I've never even heard of Twist of Dwarf, but it just went on my wish list. I'm sorry I have no advice for overwintering in pots.

How about putting them all together into a regular, large pot (not shallow), and overwintering in the garage? I've not tried this yet, but will probably have to do just that this winter. If not the garage, I would suggest the basement (if you have an unheated basement), but if this turns out to be another mild winter like the last one then you might lose them in the basement like I did some of my newest additions last year.

Not sure how well minis would do being refrigerated (bare-root or with some soil), but maybe someone else can comment on that idea too.

I'm in 5a and have overwintered potted hosta in my unheated shed. I put them in the shed after all the foliage has died back and the medium is damp, usually sometime in November here. I've overwintered my minis and some smalls with no casualties so far. I bring them out when it warms up in spring anywhere from late March to mid April or so. They get a big drink when I bring them out

Sherry

I will put mine either under one of the shelves I build this year or one of the Thuja hedges. But our winters are not as hard as yours. I found a lot of comments through the years that minis are as sturdy as big ones and we should not worry too much.

It's a little bit crazy how we worry about our hostas :-) Worst case scenario is that we have to spend some money on new ones...fingers crossed that that won't happen!

Popmama, I like Twist of Dwarf too. I just hope that it does well considering it has the dreaded white center.

Pretty Birds, I like the suggestion of overwintering them together in a large pot in the garage. I think I just might do that! Our basement is heated and our refrigerator is always full of food, so outdoors out of the elements seems a good place.

Sherrygirl, the shed is a good location too, I think. But generally, I don't water my pots much until they begin to leaf out. But then, because of the small size of the minis, perhaps watering is an important consideration for those little roots.

I hope that it is true that the minis are as tough as the larger hosta, Karin! Your Country Mouse is looking very sweet! Good luck with overwintering yours!

It is crazy how we worry about our hostas. But after putting all that thought and work into them, I don't like to lose any! But the worse case scenario doesn't really sound that bad at all! Imagine all the new hostas I could try . . .

I looked quite a bit yesterday and it seems like Twist of Dwarf isn't easy to come by. So I'd be giving it special treatment!

I am going to try my best!

Since it looks like you have a nice size clump (of Twist of Dwarf), I suggest dividing it and trying different things (as far as overwintering) with each division. Hedge your bets, so to say.

would love more but I only have 3 different minis..have multiples of each kind..Little Wonder, Venusta and Blue Mouse Ears..they've always been planted outside..a Blue Mouse Ears uprooted but I replanted and it's fine..I did a post about it if you want to see pics..

For me, BME is a small, not a dwarf. The leaves on mine are about 3"x3" . Twist of dwarf isn't registered. Who is it's mama?

-Babka

Here is a link to its parentage

Twist of Dwarf

Dave

I am afraid it is too late to divide my Twist of Dwarf. I repotted it to give it better drainage and afterwards it began going dormant. So I can't do it now. Good suggestion though.

Nicholsworth55, sure would love to see your post. Can you link it? I do have BME. In fact I have four of them now---two in the ground and two in pots. I just took a recent picture of one in a pot:

I agree with Babka. BME is also in the Hosta Library as a small.

Thanks for the link Dave!

Twist of Dwarf is being registered.

http://hostaregistrar.org/detail.php?id=7085&Variety=Twist%20of%20Dwarf

yes.. put all in one big pot .... the bigger bulk of media will help temper temp swings .... nothing is worse.. than the plants coming out of dormancy in the middle of winter.. then being forced back into dormancy .. that is when rots start ....

attached garages can be one or 2 zones warmer ... which means plants can come out of dormancy months early ... and its all about soil temps.. so the smaller the pot.. the easier it can come out of dormancy ...

the key to both above is: GET THEM DORMANT.. AND KEEP THEM DORMANT ... and you win ...

in the dead of winter .. an easy way to water.. is to use ice cubes ... they melt when temps go up ... and its easy to manage amounts ... the plant does not need water when dormant.. but you cant let the media get bone dry ... you dont want freeze dried roots .... think chix left in the freezer too long.. and the tissue damage ... so a cube or 3 ... is enough to keep the media moist.. without making it sopping wet ... depending on pot size ...

mass producers dig hosta in fall .. and refrigerate them for spring shipping ... but their warehouses are humidity controlled ... though i should work in the crisper ... i might wonder if my fridge is high tech enough to maintain proper humidity over the time period ...

of all the things i tried.. just piling them on the north side of the house [the nort side of the pole barn is too far away ...otherwise.. same idea] ... tipping them over in late november seems to be the easiest and most successful [tipping keeps water accumulation in a frozen pot.. i do deal with ground freeze and thats another show ....] ... no sun on the pots.. my nw prevailing wind keeps them cold.. and even better if buried in snow ..

maybe more later ... these are my cliches.. and are meant more as bullet points to all the great info above ....

flashback.. lol .. remember.. they are hosta... you could probably throw them on the driveway for winter.. and they would live ... its when you start coddling them.. wrapping them in bunting.... saving for a college education .. etc.. that you start to create the situation that will kill them ... dont overthink it all ... and treat them like the plant they are ...

