Oops - and somehow, when I pasted their quote in, their inches became feet. They recommend 2 - 3 inches deep.

I have a lot of faith in what Chris observes - in his nursery. I have twice experienced serious damage to liberty when planted deep... because of long cold wet spring.

This year, our spring was about 3 weeks longer than usual... cold and frequent rains. (almost the end of June and we still haven't had to water the gardens a single time.)

My belief is that the deeper planted hostas, with wet soil sitting on the crown, resulted in some of them experiencing damage. In the case of Liberty, it came up about 3-4 weeks late, and with smaller eyes emerging in a circle... I intend to actually raise that plant, rather than leave it deep.

Note that the previous 4 years it was thriving with the deep planting... thus I blame it on the long, cold, wet period...

Wow, look at that thing....Is that sending shoots through the DRAINAGE HOLES??

Hosta never cease to amaze me. Thanks for the pic.

Don B.

Yes, that's it growing through one of the drainage holes. It made me laugh, so had to take a picture and share it. I'd love to see what's inside that pot and where!!

Here's another picture that shows it a little better.

That is interesting.

Incredible

I agree with i-the that planting Liberty deep may be something that applies to nursery conditions. I have four Liberty that are planted right at the top of the crown (std procedure for me) and are flourishing...so, I am not going to fix a problem I don't have.

The photo shows a 'shallow' planted Liberty that could not have a more vigorous growth.

Jon

I normally would never comment on a thread that mentions us, but I'd like to clarify myself here. The key thing to note is "very well-aerated". If the ground stays too wet then the soil may also be somewhat compacted, and planting deep is not recommended. The reason that planting shallow works for people is because their soil is often too compacted and doesn't have enough air space. Rather than planting high, as many here recommend, you really should be working on making the soil more light and fluffy. Hostas like really good aeration, and if you don't have it, work on the soil more to improve it. But hostas are also rhizomes that should have roots UNDER the ground, not showing at the surface. You wouldn't want to plant a leafed out hosta 2 to 3" deep but instead put it at the previous depth (not higher). The comment refers to a dormant plant, if you have very well aerated soil. If not, then shallower planting might be needed, but keep working on your soil so the hostas can grow under the ground where they want to be.

I hope that helps to clarify my comment some.

Chris