I don't think it had anything to do with freezing or not freezing. I think it's the right temperature, the right humidity and confined space that did it.

bkay

im wondering if you would have been better off without the top ... you may have been to warm.. i entirely rule out.. to cold ...

im wondering what your hurry was in october ... perhaps they were not completely dormant.. since you couldnt pull off the leaves ...and i can see leaves in there ...

many peeps think the garden is done.. when they put the hose away in october... i wonder how it would have turned out.. if you didnt put them in there until thxgvg ... or even new years ...

ice cubes should have been perfect ... water a few weeks ago was not the issue ...imo ...

live and learn ... ken

I'm so sorry..I have very limited experience (6 pots total) overwintering hostas in pots..they spent the winter in my shed and all of them survived..FYI - I never watered them until spring after I brought them out..only a guess - too wet?..don't know enough to really say..

I appreciate what all of you are saying. Bk, I had to read your comment a few times. Thank you for taking time to write all of that. I know you have experienced losses in the past. It's sad to lose the hostas, but when some of them are years old, and near maturity, or mature, that's when it hurts. I can't imagine losing hostas that were 15 years old. Ouch! My husband says that now I can buy more hostas. And I do like that idea, but I put a lot of time into nurturing those plants. It is definitely a downer. I will give your comment serious consideration.

You hit on a good point Ken---about the fact that some of the hosta may not have been dormant. I should have asked the forum about that last year. ( I remember thinking about writing into the forum about that exact issue). It was the first year that the leaves did not pull off. I couldn't understand why. But now I get that we didn't have the hard frost at our usual time in October. And I guess some hosta did not go dormant before I put them away.

Nicholsworth, I think the shed is a great place to put away the hosta. I have had success using my unheated attached garage. I'd put them all there if I could! In fact, I would move the the car out of there for the winter if it were up to me!

Thanks everybody. Sorry for not commenting on other posts. I have been trying to deal with this issue and clean up the mess.

I just discovered Rhino Hide was mush.

If I had caught it earlier I may have been able to save it as it had one shoot poking through and then it stopped.

Today curiosity got the better of me and out the pot it came.

It spent the winter outside as did all the others and surrounded by all the others.

They are all fine. So, why that one?

Moving on, As I have been re-potting this year out of the nearly 600, 4 or 5 ( I didn't bother to count ) had some rot in them. War Paint and Dark Shadows among them.

I don't know why, none of the theories above seem to offer an explanation that matches the conditions here.

bkay, I'm inclined to agree, not all rots are equal.

One thought occurred, sometimes as the old leaves die off, the bottom of them rot around the base of the old shoot ( must be a name for that! ) and I'm inclined to believe that it heads downwards and on into the crown.

Could it be that as newhostalady cut her leaves off there was sufficient remaining to cause this to happen?

Dave

Might be. She won't do that again, though.

Sometimes, you just don't know what was the real cause of a problem. A hosta has a small problem that weakens it and another pathogen (or two) takes advantage of the weakness.

It's the way nature takes care of weaker specimens. You know, the old, the young and the weak deer get taken by the wolves.

bkay

The "wolves" took out about 5 of my hostas this year. After awhile I get tired of bleaching, insecticiding, fungiciding, re-potting in different media....only to have them look spindly or die off anyway. Life is too short to spend all my time trying to be a hero. Order some fresh new ones.

-Babka

Tiddisolo, sorry to hear about your Rhino Hide. Last year I could see that mine was not increasing. It had some rot also. This year I see some growth, but I suspect some additional rot. Just haven't had the time to inspect yet.

Your thoughts about the old leaves dying off and continuing to rot to the base of the shoot is interesting. I usually cut the leaves off of many of my hosta and then tuck them away for overwintering. I kept waiting to be able to pull them off, but for many hosta, I was not able to. So I cut some and left some of the leaves on throughout winter. But having said that, I have cut off leaves for the last five years. But maybe not so many as this last winter.

I have just unpotted one of my Great Expectations to find it has rotted. The roots are rotted too. It had about 4 or 5 buds that were trying to emerge. So gone is my 11 eyed hosta. It had been doing so well. But what is interesting is that one was NOT in the coffin! It was in the garage. So it looks like the dormancy issue may be a big factor here.