GET THEM DORMANT.. AND KEEP THEM DORMANT ... and you win ...

ken

Thanks, Dave! I went looking for it in the registry after I couldn't find it in the HL, but I typed it in without using capital letters, so it didn't show up. Duh.

-Babka

Hey Ken your post is almost as long as mine---I love long posts with lots of information!

So put them together in a larger pot. OK. I also have other small pots (similar to 3" pots). I guess I should do the same thing---put a few together into a larger pot. CAN I DO THAT NOW?

Regarding putting hosta in the fridge, my husband says we need a bigger fridge for our basement. Hmmmm . . . that could possibly be a place to keep my hosta! It's not a frost free fridge so it may keep humidity levels at an optimum level?

I haven't tried overwintering my pots outside yet. I rather like them tucked away inside somewhere. But, you know, hosta collections seem to increase, so one day I will have to do that.

Add ice cubes in winter---got it.

I love the ice cubes idea too. Ken has me thinking that maybe I should try leaving the pots outside this winter (two are 3gal size, and another is somewhere around 1gal if I recall). I'm mostly worried about the chipmunks and any mice digging into them and/or eating the roots, especially if they're laying on the side. The chipmunks have not bothered these larger pots standing upright and with foliage so far this year, but earlier this year they did dig into several small cups that had younger plants inside them (didn't eat any of them, but still killed them by tossing them out of the cups). Don't think I have any mesh I could cover the tops with that would keep these small critters out, and would prefer not to use mouse bait for the winter. Might have to go with the garage after all. The basement is too risky in case that we have another mild winter, and also because I had potting soil mildew issues with the hostas I kept there last year (the previous time I'd done this, did not have any problems at all).

Pots don't get that dry when overwintered outside as they would in an unheated garage (and that is a good thing)! I have heard that bait should be put in between the pots left outside to protect them from mice and voles.

Ok. I'm reading this to get information for myself. Instead of starting another post here's the problem. I don't have an outside shed, a basement or a closed in garage. I have an open one-car car port. Can I just leave my Hostas on the stand when they go dormant? Or do I need to turn them on their sides. Oh and add ice cubes.

Cathy, you are in a completely different zone that I am. So what applies to me may not apply to you. I wouldn't want to give you incorrect information.

Also, if you were to start a new thread entitled something like "overwintering in zone 8," then it would be helpful to others when they are searching for that information now and in the future.

By the way, I like those plant stands!

Amaryllis seedlings? Do you have any of those for trade?

Whitewatervol, you sent my first ever Huechera plant and seeds. You are definitely welcome to some amaryllis seeds.

I sent you a message.

Newhostalady thanks. I'll start a new post. Just thought I could get some info while it was hot. I just love reading this forum.

My husband said he is going to hide my phone.

I love this forum too! You must protect that phone from your husband! LOL

I said I wasn't going to be "one of those people" always on their phone..but I might be..

I have several planters that I bring into the garage for the winter. I bring them in in late October after watering them well then check about once a month to be certain that they Aren't getting dry. i usually water them but ice cubes are an interesting solution as well. I had 10 planters in the garage with 4 to 6 hostas in each last winter and only lost one plant.

That's interesting imagooch. Are the 4 to 6 hostas in the planters in pots or are they all planted in the planter? I suppose the 4 to 6 hostas were planted in one larger container all season, or did you group them to overwinter them?

They are. In window box planters that are long and narrow from the dollar store. I plant them in the container and leave them there until they're big enough to go into the garden, but sometimes leave them there for two or three years. I have in the past, planted them just before the winter, but prefer to do it earlier.

When I pot up some in the fall for my sale in the spring, I put those pots in a sheltered corner under an Austrian pine and once they get really cold, preferably frozen, which is difficult this far south, I cover them with about 4-6 inches of leaves which I pull off gradually when spring arrives. These newly potted hostas seem to survive quite well with this treatment. It saves a lot of time in the spring, and I can assure the buyers that they are rooted well enough to survive the winter,so should do quite well in their garden.

The whole thing about tipping the pots is to keep frozen pots from holding meltwater and rotting roots. In this zone what happens when it's tipped is the potting media falls out. We rarely have frozen dirt. I lined them up under the overhang on the north side of the house and covered them with leaves, then I forgot about them. By the time I remembered them the hostas had grown leaves, very pale but leafed out.

My guidance on growing hostas in pots (including overwintering) is at www.delvalhosta.org/hostas-in-pots. Most of that is in line with what others here have said.

David

Great material David. Thanks.

DTeager..just read the info you posted..good advice..really attractive potted hosta pics..

