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on_greenthumb

Single Best Piece of Advice

on_greenthumb
10 years ago

I thought this might be a good thread as a general discussion. What is the single best piece of advice you got or have to give about growing hostas.

I've been checking out my hostas and in general the ones I have bought since becoming an addict are doing so much better than the ones I bought since. I attribute that to the days that I stalked the forum and learned about making sure the crown was at the right level - I am sure the the older ones I have (like my single eye Sum & Substance that I've had for 5 years) - with no increase in eyes) are probably planted too low. I'll be fixing that this year......
For me this was the single most important piece of advice I've gotten since regardless of light levels, moisture levels and exposure, the rest are thriving....it's just those few that I haven't moved, split or otherwise touched that seem to be stuck growthwise.....

Comments (31)

  • bkay2000
    10 years ago

    Someone told me to throw it on the driveway!

    bk

  • Mary4b
    10 years ago

    I'm not sure a single piece of advice is possible.

    For me, it would be PLANT your hostas before you buy more, as I have lost a lot of hostas over the year that I didn't get into the ground before winter. That's such a waste.
    But another person might not have this problem, so who knows what the best advice would be for someone else.

    I do think that educating oneself on HVX and nematodes is important, especially if one is going to buy a plant locally at a nursery, or a big box store. We have some "reputable" nurseries in our area where I can't buy hostas, because their hostas often exhibit HVX. Once I see a lot of diseased plants from a certain supplier, I disregard all hostas from them, even if a plant looks healthy in the store.

    It will be interesting to hear if someone has that single piece of advice!

  • becky_ia
    10 years ago

    ALWAYS know who you are buying from plus plant hosta where they get morning sun and afternoon shade. (that might be two pieces of advice!) But that is what my grower once told me.

  • User
    10 years ago

    Put the green end up, the dirty end down.
    I thought that was funny until I received LS Black Satin as a mere dormant crown with some small green eyes trying to do something. It looked like a mop actually. With no handle.

    So far, it is the last of my dormant hosta. Whether or not something happened to it earlier this spring causing it to stop growing, I have no idea.

    But at least, I have the green end UP. I can only hope for the best.

  • WILDernessWen
    10 years ago

    It's all about the dirt and water. WW

  • Gesila
    10 years ago

    I sure do wish I would have known about root competition from Maple trees before I started planting hostas. I would have done things so differently. A rookie hosta grower thinks that hostas need to be planted in the shade, right there among those Maple tree roots.

    I'm slowing rescuing mine. It's amazing how fast those hostas take off once you untangle them.

    Gesila

  • in ny zone5
    10 years ago

    Try not to buy single division (eye) plants. Multi-eye plants establish faster, and survive winter and pests better.

  • thisismelissa
    10 years ago

    Plant at proper spacing.
    If there are records of a hosta growing to be 5' wide, don't plant anything bigger than a small within a 2ý foot radius of that hosta. And if you're going to put a 4' hosta next to it... then they should be 6ý feet apart.

    I'm now in my garden's 7th year and am still thinning out the overcrowding mistakes I made in my first 3 years.

    Everyone tried to tell me... 'you're going to be in trouble in a few years'. And yes, they're right. I have 2 giants that are about 3ý feet apart. It looked like a mile when they were both 1 gallon plants. But now that they each have a 4 foot spread, neither looks as pretty as when you could truly appreciate their structure.

    So, I have to decide which of those beauties has to be moved? My choice.... the more common of the two.

  • don_in_colorado
    10 years ago

    "Don't block the exits" - Babka's DH

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    10 years ago

    ;-)

    -Babka's DH

  • old_dirt 6a
    10 years ago

    I will second "thisismellisa". I am in the same situation, several large plants that now need to be moved.

  • flowerchild59
    10 years ago

    Label your plants and then make a map.
    Since no one ever makes a map, then add another white label written in pencil (the only thing that lasts in weather and dirt) in the same spot each time you plant. IE, I always add a plant label on the north side of the hole no matter where it is in the bed. That way I sort of know where it is. When the marker disappears, you might be able to id it.

  • don_in_colorado
    10 years ago

    Water, water, water...and more water. It was also nice to learn about HVX and nematodes as a brand newbie, which I was warned about immediately after joining this forum last August.

    Don B.

