaves that I stuck back in the ground still look normal and healthy two weeks later, which seems a little odd to me. I don't see any brand new growth, but hopefully the roots will send something up this year or next. Otherwise, maybe small parts of roots were attached when I broke them? I have had rabbits completely eat hostas before, which is the same as ripping them off with the hose, and none have ever died, even when they have been completely eaten more than once in a season! I think it's very hard to kill most hostas. I have even had them pop up in places where I dug them up to move them. Seems like they just need the tiniest bit of root to get going again. When rabbits have eaten my entire plants the hostas have responded every time by sending up at least one new shoot that season. I wasn't as sure about this particular mishap since it was a brand new plant and did not have established roots yet. Good luck!

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