I don't have that many plants in pots. Maybe about 30. The ones I have in pots are ones that I use for hybridizing. I will repot when I see roots coming out of the bottom or when the mix has compacted so that the crown of the plant has sunken down into the pot a few inches or more. I just repotted Beet Salad this morning (I started it early), because the mix had compacted it down about 3 inches in the pot.

Having said that my pot of Blue Mouse Ears is so big that I can barely lift it. It consists of several plants in a 24 inch pot. I don't know what I'm going to do with that one. Warren Pollock wrote an article about his famous driveway pots. Once plants became huge and root bound he would take a 1 or 2 inch hole saw and cut a hole into the root ball, right down to the bottom of the pot. Then he would fill that hole with compost. He repeated this 3 or 4 times in one pot. It's pretty amazing that these plants can take that kind of treatment.

Steve

I repot when I see roots out of the bottom or top. At the end of the season I take a look and make a list of who would benefit from being repotted in the spring. After that spring clean up I will see who is turned wrong or out of dirt of sometimes I do not know where the dirt goes but I replace some then to keep them high enough in the pot. Because I use a fast draining medium I use Miracle Grow on Saturdays. I wait till the plant tells me and I have over 250 now with OMG more on the way! Paula

I think Paula describes it very well. I documented the case with Venus as an example. I NOTICED BOTH Gold Standards have really long roots out the bottom, and Stephan King is almost on the bottom of the pot, compacted. The ceramic pots tend to do that quicker in my experience.

I all so must repot Brendas Beauty because of fire ant invasion. She will be taken to the street and dumped so I. Can blast them down the storm drain with the power nozzle.

A big THANK YOU to Bkay for starting this thread for me! I'm grateful and a bit sheepish as well. The thought occurred to me that I should start a new thread...I was too slow to act on that thought.

At the end of the season last year, when I was potting up hostas in preparation for a move (which did not happen) I noticed several newly purchased ones had roots sticking out at the bottom of the pots. I bought pots the next size up and repotted them...I also teased out roots that were starting to circle in on themselves. I had no idea whether potted hosta needed lots of room for roots to grow or whether they liked it crowded.

I don't fertilize anything except the lawn (which will be diminishing) but noticed some spectacular hostas being posted that WERE fertilized and figured it won't hurt to give them a few granules here and there. The plants growing in the ground are at an advantage naturally but the potted ones need more than just water to keep them growing at optimum....that's what I'm thinking.

I'm fighting with myself about practising restraint but already know I will likely accumulate more this year than last. I had better be prepared with pots and have the growing mix at the ready as well. This is a lot more work than simply plunking them into the ground, watering them and mulching them, then leaving them be to grow. I have come to realize that it's a whole new ball game when it comes to pots. I have a deeper respect for all you "pot heads".

I really appreciate all your feedback and your tips....I can use all the help I can get. If you think of anything else....

Oh yes, I need to get some of those "feet" to elevate the pots...maybe I will make some...

Jo

but noticed some spectacular hostas being posted that WERE fertilized and figured it won't hurt to give them a few granules here and there.

==>>> here is how its supposed to work... in my head [for what that is worth].... application and theory are often divergent ...

the whole point of potting media.... is WATER MANAGEMENT .... in a predictable manner ....

water should go in the top ... retain what is needed.. and that varies per plant...

and then out the bottom ...

media should be changed.. when that predictability ceases ... e.g. one pot stays too wet ... the plant wilts because it doesnt hold enough water.. the plant deepens... etc ...

with me so far????

so.. by draining all out the bottom ... it takes with it.. over a year or two.. all the nutrients.... so then you have to address fertilizer ... and that would depend on your growing season ... because you want it.. on some level.. to also flush thru .. so that the media is somewhat neutral by the time dormancy/winter comes around.... so timing and type is imperative ...

stuff like time release.. has length ratings for season... e.g. 9 months, 3 month.. 4 month ... the 9 is used for greenhouse plants that never really go dormant .... and when you think about it... here in MI ...you are lucky to have a 3 month schedule .... [ruling out coming up ion stored energy thru late may ... and starting to decline by mid sept ....]

so ... enough for now... a few granules of this or that.. applied after frost/freeze is done in spring ... or even better.. a water sol.. should cause no problem.. ever... as you say.. a little of this or that wont hurt ..

but get it thru your head... IN A POT... more is usually not better ... you can not change the genetic growth rate of a plant by hyperfertilization .....

i said.. good day ...

ken

Bkay, IMHO growing hostas in pots is more challenging than growing them in a garden bed. I grow most of mine in pots because of a lack of space - I'm on a 50x100ft city lot - and growing them in pots allows me to rotate plants to different locations. It isn't just hostas I grow in pots, I also have heucheras, lilies, echinecea, phlox, bee-balm, Siberian iris, bearded iris and others that just don't spring to mind at the moment.

As Ken said, biggest problem I have here on Canada's Wet Coast is drainage in my pots. I have to change out and up-pot my plants pretty much every 2-3years and make sure the pots overwinter in a sheltered location so they don't get water-logged.

Right now my biggest problem is finding bark nuggets the right size, seems HD's supplier has changed the size of their mini bark nuggets to something that's quadruple what I need for making up a potting mix with the right drainage. I'll have to pop across the border to Blaine WA in the next couple of weeks to see what I can find there @ HD and Lowe's.

