How many in this spot?

10 years ago

Fixing to make this spot a hosta garden. It's roughly 8'x8'. It receives morning sun directly and then is mostly shaded by tall trees. I ordered the "hosta by the handful" bundle from Gilbert H. Wild and was wondering what would be a good amount to plant in this area. (The 2 in the back were transplanted from an overly sunny spot in my mom's garden last year.)
Thanks!
Lori

Comments (11)

Jon 6a SE MA
10 years ago
9 big ones, 15-20 small ones.

Jon
beverlymnz4
10 years ago
Looks like a nice place for a hosta garden. It really does depend upon which hosta. When you get your order let us know what you have and we will all have fun designing this spot.

Beverly
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thisismelissa
10 years ago
It depends on the size at maturity. You could have dozens of minis in that spot. 2 dozen smalls. 15 or so mediums.

And I disagree with Jon.
that's way too many big ones.
4 is plenty..... big ones get to be 4-5 feet across!

9 and you'd be overcroweded within 3 years.
mosswitch
10 years ago
One Empress Wu, lol. Or a half-dozen medium-size and some small ones for the edge. I think I would plant maybe one or two large ones, three or four medium size and a few edgers.

Sandy
don_in_colorado
10 years ago
Perhaps 3 big ones in a triangle shape in the back, with several medium/small ones sited
in the foreground. By 'several' I'm thinking 6 to 8 or so.

Don B.

EDIT: I say this without knowing how they ship, though. With the 'Hosta by the Handful' deal, for all I know about it you may just get a big bag of unmarked Hosta. I hope they don't do that, just for planting's sake, y'know? :)

This post was edited by Don_in_Colorado on Mon, Apr 29, 13 at 2:48
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
eighty or ninety ...

we will figure out what to do with the excess.. next year.. lol

whats this buying the proper number stuff anyway .. buy every single plant you see or can find.. and then whine about running out of space ...

looks like a brilliant little nursery bed ...

ken
WannabeRosey
Original Author
10 years ago
Well I got my brown bag of unmarked hostas today. I'm guessing that most of them will be on the small side since this is supposed to be a bargain, and that some will not make it (they didn't look so great). So I planted them all. Worst case scenario is that all of them live and get huge...and then I'll just dig 'em up and stick them somewhere else ;-)

Thanks everyone.
Lori
User
10 years ago
Way to go, Wannaberosy, you have the right idea. When some die, it is natural selection making the choice, and you'll find which ones are most vigorous.

Plus, when you begin designing your garden for long term growing, consider setting one nice vase shaped hosta in a container on top of a piece of tree or a sturdy fern stand, up above the height of the tall hosta surrounding it. It really works, and gives you another spot for a special hosta.

Have fun!
WannabeRosey
Original Author
10 years ago
Well I planted all 20 about 3 weeks ago and I'd say about half have started to show some signs of life. Most of them have just sprouted up single leaves, while a few others have multiple pips that are just starting to poke through now. The singles came up green while the ones with more than one shoot are more purple. I've also noticed the multiples coming through later than just the single leaves. I wish knew what they all were. This is my first time growing hostas and it's so much fun. I will post some photos once everyone gets a little bigger and more camera-friendly. Maybe I can get a little help IDing them.
On another note, I've decided to dedicate another, larger space as a hosta/fern garden. I was going to wait until next year for this project as I have already planted a ton this year (we have about a quarter acre of garden space to fill that had been left to the weeds by the former owners), but I saw that Bluestone was all 50% off today, and ... yeah well you know how it goes. This time I'm not doing the bargain bag and I know exactly who's coming. Hooray!
jan_on zone 5b
10 years ago
And Lori is off and running - having figured out quickly that she needs more and more hostas! And more and more planting space! You go girl!
Jan
User
10 years ago
Wannabe, I have an unexpected fern garden, you might say. I socked the old hanging baskets of fern down around a camellia sasanqua bush/tree, and the next spring they'd rooted into the ground. It took some doing to remove the old baskets, but now they've naturalized as a real fern bed. I also use the space for some pots of hosta.

Just mention this as an option when fall arrives and you have hanging fern baskets that MIGHT survive the winter to naturalize in your fern bed.

Here is a picture showing what I mean....the first pics from 2 years ago were lost in a hard drive failure, so no history to show how it started.

The hosta look beautiful with fern.