wrong forum ... lol ...

it should NOT be hard.. to clean out the infestation in the pot.. [bare root ... scrub pot.. new media... etc] ..... and then prevent them from getting back in the pot ...

i know.. nail in the eave.. and a macrame hanger ... unless you have air borne slugs over that side of the pond ....

ken

[trying to figure out how to slander every single brit .. to the last man and woman ... with the reply ... to return the favor.. but falling short.. lol]

My one and only hosta is in a pot. It only survives by being slug pelleted regularly.

Ken, I have found snails on windowsills four floors up. They can get anywhere. Cleaning the pot will have no effect. They'll just arrive from the surrounding garden.

Many Hosta growers spray their plants and drench the soil with a 10% ammonia solution.

It is also better to start with a Hosta that has very thick leaves. I don't know which one your client has.

Put the hosta in it's natural environment (a bubble). :)

I grow all of my hostas in elevated containers for just this reason. Afterall, I do live in the slug and snail capitol of the universe :-) However, even elevated containers liberally dosed with Sluggo are not enough to keep both slugs and snails away. I have given up on having pristine, unblemished foliage on any hosta I grow......I just don't think it is possible...........( I am almost convinced these things drop out of the sky).

Looking at so many US hostas in pristine condition, I actually started to believe there were no slugs or snails in the US. Honestly, you just don't really see hostas in the UK as a matter of course - anyone who wants them has to take huge precautions...and even then, it is rare to see an uneaten hosta...and since those chewed leaves are going to be visible for the whole season, they just do not have the traction over here that they do stateside.

I have one of those quilty leaved ones - no variegation, just huge bluish leaves...although it does not like the dry rooty soil and remains a fraction of it's potential size (hidden by Solomon's Seal at the moment)

My customer has 6 or so, large potted hostas...all more or less the same, and very nondescript to my mind...so I am going to try to swerve hostas altogether and look at other leafy possibilities which might even be successful. As I am not really a foliage person, I am a bit vague about what could be grown instead - I am equally suspicious that caladiums or various aroids would be doable (with limited watering in pots) but will defer to the expertise of leaf lovers.

How about a rhubarb - ornamental or edible! - as a big-leafed alternative? Do the slugs and snails get deterred by the oxalic acid in the leaves? The drawback would be that - here at least - they go dormant a bit too early in the growing season....

I grow mine in the ground but someone showed a Rodgersia in a pot and it looked wonderful.

Camp you should post this on the Hosta Forum. There is a fellow from Wales that grows Hosta in pots and they are immaculate. There used to be UK hostaman and I believe he grew his in the ground. They were gorgeous.

Definitely post on the Hosta forum here - it's a great place!

Also, for what it's worth, I have read that using pure copper strips secured around the top of the pot will deter slugs. Something about the metal shocking their soft bodies, I believe. I have not done this, so cannot vouch for it's efficacy.

I've never seen Caladiums outdoors here, Campanula. Have you? I just think it's too cold for them to get going.

Could you convert your client to Phormiums? Plenty of variegations and red too, which you do get with hostas.

Variegated Comfrey?

My solitary hosta is not too bad this year. I think last summer's drought maybe reduced the snail population a bit.

I avoid hostas because of deer, but to have large leafed perennials for shade I grow Brunnera and Pulmonaria. Many garden visitors (who are not gardeners) think they're hostas.

Ah, the hosta forum - have avoided this because I am not really a hosta person myself...and it never occurred to me that I could post with just a basic query about toughness...but I may venture forth.

Not really sure my customer is amenable to changing...although I did notice she already had a brunnera. Hostas seem to exert a terrible fascination over (some) people - although my customer isn't in the same league as Ken (she doesn't collect particular varieties or anything)...but is, I fear, absolutely wedded to the idea of hostas as the must-have plant. I think my only hope is to find a cultivar which grows well in big pots and do some protection - maybe even nematode the whole garden. Has anyone tried this?

