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delawaredonna

Planting advice please

DelawareDonna
9 years ago

I just received a small hosta order that I tagged for a September delivery since I just had knee surgery and cannot plant them now. What is the best way to keep them alive and healthy until I can plant them in mid September? Should I pot them up or can the roots stay in water?

DD

Comments (24)

  • lovesallflowers
    9 years ago

    I put mine in a pot.. They are doing wonderful!

  • DelawareDonna
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Welcome to the forum lovesallflowers. I see you registered today and jumped right into the conversation. There is a great group of hosta lovers here who are very knowledgeable and friendly. Do you generally plant all your hosta in pots or are they in a holding pattern until you are able to plant them in the ground?

    DD

  • gardenweed_z6a
    9 years ago

    While mid-September isn't too far off, I'd pot them up so the roots can grab onto something other than air for the time being. Roots are generally happier in soil than in water.

    That being said, I dug & divided a half dozen mature hostas this year and set the divisions in a large, shallow (6" deep) storage bin under my crabapple tree. We had sufficient rain to keep the storage bin filled with water all summer and the hostas did fine. Planted one today and have another waiting for a new home in dirt.

  • mac48025 ( SE michigan)
    9 years ago

    Just throw them on the driveway like I do. A little watering and you're good to go. Maybe a better idea would be to pot them or have your honey plant them : )

  • DelawareDonna
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Mac - If I had a honey, do you think I would be asking for advice! lol

    DD

  • mstrecke
    9 years ago

    I have had great success with keeping hosta in water. That said, when kept in water I have not noticed much if any root growth. Would be interesting to do a bit of testing to see what environment types actually stimulates / deters hosta root growth. At this time of the year I would recommend potting them up as any additional root growth will make the plant stronger and may aid the size of next years emergence.

    Margaret

  • Jon 6a SE MA
    9 years ago

    The only experience I have with keeping hosta in water is soaking bare rooted plants before planting. I would think if you leave any plant in water you have a great chance of turning the crown into mush.

    I would pot them up. Hydroponics is a very costly and sophisticated science.

    Jon

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    9 years ago

    i would not leave them in water for that long.. especially if they were cut by the seller ...

    get a local punk .. or beloved grandson.. fine line there.. lol ... to dig one hole.. and shove them all in.. its called 'healing them in' ...

    or put them all in one pot ...

    or ... put some media in a wheelbarrow and just heal them in that way ...

    they are not aquatics ... no standing in water for more than a few days ...

    substitute DH for punk ... lol ...

    ken

  • DelawareDonna
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I'm short on pots, but I do have a bucket I can use to plant them in for now - so I'll go that route. Thanks for the help.

    DD

  • josephines167 z5 ON Canada
    9 years ago

    Dear Donna,
    I hope you have a speedy recovery from your knee surgery. I don't know first-hand but I've heard good things from people who follow doctor's orders - if you are allowed to get back to gardening around mid September, that's fairly quick, isn't it? Time passes so quickly....

    I think you have to follow your instincts and do what is comfortable for you re your hostas. The least worrysome is to pot them and have them at a height where it is comfortable for you to water them. That is, if you have potting media handy and pots at the ready.

    Sounds like Gardenweed and I treat our hostas similarly - I, too, have had them sit in water for weeks before planting. The only reason for crown rot is if the water is not changed every couple of days and the crown is allowed to be sitting under water. ( just be sure there is no remnants of soil on the roots to funk up the water)

    Hostas are not "delicate" perennials as we hosta lovers have come to know...and water is not their enemy, lol. If you've received yours bare-root they can do with a water bath (soaking their feet only) for a few days. I'll mention it again...in China, in some places, they are sitting in clear vases on display until sold (who knows how long they sit in water?) and the root system is substantial!