Tigger! So good to see you are back here. Please post picks of your stupendous Sagae. Perhaps in another thread? Woo hoo!

-Babka

Hi, Babka. Scroll down to Teagate to see a recent pic of Sagae. https://www.ahs2018philly.org/gardens Or friend me on FB to see some garden albums.

Your garden and your Sagae are beautiful David!

Lots of nice hosta pics shown in that last link! Bookmarked for my winter viewing when I need a hosta fix.

FWIW, I had success overwintering a community pot of minis in my unheated garage, but where I failed was bringing them out in spring. I watered, put them on my deck, and that's when they rotted. So watch how much water you give initially when they're just waking up. ...But I'm sure you have a much better potting mix/media for yours. I just used MG right out of the bag. Live and learn.

Don't give them water until they are up 1", and then only a little. Nowhere near as much as you would give the pot in the middle of summer. There is probably enough moisture left in the roots and crown to get them that far. (1") They simply DO NOT LIKE to be cold and wet for very long. NO regular potting mix. Buy a bag of organic orchid potting mix (suggested by our own Pieter here on GW). They love it.

-Babka

This is good to know Babka. I probably would have drenched them come spring. That's why I love this forum! Great info.

Thanks, Babka. As I found out, the process in spring is equally as important as getting them through the winter.

hmm, to my understanding orchids like to dry out completely between watering and thus orchid mix provides that. I do not know if hosta would like that? It also means that all your fertilizer will be washing out with every watering...

It is all about the drainage. Both orchids and hostas in pots (and come to think of it, any plant in a pot) would like that water to come and then GO. Hostas would like the watering to be more frequent than orchids, but the flow through the pot is what is important.

-Babka

hmm, what about earth boxes and earthtainers? Those self watering systems are super great. Granted one would not use them in winter....

I can understand the "not watering" part, but when you bring the pots back outside in the Spring, it's not really possible to control how much Mother Nature waters them. All this talk of self-control sure has me nervous.

In zone 5, your best overwintering is in the ground. If you don't absolutely have to overwinter in pots, don't. In zone 9, the ground doesn't get cold enough for hosta to get an adequate winter chill/sleep if overwintered in the ground, and so overwintering in pots above the ground gives them a bit more winter cold than they otherwise would. (If I'm not mistaken, it's about 2 zone differences in temperature for plants left in pots vs in ground, meaning that potted hosta in zone 9 should feel like they're in no more than zone 7 for the winter.) I think it's safe to say that Spring outdoors starts sooner in zone 9 than it does in zone 5, and therefore zone 9 hostas might not get long enough of a winter rest if they are watered as soon as the zone 9 Spring rains start. Similarly, in zone 9 you may want to protect your hostas from too much water outdoors during the winter too, either by covering them with a tarp or keeping them in a shed, otherwise these hosta would stay awake or keep waking up throughout the winter (if simply left in the pots in their usual outdoor spots, that is). On the contrary, pots left outdoors during the winter in zone 5 can be left in their normal spots because they will be frozen for the winter. Trouble arises when the temps drop throughout the winter and thaw the top of the pot but not the whole pot, which is when the crown ends up "soaking" in water since the water cannot flow all the way through and out of the pot, and this is why people suggest laying the pots on their side. Anyhow, just wanted to remind everyone that some of the advice given here is very much zone-dependent, so it might be helpful to keep in mind the poster's location at all times. Hosta can handle awfully low temps during winter, but not warm, especially if they have access to water during that time too.

This is my current project I am considering overwintering as is. It is mouse group and doing pretty good in Promix with pine bark mix. I have done lots of inexpensive hostas in pots with no extra care and had no issues but of course anything as fancy and cute as these.... makes me think twice if I want to uproot entire set up and plunk it into the garden.

They are cute :) They'd probably be fine if you just tilted the pot somehow...

Last winter was definitely mild...too warm for the hostas I kept in the basement (had some losses, although most survived). I have three pots outside now with no room to put them in the ground for the winter, and am leaning toward just leaving them be this year. One of the pots has several minis too. Guess that'll be my new experiment. The squirrels (and any other rodents) are most worrisome to me with this arrangement. But if this doesn't work then next year I'll probably try the garage.

lindalana, your pot of minis is ADORABLE!

Love your mini hosta arrangement lindalana. Could you tell me the names of the hosta?

I have put together one pot of minis to overwinter. I will rearrange it next spring. Mine is too crowded for my liking. They are Sun Mouse x 2, Church Mouse and Baby Bunting.

I will be arranging another pot of minis for overwintering tomorrow. I did not remove all of the media when I repotted because I felt that it was too late in the season. I only removed the loose media and filled in with well draining mix.

From left- Ruffled, Lucky/ same as Mighty/, Church, Frosted, Funny and Sun Mouse in the middle

Thanks lindalana. Good luck with the overwintering!