Can you bring them indoors for a week and mist them several times a day in the bathtub so they can recover? (since you probably have a/c that dries up your inside air. 88 degrees, it seems to me is pretty hot for a less than perky hosta who has been in a hot box. I got some here in the mail after only 3 days, and it took another 4 days to perk them up. And that is at below 75 /daytime and high high 50's at night.

-Babka

I don't know if it's too late or not to disturb them again but it takes time to pump that water back to those big leaves after sitting at UPS for days. Whether wise or not, since you are asking, I would have them re-taped very high just under the leaf blades and propped up against a wooden piece of wooden stake that I've seen Mocc use, then keep them in a pail of water for sometime, maybe a week with water changed every second day. I've done that and it's worked for me. It would also mean unpotting them. They should rehydrate for you. During this time they should be out of the heat if you can find a cool place for them.

What I'm suggesting may sound daft, but it worked for me last year with sports of Frances Williams.

I noticed your bamboo stake after I posted, sorry. If you are going to leave them as is though, I would adjust support so leaves don't hang down. :-)

Good luck with them Bkay.

This post was edited by josephines67 on Tue, Jun 3, 14 at 21:00

No, Babka. That one won't work.

I know this is crazy, but when you can't get greens (lettuces, greens, or even roses) to take up water, you put them in very warm water, followed by a cold bath.. Is there any application of that bit of knowledge that's applicable? (Remember, I'm a chef and working with severed plants..)

bk

DON'T move them indoors, been there, done that! They really need the sun. Without it, the stems will become even more floppy and weak. I made that mistake with my Gunther's Prize. I'm hoping it will be picture worthy after it's second flush of leaves.

I have a few that look like yours. I just keep watering them. They'll perk up eventually.

Gesila

Since you just potted them up yesterday it probably would be ok to just take them back out of the pots and into a bucket of water in the shade as Jo suggests. They need light, but keep them out of that hot TX sun.

I have never soaked hosta roots for more than an hour, so I don't know how that works.

Perhaps your chef experience will work with the tops, once they are un potted and can be held horizontally. I do that with beet greens and I never thought of the comparison! Good idea! Why wouldn't it work?

-Babka

If your crowns aren't buried in media too deeply, why not just sit the pot in something that will hold a couple of inches of water and let the media get thoroughly wet for maybe 30 minutes or so by sucking the water in from the bottom, then take the whole pot out and let it sit and drain normally. That would be as close to soaking as you could get without unpotting them and without having to worry about rotting them by leaving it too long. Mine look just like that right now that I got from LOTG. It's a pretty big zone shock. They'll perk up.

I've actually had plants (their roots that is) in water for two weeks. They will rot of you don't change the water, for sure. Funn's idea makes sense too, Bk. Whatever you do, I hope for them to start taking up water soon. The bigger the plant, the longer it takes?

I plunge fresh cut roses into very hot water and watch the water bubbles appear, which assures me they are taking up water but I leave them in that hot water until the next water change. I showed my little granddaughter recently how "roses drink" - what fun!

BKAy, mine took a day longer to arrive than yours. They came around noon today while I was gone. I tracked them, I know they spent the weekend in Birmingham without moving to Mobile until Monday morning, too late to be sent out for delivery by 7pm, which is our normal UPS delivery hour. Mine came from LOTG as well.

They were rather crispy feeling leaves, like they were dry, although they came in nice white paper wrapping and a good paper towel that held a lot of water originally, which had been squeezed out and was close to the root system. One looked like boiled spinach Carnival, but it was the only one damaged. There was one good leaf, and several petioles with no leaf on the end, just green color and smushed leaf tissue on the white paper. It will recover. I got off light, they did get here!

All of them are presently on my deck in the shade, with water covering the roots but not the crowns. It is very humid here and the temp is now 77 degrees. It was overcast today. I kept them in the shade anyway. Tomorrow morning I shall pot them, take school pictures.

One spot that works for intensive care is near the crawl space vent of our house, which is on a raised foundation (not a slab). It is always a cooler breeze and damp there as well. If you cannot come up with such a cool spot, try a big umbrella and some bright shade.

Thank heaven I've gotten my last order in hand. Just in time too! I plan no more orders for delivery this year.

I hope your beautiful hosta recover quickly. It is stressful waiting and watching.

I have them trussed up like Christmas turkeys and sitting in a washtub with about 2" of water. I hope this works.

Mocc, I have shrubs in front of all my foundation vents, so I can't get close enough to do any good. thanks.

Thanks, Gesila and Babka.

JO and Funn, I'm doing a modification of your ideas.