    Just recently I received a division of Orange Marmalade from my daughter, a third of which was hacked off without any root. I placed this section in water ... about two weeks ... when the roots were at least or close to an inch, I planted it. It has put out a new flush of leaves and growing nicely. (During water changes I rinsed roots with a 10% bleach OR ammonia solution, which I rinsed off when placing plant back in fresh water.)

    Think of rooting perennials from cuttings - once they have grown roots, they can continue growing that way as well for quite some time till the grower gets around to potting it, or planting it.

    Again, it's a comfort level and an individual choice. My advice is to simply do what you are comfortable with without having to worry while you are convalescing.

    You take care now, Donna! Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

    Sincerely,
    Jo

    P.S. Maybe you'll post some more fab pics??? :-)

    This post was edited by josephines67 on Fri, Aug 22, 14 at 16:09

  • DelawareDonna
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Tearing up here, Jo. What a lovely open letter to post to me on this forum. Great advice, too. I tore my Medial Meniscus which is outpatient surgery - not like a total knee replacement. By mid September, by golly, I figure, if I can get down on the ground, I can dig a hole. lol

    The garden is starting to get carpy. I may have a couple of good photos left to post - we'll see.

    I always love seeing your wonderful hosta collection and gorgeous photos, too.

    I scored a tour de force this year - a wonderful compliment from KEN..... what more can I hope for!

    dd

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    9 years ago

    i hope the bucket has drainage ... if not.. make sure its not subject to rain ...

    moisten your media first ... and try to keep the bucket cool ... and try not to turn it into a bog ...

    ken

  • DelawareDonna
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I'll pound a couple of holes into the bottom. Looks I'm set to go.

    DD

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    9 years ago

    Oh dear! Josephine- Please edit that "10% bleach/ammonia" to read "10% bleach OR ammonia" in water. The two mixed together will made a deadly gas that can kill humans. Some people read this forum and get confused and....
    -Babka

  • josephines167 z5 ON Canada
    9 years ago

    Babka, I edited as you suggested. The slash is meant as an either/or but it is safer to stipulate, I agree. Thank you. :-)

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    9 years ago

    Jo- I would imagine that 99% of people who read that knew exactly what you meant. But about once a year I read about some over zealous person who uses both to clean a toilet and winds up dead on the floor. Probably not going to happen outside, but people do some pretty strange things.

    -Babka

  • josephines167 z5 ON Canada
    9 years ago

    "Safety first" can never be stressed enough! :-)

    Hope things are growing splendidly in CA, our "California Girl"!

    Jo

  • DelawareDonna
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Good News. My DS, the master class runner, has volunteered to plant my new hostas and also to help with relocating some other ones.

    DD

  • josephines167 z5 ON Canada
    9 years ago

    Way to go!!! Real happy for you! A lovely DS too!

  • mac48025 ( SE michigan)
    9 years ago

    I had faith that you'd find a " honey" to get your planting done. Happy days !

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    9 years ago

    DD- (Delaware Donna, not dear daughter...)) Oh, geez, you are going to owe her big time. But then if she will do that for you, I'd be willing to bet that you have done similar favors for her too. You two is good people. ;-)

    -Babka

  • DelawareDonna
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Babka, actually my DS is my darling son who has a lot of stamina and takes direction well. It would have been great to have a darling daughter or two. Thanks for the compliment. We're all good people on this forum.

    DD

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    9 years ago

    Argh. I was thinking "Dear Sister". My sons would never have volunteered to do that supreme act of kindness. Never had any darling daughters...but now I have a couple of darling granddaughters, but alas, being teenagers, they would never volunteer for planting duty.

    -Babka

  • old_dirt 6a
    9 years ago

    Kind of long story but relates.

    Last year I dug up three old and crowded hostas, Hyacinthia, Allan P McConnell and Gold Border. I literally threw them behind my compost pile and forgot about them. This year in mid July they were thriving, I cleaned the soil off the roots, threw them all in a couple buckets of water and never planted them in the ground for three weeks. They are all doing good, save for the hail damage.