Babka, sorry you lost your five hosta. I have also gone through the whole process of trying to save some of my hostas. It is tiring and disappointing to not see good results for all the effort. So I know exactly what you mean.

So sorry to hear that! I've only lost three so far. I liked the idea of that coffin for the small ones but it seems we have to rethink the whole problem where to store them in winter...

It is wonderful that you have only lost three Karin. As for the coffin idea and overwintering small pots, I don't recommend it. Small pots are the most vulnerable of them all. Best to bury them.

I think they will get the best places under the hedge covered with some soil. Never lost the ones I treated this way...

NHL- I’m sorry to hear this. And your Great Expectations- I believe you’ve shared pictures of that beauty!!! So frustrating.

I lost 2 out of 3 in pots. The common old green with white edges made it just fine but the guacamoles perished. Nearly nothing left but a bit of mush.

I like those big fat pots - maybe this calls for some vigorous bright red geraniums there.

NHL: I have no idea what went wrong with the coffin idea but sadly I can relate to all who have had losses. I lost three that were in an unheated shed and two that were tipped on their sides on north side of building. This fall, I'm going to bury the pots in the garden. Do you think they should be buried in upright or in tipped over position?

Overwintering your pots under a hedge with added soil sounds good Karin. Maybe I should try that!

Yes, I did lose Great Expectations---in fact I lost two of them! The good news is that I still have two left---my largest one and one other that is doing very well (knock on wood)! But I am very disappointed to have lost them, especially GE. And they had been growing well.

Don't give up littlebug. Start a new thread and we will help you solve the reason the two Guacamoles perished.

Mae, I know it is sad when you lose your pots. It is also frustrating not to know why. You could bury your pots (when dormant) any way you wish I believe. But it is important to make sure they are completely buried with no pot rim exposed to accumulate water on top to freeze. Also the soil should have good drainage and not be a low spot in the garden where water accumulates. If you are worried about doing it, try it with one of your least favorite hosta. And remove it when ground thaws and before the torrential rains!

I’m chiming in with my zone 5 experiences, 50 miles west of Chicago. I lost one potted hosta this winter, it was a late in the year purchase, I’m guessing not enough time to get established in its new home before it got put in the shed. This one was my first loss. Pots get put in my unheated shed after foliage has died back completely, could be december for some. Mine all get put away SLIGHTLY damp. I NEVER add any moisture over the winter. Even at that I had two that had some white fuzz on the surface, I removed the fuzz and they sprouted and look great now. The pots get pulled out of the shed when freeze warnings aren’t an issue, two weeks ago this year, two years ago they were out in March. This has worked for me. Tipping pots in a protected area was a complete failure here. Covering with leaves and mulch, etc. was also a complete failure. Just me, I refuse to bury pots in the ground, only to remove them in the spring, not happening here.

Sherry

Sherry..you described exactly what I've done!..basically putting a pot of dirt (no foliage) in the shed with moist soil..no water until they come out in the spring..it's worked for me too..the first time I did it was because I didn't want to damage my pots!..not because I was worried about leaving the hostas outside..

I am glad you have had success overwintering your hostas in the shed sherrygirl. I would keep doing that since it works well for you.

I also have a shed available. I haven't stored too many in there because I worried about what the mice would do to the pots. My husband sets traps occasionally and does find regular visitors. In the winter, when there is snow, we are not able to open the door to this shed. I think the mice would eat the hosta crowns. I remember reading about someone who overwintered in their shed. They had done it successfully for many years. But one year an animal got into it and the whole thing was a mess. But I think I only need to worry about the mice. My shed can also get warm in the early spring before the trees grow their leaves. Therefore, the pots would begin growing too soon. And that could be a problem in itself!

Newhostalady, for me, I’m not concerned about early sprouting in the shed, it happens here sometimes with no ill effects to the plants.

Sherry

Hey Sherry, the plants don't seem to mind coming out early. It's my back that complains when I have to take the pots in and out of the garage/shed or whatever!