Hostas

[Shrubrose]

Oh beanie, thankyou for going to all that trouble! It is a real beauty isn't it? I've just ordered two ;D

[Shrubrose]

Isn't it a small world? I've just been browsing on that site beanie, only to find it's literally down the road from my Mum's place! Amazing!!! Wonder if they'd let me visit next time I go over? ;D

[beanie]

my latest hosta is also for sale on that site. something a little bit different, i only paid £5 for mine though
www.mailorderplants4me.com/products/567

[Shrubrose]

That's another beauty but how did you manage to get it for £5.00?

[beanie]

i went to a garden club talk given by Farmyard Nurseries. the owner bought a selection of plants for sale and he had 2 hostas amongst them. they're prices are very reasonable

[Shrubrose]

Well done you! I'll take a pic of mine when they arrive. They're being shipped on Thursday so I guess it might be Friday or Saturday before they get here. I've never mail ordered plants before so it's quite exciting!

[Weeterrier]

Oh dear, Shrubby, you are a lost soul now.

[Shrubrose]

[beanie]

they always feel like freebies when they come throught the post. ;D
well at least they do till the card statement arrives

[beanie]

here are a few more
golden tiara

colour glory

and if my memory serves me well this is piedmont gold

[Shrubrose]

Golly. Think I've discovered another love! ;D

I'm amazed at them really, cos they come from nothing dont they? Wonderful space fillers and a real eye grabber.

'Great Expectations' arrived on Friday and they're in. I was too busy on Saturday to take photo's and it's been raining today. Had a walk round the garden, only to find another potential 'Great Expectations' by the pond. Was a freebie from a friend. Funny how I'd never really seen it before.

[beanie]

so many colours ,so many temptations ;D
i have a small specimen of undulata mediovariegata, that I am really struggling with. the slugs kept eating it as soon as it came up and this year I have only 3 leaves so far. it is now in a pot so
I can keep an eye on it.

[Shrubrose]

Hope it rallies and does well for you beanie Must go and take a shot of the one's I put in on Saturday.

[Barbara]

i have a hosta in a pot( you can see it on my back garden thread) its roots are poking out of the soil, so i assume it needs splitting, so when is best, and any ideas for how to do it.

[Chuckles]

Aug 24, 2008 14:50:01 GMT Barbara said:

i have a hosta in a pot( you can see it on my back garden thread) its roots are poking out of the soil, so i assume it needs splitting, so when is best, and any ideas for how to do it.

If you mean this one Barbara gardenworld.proboards103.com/index.cgi?board=memberphotos&action=display&thread=6541&page=1#193625 I'd say it looked fine to me but others may differ in opinion

I find late autumn is the best time, when leaves have died back. You need to be able to see where the main shoots are so as you can split it in the best place/places. Just take it out of the pot and slice into it with a spade or long bladed knife and re plant at the same level as it was. It can be done in spring but I prefer autumn splitting as you don't damage young shoots then. See what others have to say about it though I'm no expert and other folk may have different/better advise

[beanie]

I'm with chuckles your Hosta looks healthy enough, maybe it just needs a top dressing, or in spring you could cut away some of the lower roots and sink it further into the pot as the pot is a decent size judging from the photo

[Rosefriend]

My big hostas are in 50litre tubs and I keep them there - I just keep chopping a bit off every couple of years or so.

I also do it in the autumn - no chance of damaging young shoots as Chuckles says. I did mine last year - tipped the tub upside down and got a sharp spade and took about a third of it off and re-planted with some fresh compost.

RF

[Barbara]

the soil is to the top of the pot, the roots are coming out at the top. i only water it from below, its in a big saucer, soooooooooooo, should i cut off the root thats poking out

[Barbara]

any body out there

[oldmoleskins]

Aug 27, 2008 7:33:09 GMT Barbara said:

any body out there

I think we're all stumped for answering any other way than before B - not ignoring you!

As autumn approaches you can either cut off the offending roots (in fact go round it with the breadknife by about an inch) and give it a 'jacket' of fresh compost in the same pot, or maybe better - either split and repot as two or three or just repot the whole thing deeper in a bigger pot.

OM.

[beanie]

I sometimes forget which threads I've been into.
no harm would come from cutting off any roots that come through the pot.

[Rosefriend]

One thing is for certain with Hostas, you really can't do anything wrong - they take a lot of killing, my FIL left one out all winter once - no pot, nothing, and it grew well again the next year. I wouldn't recommend it though.

RF

[Dutchy]

Nah but it opens opportunity when in short demand of space eh?
My Hosta are getting swamped by the Geranium Macrorhizome again. I so need to set them free. Problem with the invasive GM is that the slugs somehow get a grip on the Hosta.
As long as the GM is not too close my hosta are almost free of slug damage but once the GM moves in....
Another thing for my to do list.
Good thing the Hosta die down to start all fresh the next year.

[Barbara]

thanks all

[Cheerypeabrain]

My mate at work has just given me a Devon Green hosta...he has over 60 hostas in his collection and when I said that the Devon Green was the only one I fancied, he gave me a baby one...aw.

[Amo]

Aug 27, 2008 10:45:16 GMT Rosefriend said:

One thing is for certain with Hostas, you really can't do anything wrong - they take a lot of killing, my FIL left one out all winter once - no pot, nothing, and it grew well again the next year. I wouldn't recommend it though.

RF

This is true RF, I kid yea not!!! I have done the same and they bounce back beautifully.


Until you give them TLC and put them somewhere prominent and on full display.. Then the have the 'Eat Me' placard out and are lace before you know it.

[Rosefriend]

This is the first year that my big Hostas haven't been eaten out of house and pot - I have 3 small ones in the garden and even those are still a little presentable.

Last year they all looked like lace curtains.

RF

[Amo]

We used Scott's Slugclear this year for the first time and there has been quite a lessening so far. Apart from one we missed. We thought we'd give it a go as I wanted a change from the pellets on the surface.

[torontotrini]

I got back from a 2-week driving vacation in the U.S. and found that the slugs had held their annual banquet in my garden with my hostas as the main course.

[snowowl]

All my Hostas are planted in the ground and are 2 years old this year they have been fantastic.
The slugs had a nibble at the start of the growing season but left them alone when they were out.
A tip i read in the newspaper from a specalist Hosta grower about slugs.
If like me you dont like using the blue slug pellets because of the birds.What they do is put the blue pellets round all the Hostas on Valentines day apparantley thats when they go into egg laying mode its the best time to kill them before they lay any new eggs.
He is an expert and he says it works so next 14th of feb im going to do that and see if it works.