Just yesterday I did do some up-potting by moving 2-yr old seedlings from a 2.5" pot to a 4.5" pot. I keep a great many plants in 2 collapsible unheated greenhouses to deal with the water issue and to force the perennials to break ground earlier, so I have decent sized plants by the time the first plant sale of the spring season rolls around, which this year will be April 5th for the local Alpine Garden Club.

Yes, of course I fertilize my pots, initially in late April/early May when the first flush of growth is just about done and the roots start to want to grow again. I start out with a quick shot of diluted water soluble 20-20-20 for every watering I do - mostly done with a Hawkes' watering can - and will add time-release 14-14-14 by mid-May.

Pieter

Hey Pieter,

If you are going down to Blaine and are going to Lowe's and Home Depot you might want to try this mix. It's the best I've seen. There is nothing like it that I've found in Canada. "Pot and Plant" that most places sell is mostly peat moss. The perlite is white, ugly and floats to the top. Any mix I've tried seems like that.

For years I've gone down to my sisters near Seattle and helped her with her 300++ collection. They are nearly all grown in pots. As you said being too wet is the problem. In the past we always would make our own mixes starting with a delivery of top soil and adding stuff. Some years it was just too soggy. She tried this Cedar Grove Potting Mix and now that is all she uses. It's much simpler not to have to mix anything in. I don't think she's ever found that it compresses or breaks down. I got a few bags last Sept. and plan on bringing many more back when I go down in June.

JO, this is not applicable to you, as your growing season is shorter than mine. Someone (I think it was Ken.) says that time release fertilizer dumps all it's nutrients when it reaches a certain temperature. (I think it was 90 degrees.) Anyway, time release fertilizer will not work for me, as every day past May 15 is above 90 degrees. I still apply it in early spring, but now I know that a second application is useless.

As far as pot feet. I believe they are necessary. I think they help with slug damage. But it may be that slugs are not that big a problem here. They also help with drainage. Babka uses sticks, which work well, except that Cleo likes to chew them. I found the old thread about the sticks, but she has deleted the photos. Mabe she will post them again. She says it keeps the pots from staining her deck.

bk

Ken, thanks for weighing in! and... no worries about me overdoing fertilizer... Remember, I don't fertilize anything here but grass. I also get lazy during the season as it heats up...it SOUNDS like I baby my hosta to death, but in reality they are on their own in the ground...with intervention from me in terms of slug control. However I am known as a touchy-feely kind of individual and in that respect, there is not one plant that escapes my caresses! I am certifiably nuts about them all!. LOL

Your comment re nutrients eventually depleting addressed one of my concerns as well. Sparse bi-weekly feeding in June and July is what I had thought of doing...if I applied soluble fert. weekly in June, then a 3-month granular thereafter ... that would take me into Sept. I don't want to fertilize beyond Aug...perhaps I should just use water soluble fertilizer for June and July and call it a day. That is more than they got last year and they were fine.

I'm assuming all purchased plants received fertilizer at the source as well as fairly fresh potting medium...if they've been growing in that pot for a year already they would still sustain themselves for another year, right?

The perlite is white, ugly and floats to the top. Any mix I've tried seems like that.

==>>> then you arent moistening it properly ... before use .... put some in a tub ... wheelbarrow... whatever.. add warm water ... it activates the peat faster... and just keep fluffing.. and watering.. until its all damp ... might take a day or two..

thereby incorporating the whole mess.. into a whole ... so the perlite stays where its supposed to be ...

its when you put it in the pot dry.. and then try to flood it.. that the perlite floats.. before the rest of the stuff wets to hold it in the mix ... and for you canadian folks.. ==>>> eh???? .. lol ...

=====>>>

someone (I think it was Ken.) says that time release fertilizer dumps all it's nutrients when it reaches a certain temperature. (I think it was 90 degrees.)

if that is what ken said... then he oversimplified a bit .... water is imperative.. to wet the hard coating.. and make it soft and porous ... and then.. when the right temp is hit.. it can dump.. mostly at once.. with some residual later .... think of it ... as getting to the tootsie roll in a tootsie pop .. all that saliva working on the hard shell... eventually getting to the soft luscious center .... and then the next thing you know.. some owl declares the center is gone .... see link

does anyone remember mrs smith egg drop soup.. that came with the egg .. maybe that is a better example ... analogy ... water.. heat.. gelatin ... presto ... release ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: how in the world do i come up with these things.. lol

I have totally different growing conditions. We get zero rain here during most of the growing season. All hand watering, with hard water. Roots coming out the bottom of the pot for me don't always mean time to up-pot. Hosta roots like to grow sideways until they hit the edge of the pot, then they go down. Often times the center has just a few roots so the plant really isn't root bound.

I don't pot to sell,(nobody grows them around here as perennials) so I keep them in a pot as long as I can before I go larger. As Ken says, when a pot doesn't drain well, or the plant sinks, or it won't hold moisture for several days it is time to repot.

No perlite, just 1/4-1/2" fir bark.

Regarding the sticks to raise the pots, I'll have to take another photo and will do a new post later. They are easy, cheap, and out of sight (unless you have a dog named Cleo).

-Babka

BUMP for everyone doing some potting now.