Thanks, Funn. I had come to the conclusion that had to be it. There were no other commonalities with the pots I lost. Most of the big ones did pretty well. The smaller pots were most of my losses.

Thanks again, Funn for passing that on.

bk

The smaller pots were most of my losses.

==>>> one might intuit from there.. that its pot size ..

so why not turn say 3 small pots.. into one big pot ...

e.g. pots and all.. put 3 one gal pots into a squat 5 gallon pot.. and fill with mulch ... make any sense???

i used to have some quart pots late in the season.. who knows what was in them ... and i had a 10 gal pot... filled it with wood chips.. and the quart pots... reduced losses significantly ... [then i realized.. if i just planted all teh quart pots in sept.. i didnt have to deal with them over the winter.. duh.. lol]

did solberg fess up his loss percentage??? sounds like he would have liked to hear about the ice cube trick ... did i miss you posting pix of his place?????

you could even use a box.... fit in 4 pots.. fill in with something or another ... etc ... so what if it falls apart by spring .... you have nested 4 smaller pots.. making it one big soil mass ... making them less susceptible to the vagaries of ma nature ...

ken

Well well, Ken you have a great idea there.

As much as my hosta are growing and making it to larger pots, some are still in the smaller containers. In some cases, I would pot 3 hosta in one larger pot, but not a good solution if they are not alike or have dissimilar growth....one outperforms another and I lose the less vigorous.

But for the WINTER.....locating the smaller pots inside a larger container could well be the solution to squirrel damage as well as ant invasion and hissing critters...which is really pretty scary to be honest.

I like the box concept....but maybe plastic totes....So.....I'll remember this as the year ends for my hosta in December. It could make winter a more restful time for them, and for myself. And no pecan seedlings sprouting come springtime! Keeping the boxes from raising the temp as there is no shade from the pecan trees in winter, and the plastic totes absorb heat, even plastic bags with dormant hosta in them get hot....maybe the WHITE bags could work, with ventilation to keep down condensation.

Nothing is simple. Maybe by next winter I can have a workable plan.

I won't have any off the ground next winter, that's for sure. Those were the two commonalities in my losses. One was small pots and the other was off the ground (2nd or 3rd tier on the "stadium seating" or on a patio table).

The larger pots on the ground did fine. In fact, I have some of the largest leaves I've ever had.

bk

For me, I was sure that dryness had to be it, too, because I lost the smalls and the hostas (no matter the size) that were in the cloth pots. Makes sense b/c they would wick away moisture faster than the plastics. I told Bob that as well and he agreed. It's not Ma Nature that are taking them out, it's the humans! Should have watered them, this is a matter of TOO PROTECTED, unfortunately. Bob said that I lost the smalls, not because of pot size or less protection from the elements, but the plant itself was simply too small to withstand the "drought".

This is a great example of "all zones are not created equal!" I feel like I'm constantly reading/worrying about keeping them dry, but in our zone 7-and-below winters, the roots don't have moisture frozen inside of them all season, so it completely makes sense that they could get bone dry. I left mine uncovered, upright, and out in the open almost all winter (though I did tip them once the late winter/early spring rains and thaws began) and I only lost one. It was definitely damp rot in that case...it was the only one I stuck in straight potting mix, plus it was a cut division planted late in the fall. All that combined...I deserved to lose it! :-( But other than that, they are all fine, including those teensy liner pots we got from our not-so-favorite favorite nursery, bkay. I just left them out there with all the rest and they came through.

So sorry you guys have had losses... It gives me gardener's guilt! But then I think of all the shrubs I've lost, and a smashed fence section from a limb falling in a nice storm... I guess Mother Nature owed me the hostas.

I like your outlook, Jadie! :-)
Funn...thank you for sharing your conversation with Bob Solberg as it also related directly to my situation. My potted hostas came through but the shrub damage was significant. Layers of wet snow, ice, more wet snow - the weight was too much on them. Pruning will solve that and benefit - a little ugly shape in the backyard will hardly be noticed with the rest of the beauty around! I would have felt much worse losing hosta...yes, not a bad trade-off Jadie :-)

Well, you know my old saying, "Some people live and learn, some just live." Hopefully, I'm learning.

bk

So many variables. Weather here is totally different from the South even tho our Winters are warm. I can only speak of my neck of the woods way out here near San Jose after growing hostas in pots since the late 90's.

I lose a few every year, and chalk those up to just being weakened plants due to bugs/disease/neglect...whatever. If I really liked them, I order new ones and try again. (I'm on my 4th GE)

My greatest losses over the years were when mine were not protected from Winter rains. Now we put a tarp up high over them to keep them dry, and hardware cloth on the pots to keep the squirrels out. When they do dormant in November here I give them one last big drink of fungicide to soak the pots, then I don't water after that. I put the little ones on the top tier where I can see and get at them easily and check those once a month or so and give them an ice cube IF they need it. When in doubt I tip the pot to look at the roots running down the side. They should look fat and happy. I recall somewhere, someone saying that 60% humidity is what you'd like to have around the roots.

-Babka

bkayâ¦â¦what were your losses last winter compared to this one?

My 2012 to 2013 winter was complicated. I adopted a dog in the late summer of 2012. Cleo is a somewhat difficult dog. She likes Babka sticks, hosta pots and occasionally, to give a small hosta the death shake. She mutilated most of my 2012 acquisitions. Many of them died, others reverted to juvenile leaves.

Then in 2013, we had the warm January followed by the cold, wet February and March. All that mounted up to a lot of losses. I'm still culling files.

So, it's hard to assign blame in 2012 and 2013. There was Cleo and then, the odd spring. So the answer is: I don't know.

bk