You'll greatly increase your odds of success if you start off with a really thick leaved, nearly slug proof hosta. Look into 'Rhino Hide' for a tough one. https://www.waltersgardens.com/variety.php?ID=HSRHH

More options on this list.

http://www.hostalists.org/hosta_list_vtlh.php

I have sworn off buying more hostas because they just don't seem worth the effort. That being said, I have one 'El Nino' in a pot by the basement steps that is absolutely pristine. I don't really know if it has good slug resistance or if it's just in a slug-free location, though. It's surrounded by concrete and a few ferns so there's really nothing for them to eat there.

Yes, as DreamboatAnnie said, some are “slug resistant.” I have had PHENOMENAL success controlling slugs with beer. Perhaps my slugs are all Irish, as Boston is certainly not too far away. Regardless of nationality, I put out those shallow deli containers (about 4” diameter and 1” deep) to soil level and fill them with cheap beer. Two hours later I can see sometimes ten slugs radiating towards the container. The next morning the party is over for them, and I feel so doggone good. In America we have some brands of beer cheap enough to keep the wallet happy, but I won’t name names. I still have over half of my cans from last year’s ?24? can case to go through. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s an overnight success. Will post pics if desired. For one Hosta, the beer would certainly be economical. Every dead slug means fewer eggs to hatch in the future!

Beer traps barely dent the population in my garden. I've tried them. And eggshells. And coffee. No impact at all.

I wonder what the difference is between the UK and the wet areas of NA. I live in one of the latter, a famously rainy place with a very similar climate to the UK (I also lived in the UK for a couple years), and we have slugs and snails here but also plenty of nice looking hostas.

Could it be the density of planting? The types of buildings? Are there more hiding places?

We do have dry summers here.

Ditto floral's comments. Only Sluggo works the slighest bit effectively but even that is no guarantee. I do live in the woods surrounded by trees - there is no possible way to control what is essentially a native species (Pacific banana slugs) or even the exotic invaders.......and even in my previous, very much urban setting, slugs still abounded. Less of an issue than here in the wooded countryside but still a major hosta menace. Now I just get to add deer to the mixture :-( btw, Sluggo has NO impact on them!!

Camp you are in a drier part of the UK. Some of these methods might work quite well for you. ie Sluggo, ammonia, beer traps.

floral have you tried the 10% ammonia?

"Now I just get to add deer to the mixture :-( btw, Sluggo has NO impact on them!!" LOL GG I wish!!!

Dry summers.... that's a big difference.

No I haven't tried ammonia. Afaik that requires contact with the slug which isn't possible. They are hidden away most of the time. And presumably it wouldn't work on snails because they are just going to go into their shells.

The ammonia works excellent on snails. When sprayed with the solution they start to foam immediately. After using ammonia during two summers I can say the numbers slugs and snails are substantially diminished.

Yes, but you have to spray directly. If I see them I just squash them. The problem is those I can't see. The damage is done at night or during rain, not when I'm outdoors.

Yes, I am out there, night after night with a headlamp but the one night I am less than vigilant and boom, munched!

I am just going to go with continual nagging with a side order of pleading...then fall back on aggrieved 'I told you so' when it all goes pear-shaped. Might even get summat in writing.

“get summat in writing.”

Sounds like the best plan to end the hassle/losing battle...

The slugs and snails I am dealing with here in Ontario, cannot be compared to what I remember from Holland. I fear you are dealing with the same types, Camp. They are enormous, and there are lots of them. When I was visiting a friend in the fall a few years ago, there were fat, brown slugs all over the sidewalks in her neighbourhood. I almost slipped on one, they are better than a banana peel. Ughhh. And my brother in Holland just shakes his head when I mention hostas: “They only look good for a few weeks at most, not worth the trouble”. Here the old fashioned thin leaved ones tend to look pretty bad at the end of the season, but all other ones look fine with just the occasional slug hunt. And 1” is a big sucker for me. Snails go over the fence, but I hardly see them.

And yes, “summat in writing”.