  • sandyslopes z5 n. UT
    10 years ago

    The chlorophyll discussion here was enlightening to me. Until then I thought the best place for hostas with lots of white in their leaves was in the darkest spot in the garden.... to brighten up the space, of course. But it made perfect sense that the white on leaves can't produce chlorophyll, so the little bit of green they have better get some sunlight. Too late for my Dancing in the Rain, but I learned something.

  • gogirlterri
    10 years ago

    If you have and American Black Walnut the entire area under the drip-line makes a super hosta garden.

    Theresa

  • in ny zone5
    10 years ago

    About those white leaves and needing more sun shine. I moved hostas 'Dancing in the Rain' and 'Eskimo Pie' into more sun, actually into the vegetable garden with more than enough irrigation. Nope! They are simply bad cultivars, are still single eye after 4 years and small, are supposedly to be Large.
    Bernd

  • in ny zone5
    10 years ago

    Sorry! duplicate.

    This post was edited by berndnyz5 on Tue, May 28, 13 at 8:52

  • harryshoe zone6 eastern Pennsylvania
    10 years ago

    Under no circumstances shall you buy any plant unless you can specifically identify the space you intend to plant it in.

    Stop laughing.

  • jan_on zone 5b
    10 years ago

    harry - I was laughing even before I got to the instruction to 'stop laughing'.
    Jan

  • almosthooked zone5
    10 years ago

    Never.... Every build a new flower/hosta bed for next year when the nurseries are still open for the season or there is no snow on it yet... it gets planted. Then you have to start all over again when the fall order comes.

    Just as Harry said "don't laugh"

    Faye

  • beverlymnz4
    10 years ago

    Don't wait. Life's too short for:
    TC babbies
    waiting til next year to make that new bed
    hostas that don't grow
    waiting to join a hosta society
    an so forth

    Beverly

  • gogirlterri
    10 years ago

    Harry-Faye: Build a "Nursery' bed with richly organic loose soil and put all those unplanned purchases in, so when you figure out what you want in another garden you have a nicely (we hope) developed ready to leap hosta to plant there.

    Theresa

  • gogirlterri
    10 years ago

    Harry-Faye: Build a "Nursery' bed with richly organic loose soil and put all those unplanned purchases in, so when you figure out what you want in another garden you have a nicely (we hope) developed ready to leap hosta to plant there.

    The "Nursery" should be a different patch of dirt than your "Infirmary" bed where questionable looking hostas are planted. (This part obviously not a laughing matter)

    Theresa

  • ilovetogrow z9 Jax Florida
    10 years ago

    Keep files. Know where you got it and when. Count eyes. know who is growing on or receding. Keep photos and put the plant name and date on it.

    Be ready for the alphabet game!

    This for pot heads: get a bubbler on a long wand and water from under the plant leaves. Top watering on some just does not get it done.

    Know your limitations. Still learning mine.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    a hundred dollar hosta.. w/o a name tag,... is a 5 dollar hosta ...

    ken

  • jan_on zone 5b
    10 years ago

    The more you pay for a hosta, the more likely it will die.

    Buy the very largest hostas you can find.
    Jan

  • sandyslopes z5 n. UT
    10 years ago

    Bernd, only a single eye after four years of nice sun, now I don't feel so bad about that Dancing in the Rain that didn't make it.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    jan was close ...

    if you pay more than one hundred dollars....

    it will commit suicide on the way home.. lol ...

    but.. is that advice.. or reality ????

    ken

  • on_greenthumb
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    LOL Hosta people are funny people

  • marquest
    10 years ago

    Leaf mold, Leaf mold, Leaf mold. That advice has not only helped make my clay soil the best but keeps the hostas moist even when we are in the 90s.

    Every year I have 20 or more bags of leaves at the end of the Fall. That sit all winter open to get good and moist and moldy and full of worms. Every Spring my Hosta bed gets a good layer of homemade compost and Leaf mold.

    "Leaf mold is essentially a soil conditioner. It increases the water retention of soils. According to some university studies, the addition of leaf mold increased water retention in soils by over 50%. Leaf mold also improves soil structure and provides a fantastic habitat for soil life, including earthworms and beneficial bacteria."

  • harryshoe zone6 eastern Pennsylvania
    10 years ago

    I'm gonna bring back flowerchild's map idea. This spring I was hopelessly lost because I just keep moving things. I think I have it settled now, but who knows about next spring. And, I am a retiree, so you can't count on my memory.