Coincidentally, I wanted to pick up CW but it was sold out.

I just checked online...it IS supposed to be quick to grow, is classified as a premier plant ("must perform superbly in all four zones zones 4-7")...

BK, at first I thought it was your Zone 8 that might check its growth, but after thinking it through I dismissed it. I see your plant exhibiting more mature characteristics from previous year so i would interpret that as progress, wouldn't you? It's not growing in leaps and bounds, but give it a chance...next year may be the one!!! :-) since you repotted it once already, you would have noticed if the roots were in question..did I notice correctly that you went from a clay pot to plastic? Or the other way around? The only other thing I would advise is this...it it's in a plastic pot try doubling up...it will lessen the stress of heat on the root mass.

This is just an interesting FYI that I wanted to share....I got a tip from a grower once that I found useful....we were discussing sluggish growth in hosta and the variances at play that contribute to slow growth......he recommended removing just a wee bit of soil around the crown of a plant until you just see the beginning of the roots attached to the crown and let it grow like that for awhile, watering diligently. This process is meant to stimulate vigour. My local grower says she does it too.

I think you may have possibly answered your own question as well...strange spring brings strange results....some hosta take exception, some don't. I'm with you in regards to patience....I'm always looking for more. Lol

Just checked...you used same type of pot...and here's a short version of my comments.

1. Be patient :-) lol
Or
2. Double up on plastic pot, water diligently
Or
3. Plant in ground
Or
4. Just continue what you've been doing which is same as #1 LOL

It looks like it will be a beauty!
Jo

Mine isn't growing very fast, either, but it's healthy-looking, and sent up a scape. I must be patient as well.

Don B.

Mine seems to be growing like gangbusters. I bought it as a 3" pot at the end of May this year and it has probably tripled in size. I have it in all day light with 3-4 hours of direct afternoon sun. (Well watered, of course!) You can see from the picture that it doesn't burn or fade.

The only thing I can think of is maybe it's one of those rare hostas that actually prefers some hot sun? Just a thought.

This post was edited by flower-frenzy on Thu, Aug 15, 13 at 14:40

I decided last night to go through all the photos I've taken this year and see what the problem might be. I'm sure I photographed it in the early spring. I just have to be able to ID it when I see it.

It looks like I also downpotted it. I don't remember why or when. I guess it was another senior moment.

bk

Here is a picture of my second year Cathedral Window. Yes, it likes or maybe tolerates considerable sun in my garden, although it gets some passing shade a couple times during the day.

I love its big wide leaves. Good grower. Showy appearance. It's probably my favorite at the moment.

Cathedral Windows

Kate

An easy plant to grow. Mine even grows on the driveway,or at least by the driveway! Phil

Bkay, my Cathedral Windows has been a pokey grower but it gets very little sunlight.

It looks like your plant went from two eyes last year to just one this year?? I'm going to guess, looking at the pix, that it got too wet. Also, it looks like it might be planted a smidge too deep.

Another thought...given that you're in zone 8, did the plant have a long enough dormant period last winter?

BK, what I notice is, you changed its pot.

I was using some like the recent pot. It has a saucer built onto the bottom, and it was not draining my hosta. So I've gradually been changing to the black nursery style pots that are now sold by Lowes. I asked last week, they intend to continue carrying them. Those black pots have holes on the SIDES, so they will not be blocked from bottom draining.

I went out in the rain with an umbrella today checking for pots not draining.....we had a real frog strangler, and I found two that were not draining right, so they are on the potting table to be fixed tomorrow. Tonight I went out again, at least just before dark, with my umbrella again, to see how they were all doing with the downpour....yeah, they are all good troops.....standing up to the cooling rain, at attention after a long day in the heat and near 100% humidity.....gotta love those hosta. I think they can adapt to anything for the sake of not just surviving, but looking pretty dang good doing it too.

Here is Cathedral Windows, her second year here, July2013.

and this one a few days ago, with some seedpods

Mocc, I wish I could remember why I changed the pot. We've been really busy at work, so I haven't had time/energy to go through the photos. I noticed when I watered yesterday that it may have an ant bed in it.

All my fragrants suffered with the spring we had. The older ones just had leaf damage.They come up so early, then the cold seems to damage them more than the non-fragrants. Next spring, I'm going to be prepared to protect the fragrants better. Of course, I have more fragrants than I used to have, too.

Thanks, everyone for the help. I'm going to raise it in the pot and wash out all the ants, so it should be fine. It has to be cold damage.

It's had a lot of light this season. It didn't melt, though.

Cilantro, we get 650 to 850 chilling hours per season, so we get enough chill. Plus, mine are in pots, so they get more chill at higher temps than those in the ground.

bk

BK, I had the potting mix in my LS Full Tide almost making a mound up as high as the leaves, when I noticed it.

Fire ants. Yep. And all I could do was take the pot to the street and hose it to bare root. It did not harm the hosta for doing it that way, whereas the ants would have dried the roots out.

Is yours a case of fireants? If so, the bare rooting is totally effective. We're having a lot of rain, and I'm checking pots a lot to look for ants. It doesn't take them long to develop a colony in a pot. One that has quick draining mix in it, that is right up their alley.

Have fun. Quite possibly, the 10% ammonia mix poured into the pots could get rid of ants too. But don't wait for them to take over the pot, they sure do hurt.

I think it's kind of odd. None of my pots are on the ground. I've had them get into a pot that sits on the ground before, though. I didn't notice anything that looked suspicious yesterday when I watered, so I'm going to take it to the street this afternoon and check it out. It probably needs raising anyway.

Thanks,

bk

here' it' been as slow as it's parent, but it's beautiful, so keeping it.

I finally got to it this afternoon. No ants. It wasn't draining and has very few roots. I put it in new soil and will start the root stimulator on it. This spring was really rough on my hosta. Add a bad choice to make my own potting soil and it's a wonder I didn't lose more than Pizzazz (we're not counting the losses from Cleo, the darling demon doglet).

bk