diminishing hosta

yvnl2000

3 years ago

I have a hosta garden surrounded by trees. Over time they have diminished. Any suggestions how to reverse this?

Featured Answer

newhostalady Z6 ON, Canada

3 years ago

My backyard has two very large sugar maple trees. It took me years to figure out why my plants were not growing. The first year they looked fine; the second year maybe a bit of growth; the third year the plants either diminished or remained the same. Hosta will grow best with some sun, even if it is just a bit of dappled sun. The roots of the trees make the ground very dry quickly and also compact the soil. Every hosta I have removed from the soil has had tree roots intermingled with its roots. The tree roots also wrap themselves around the neck of the hosta and pull it down into the soil. Hostas don't like to have their crowns buried too deep.

I have also realized that there are parts of my garden that have less roots and parts that are full of roots. Tree roots do not necessarily grow evenly spaced around the perimeter of the tree. The tree roots go where there is moisture. So thinking about how rain water travelled through by garden was helpful.

I grow a lot of hosta in pots above ground. You can try planting a couple of hosta in pots and burying in the ground. Rotate the pot a couple of times a season. And, most importantly, do not use a pot that is too large for the hosta. Use one that just fits the roots.

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Comments (13)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
what are the trees... they can be IDd in the tree forum ...

where are you ...

what hosta ...

its either too dark.. limb up the trees ...

or its too dry due to super competitive tree roots ... get rid of the trees ..

another alternative is to grow in pots above ground.. under the trees ...

ken
yvnl2000 thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
yvnl2000
Original Author
3 years ago
upstatea NY Trees are maple and hemlock
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bkay2000
3 years ago
ken, where's that photo you have of the maple tree roots? It's an eye opener.

bkay
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
neighbor had a new septic field dug.. here are the roots of a silver maple .. ken
Jon 6a SE MA
3 years ago

My Schwedler Maple

My Sieboldiana Elegans

A big tough hosta can survive - Jon
arcy_gw
3 years ago
I would take extra care to water the hosta...
steve duggins(Z6a) - Central Ohio
3 years ago
Extra water for the Hosta means extra tree roots from the maple. You really need to water the whole area so the tree roots don't seek out the Hosta. Although, they will. And once they find it will send out roots to strangle it.
hc mcdole
3 years ago
I agree with newhostalady. Pots are a good alternate option. I had huge poplars taken down which exposed some hostas to full sun for hours. I let them go for two years before digging them up and putting into pots so I could move them to more shade while deciding where to plant them. They look pretty good this year but are still smaller than when they were in the ground and had hot sun on them for hours.

Climax April, 2017 (I had the poplars taken down in June)

Around the time I had the trees taken down (early June 2017)

Still looked good in June 2018

July 23, 2019 they had to be dug up to save them as the drought and hot sun were taking a toll on the ones exposed to hours of full sun.

Love-hate relationship with trees.
CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
3 years ago
I am having the same experience, but not necessarily under trees!
I was walking around just now, surveying Spring's progress and noticed a few just not happening. (The ones I don't care about, of course, are thriving!)
Several like my Sun Power, are just a few, small leaves this year. Normally, they're full blown giants!
I never knew hosta to dwindle.
newhostalady Z6 ON, Canada
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
yvn2000 also said "I have a hosta garden surrounded by trees." So it makes a difference as to which kind of trees, how many trees and the size of the trees.

Never underestimate how far tree roots can grow. I have a cedar hedge ( Thuja occidentalis) which has grown to about 12 feet. The roots extend about 10 feet out.

So Jon's Schedler Maple matures at 50 feet. My Sugar Maples mature at up to 75 feet. Larger tree, more roots? Then my two Sugar Maples are not more than 20 feet apart. So I have a double load of roots in my garden. So yyn2000 says his hosta garden is surrounded by trees. I imagine that the roots may be overlapping each other. A tough place to grow hosta well. Hosta pots above ground or in ground would be best. Plants known to be aggressive growers have grown best for me because they are tough and are controlled by the tree roots. They grow slowly under the trees. But I am a "hosta lady" so I want hostas---so I grow a lot in pots.

So what are your thoughts ynv2000?
CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
3 years ago
I'm aware of what he wrote. I have an extensive Japanese maple collection, along with a red maple assortment, then every red crape myrtle hybridized. That said, my hosta are diminishing in odd areas. Thank you, though.
almosthooked zone5
3 years ago
I had the same experience with maple tree roots choking out 21 hosta in the area of the Manitoba maple. Beautiful tree but the work of removing hosta and separating the hair like roots from each hosta was a 3 day or so job to the diminished sick hosta. Well over two heaping wheel barrow full of what I removed just from the plants that remained. Believe me that area is never having them planted there again. Live and learn , I was told when starting but did I listen?Nah, I had to make my own mistake. What did the experienced growers know? ha ha