bunny.. this is a straight hosta question .. it should be on the discussion side .... ken

I don't think it would, Nancy! I think overwintering them, keeping them as cold as possible isn't a problem
because you don't have to worry about them *heaving* as in the case of them being planted too late and
not first getting their roots well established! Go for it, I say!

I hope others will chime in with their experience in your zone, as well!!

You will get a lot more answers on the discussions portion of these forums. But you also could post on the perennials forum, container gardening, Hudson Valley forum, upstate New York forum, and likely tips and techniques.
I would pose this question on the discussions portion of the Hosta forum. You will have a lot better chance of someone with experience in this procedure chiming in than on a forum devoted to conversation. Sorry I really can't answer as I have never potted up a hosta late in the season to over winter and kept it alive.
Linda C

Last year in September I bought 3 tiny mini hostas, Cat's Eyes, Masquerade and Tattoo. I potted them, let them go dormant outside, then moved them into our unheated shed in late November. Never touched them all winter, no water, nothing.
When I noticed a few eyes of some of my in ground hostas beginning to poke up, I brought the potted hosta out of the shed and watered them. When we were expecting those unusually cold temps and the late frost, they went back in the shed, but all survived and are doing fine this year...well except for Tattoo, it's being stubborn and refusing to grow, but it's alive!
I have several in pots again this year and plan on keeping them the same way again.
I think yours would do fine. Good luck!

Janet

It will depend on the size of plant you are trying to overwinter. Tiny divisions with small root system never did well for me when planted late or tried to overwinter them with little protection. General rule of thumb is that you want your perennials to overwinter well in pots they need to be at least 2 zones more hardy than zone you are in and have well developed root system. Proper drainage will be crucial as more plants rot than suffer from cold.

Janice and Janet, thanks for the encouragement. Lindalana, this hosta is over 2 feet across, not new this year, and will be larger before the end of the summer. I just noticed it is sending up another big eye. I am pretty sure that there will be plenty of roots for any divisions. I just hope that I will have enough time to get them "settled in" to their pots before the move to the garage.

I potted a few hostas last year for the first time, and they all made it through the winter just fine on shelves or under the steps in the garage. I was really very worried that I would kill them, but put them away barely damp, and they survived. I just don't feel "experienced" at this, however.

I am just anxious because I love this hosta so much!

~Nancy

Maybe, you could even plant one of the pots, in-ground, sort of a heeling it in, to be sure!
I understand that usually the voles don't invade pots, and once your ground freezes,
they become more inactive as the digging becomes really difficult!

Maybe someone more familiar with their activity in your zone could be more helpful, though!!

Bunnycat

I overwinter hostas in pots, every year... some might be plants I'm doctoring, or starts that I was able to root.. I keep mine in a unheated garage, I put them in after the first freeze, and they are watered up to this point. After I garage them, I don't water again until I start to move them outside on the warmer days of spring.

I also have found that gallon pots overwinter well, but anything smaller is hit and miss.. Stay away from the 4 inch pots.

i lost 90 hosta in pots one winter.. i moved ... had no choice ... DONT DO IT ....

yeah .. others do it... yeah .. they lose some... i ask why .... its one thing if there is not other option ... but all you need is a few square inches to shove it in the ground ...

unpot in september [soon enough so that they can grab hold and not heave during winter] ... knock off all potting medium .... stick in ground .. repot in spring if you want to

good luck

ken

One reason to get it out of the ground is my vole problem. The other is the mystery critter that we haven't seen in at least 4-5 years which lives in a burrow at the base of the the nearby twin oaks. I am convinced that it is the reason we have lost several rhodos, a spectacular Mtn. Laurel, several peonies, and it almost killed several daylilies. Several sections of my climbing hydrangea up and died right before it was about to bloom this year. The Cl. Hydrangea is 30'-40' high, never had problems like that before. We think the damage is underground, whether by knawing roots or just exposing the roots to ice and water from tunneling.

Now there are 3 sports plus the "normal" Frozen Margarita eye. Two have irregular light streaks, the other is very different. Has darker portions. The pictures mostly show the darker parts, since I like those best. I think at the end of the summer I'm going to dig it up and take a look, and decide whether to keep the whole thing in a very large pot until spring, or get brave and divide it now. Gary at Naylor's said I should try to separate the various sections at some point. He thought they had this plant at least 2 years when I bought it last year.

FM sporting in early July.
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FM mid July
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The flower scape from my favorite eye.
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This is a "normal" Frozen Margarita that I bought this year, for comparison.
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~Bunnycat