I'm going to leave them in the tub for a couple of hours and see what happens. I may have to go buy an umbrella. With construction going on, I have limited places to put them.

Thanks,

bk

I like that! Makes me want to soak my feet in there too! :-).
Have a great day!

I have a lot of bamboo at our river lots, plus a clumping bamboo here, which we trim canes from for my hosta stakes (and for DH's corn too). To give good support, I insert it to the bottom and pack mix around it to stand up nicely, then I put in the hosta which has the leaves already taped.

I noticed that on orchids the scapes frequently are staked with a woman's hair clip, so I've added some to hold floppy hosta as well. I did that last year for Victory, which has those skyscraper flower stalks that fall over! If you have any hair clips lying around your dressing table, ladies, they work very nicely and do not crush the petioles.

BK, I can tell you from experience, if it were not for strategically placed umbrellas, I would not have made it through the summer in 2012 or 2013. I bought a new one, with heavy heavy base, through Amazon this year. Nine foot wide, round. They also make them rectangular, some 11 foot diameter. Your garden setup being different, only you can say which shape and size would be good for you.

Or, try shade cloth. If there is a fence you can attach one end to, about 4 foot high, it would work stretched out and hooked to a couple of garden fence stakes long enough for your hosta to get over the shock or for construction to end. Lowes has the stakes, green metal and some are 4-6 foot tall, you pound them into the ground, pull them up when you don't need them.

Bkay
I can sympathize with you since I am also in the situation of trying to revitalize an order of hostas that arrived stressed and contorted following their long distance journey.
Paradise Power
{{gwi:1041133}}
Roughed Up - Certainly was during the trip!
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Reptillian
{{gwi:1041135}}
Upon arrival I did soak the plants in a very weak transplanting solution for 2 hours before they were potted up. Since then, upon the sellerâÂÂs advice, IâÂÂve kept them in the coolest shady outdoor location that I have (undercover on the deck, receiving no direct sunlight). They arrived Friday, but no real signs of recovery as yet. IâÂÂve had to stake them, and as you can tell from the pictures taken yesterday, some of ReptillianâÂÂs leaves are turning orange.
{{gwi:1041136}}
{{gwi:1041137}}
After consulting with the seller again, I was advised to keep all six plants out of the rain and to make sure their potting mix is damp and slightly moist, but not wet. Whatever happens to the leaves, itâÂÂs the roots that remain the primary concern, since the leaves will continue to feed them.
All in all itâÂÂs a shame - the initial excitement of receiving an order quickly dampened. Now, I feel that IâÂÂm running the wing of a hosta hospital for the sick and needy! I wonder if the saying, âÂÂWhat doesnâÂÂt kill you, makes you stronger,â applies to hostas?!!!
BC

Yours don't look very happy, BC. They look pretty small, too. Will the shipper replace them?

My plants will make it. That's really not a question. How much of them will make it, is the question. If I can keep all the leaves alive through the summer, I will have two gorgeous hosta next spring. They are both hosta that I really wanted.

I guess I'm getting more picky in my choices as I begin to run out of space.

bk

Bkay,
I think you have made great choices. In fact I'm awaiting a delivery from a different seller containing L. Cindy Cee myself. What's more, I originally placed the order for the plants that I received on Friday because the seller had Manhattan for sale. As it happens, it wasn't included in the order since it suffered from frost damage.
As regards replacement, I have no idea. I haven't broached the subject as yet. I guess I'll wait and see what happens to these plants first.
BC

I find that when I order plants in summer, I only deal with places that ship priority mail. 3 days max. UPS takes too long, unless you pay thru the nose to get next day air. But then I'm way out here on the Left Coast.

Bkay- The photos in your previous post show very large strong roots systems. Even if you lose a few leaves, they won't be set back by much. I know you will have two gorgeous hostas next spring! You may even have them this year since we have a long growing season.

Years ago hostas were shipped with the leaves cut off...like celery stalks with roots.

-Babka

I am interested in the progression - are the petioles feeling "firm" yet compared to days ago?

The petioles were in pretty good shape. It was the leaves that were totally dehydrated. They are picking up. The pots are still in water. I keep misting the back side of the leaves. It looks like it's slowly working. I'm concerned about them still sitting in water, but am kind of making it up as I go.

bk

Just a few minutes ago

Glad you mentioned it first because I had written to ask you (but deleted) if you think they should get out of the water now seeing as how they are not bare rooted but in media. We are thinking the same thing though - time to treat them normally now but still keep them in shade until they have fully recovered. The leaves are holding up so well and I am quite relieved for you. Many smiles!