Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
gesila_gw

HELP - Need Ideas to Remove Hosta from Pot

Gesila
11 years ago

We told Don we would get him his pot back, so we can't cut it apart. Any ideas of how to get this hosta out of the pot?

Thanks!

Comments (16)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    tip it over.. and jump on it.. until you soften the media

    or pound it with a sledgehammer ... back into with the car ...

    i am surprised don didnt know how .. the man does NOTHING in a small way.. does he.. lol ..

    the soil is the problem.. i bet it weighs 100 pounds ...

    just dont kick it.. or you will break a toe ... been there.. and VERY CLOSE to doing that.. too many times ...

    oh .. oh.. oh.. i know.. put it on the driveway ...

    what.. you wont tell us what it is??

    bottom line.. its a hosta.. do whatever need be done.. you arent going to hurt it ... unless you drop it top down ... but that would just be a form of heeling it in.. lol ...

    ken

  • Cher
    11 years ago

    I just did one yesterday but a little smaller pot. Kept digging around with a trowel as far as I could, well that was of no use, although I'm sure it helped loosen it. Finally knocked it over on it's side and pretty much did what Ken says. I pounded the bottom and the sides all way around and finally was able to start dumping it out of it. I decided then and there that the Hosta going back in was staying there as long as I am alive. :)
    Cher

  • bkay2000
    11 years ago

    1. get it wet.
    2. get a pot that's just smaller than the inside edge of the dirt, turn the big pot upside down on top of the smaller pot.(the roots should hold the soil in place) It should pop right out and sit on top of the smaller pot. Flip it back over and your hosta shouldn't be damaged.

    That's how I repot mine in the spring when the pips are already coming up.

    bkay

    kind of like this (ignore the big rock)

    {{gwi:962657}}

  • hostaLes
    11 years ago

    bkay-that is genious! When it is done I'd like to know how much it weiged.

    My thoughts were if all else failed for me, I would try bare rooting it by laying it on its side and sleucing out the dirt with a strong water spray like I do dirt from my cannas in the fall before drying them. Would this have merit? I wouln't think too much root damage would occur.

    Les

  • hostaLes
    11 years ago

    Another possibility, since nights are still cold, is to go out in the early light and spray the pot with hot water which should expand the plastic pot and not the dirt. It could help.

    :Les

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    11 years ago

    I'd buy him a new pot and leave that baby intact. ;-)

    -Babka

  • User
    11 years ago

    By the time you tip it up on the sides, and roll it down the garden to the spot you wish to bury it, it will be ready to come out of the pot. Unless you have a recurved kind of pot, in which case you just dig er out.

    Presently I have two very large philodendron selloum which I'm about to remove from their pots, roots coming out, tendrils reaching down outside from the top of the pot, and that is how I repotted them before. Only this time, they will go into the ground and take their chances with everything else. But I roll the pots.

    Looks like heavy duty PE to me, with a stiff rim, which is exactly what these big plants are in. Worth a try anyway.

  • franknjim
    11 years ago

    Don't get it wet. That will expand the soil and create suction and friction. Ever step into deep mud?

    Lay it on the side and roll it continuously. It will fall out. Be careful not to let it fall top down when it comes out.

  • User
    11 years ago

    Ok, two votes for laying it on the side and rolling it. I know that works, but haven't tried it with a hosta yet.

  • Gesila
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Laying it on it's side and rolling it worked. Thanks everyone!

    The spot I want it to grow in has way too many maple tree roots, so we repotted it in a light-weight pot we got at Costco. Here's the cart the guys put together to get it into the back yard.

    If you're really bored, you can watch the video tape I made of how we got it out of the pot.

    Gesila

    Here is a link that might be useful: Repotting a Very Large Hosta

  • Cher
    11 years ago

    Great video. That's what I did, pounded on the bottom and sides. Loosened everything up, then tilted it and it started sliding out. Hope you plan to keep it in there. :)
    Cher

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    isnt a rubber mallet to crush a peanut butter cup.. a bit over the top???

    he said 'this is the heaviest dirt' .. and then they dump it into the new pot .... are you sure that is what is best ... wont you be going thru this all again in a few years.. when you need to freshen the media ....

    and 'dirt' is famous for not draining properly.. nor allowing free flow of water thru the whole.. rather than running to the edges ... [and just because don got away with it.. SHORT TERM.. does not mean it the best way.. LONG TERM]

    what i would do .. since you have some premiere growers near you ... is discuss potting media with them.. buy one of their large professional bags of media.. add mini chunks.. and repot it.. before those roots grab hold ... and i would remove all the old stuff from the roots.. basically bare rooting it .. no divergence of soil/media in the pot ...

    well at least the video gave the name. ...

    ken

  • Gesila
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    LOL Ken, rubber mallet for Peanut Butter Cup and Oreos, steel mallet for Snickers....... 1,000 pounds a year for 20 years!

    You are so right about the potting media. We do have a recipe we used last year, forgot all about that.... this, we have only been doing for 2 years!

    Oh my, lack of experience sometimes makes so much work...my DH is so depressed now, but I've come up with a plan on where to dump the soil and bare root the hosta.

    Gesila

  • jan_on zone 5b
    11 years ago

    Lucky you to have all that willing muscle! This is going to be a really great looking plant once the project is actually finished. (As I watched the video I laughed at the exercise ball routine, held my breath that it wouldn't fall on its head, crossed my fingers that no one would put his back out, and thought "Ken will be saying WHERE'S THE BARK?")
    Jan

  • Jon 6a SE MA
    11 years ago

    I wouldn't ever try the hot water to expand the pot trick as hot water will kill some the roots. Even water from a hose that has been sitting in the sun can be very hot and spraying it on plants will cause damage.

    Jon

  • User
    11 years ago

    Classic video, Gesila!! What a routine. Rolling has always worked for me. Eventually. :)

    About the hot water in the hose, you bet it gets hot enough to scald you. I'm thinking about burying the hoses running around our garden because it takes about 5 minutes to cool the water on a hot day, before I can water the plants.