Get a plastic pot that has large drainage holes on the bottom. Moccacinlanding uses the black plastic nursery pots and inserts them into prettier pots for esthetic purposes. The size will be determined by your hosta. You could start with a 1-2 gallon (or approx. 12-18" diameter) pot. You can always up pot it as it grows.

About the potting medium, do NOT use Miracle Grow with moisture retention. You want a "soil" that drains freely so the hosta doesn't sit in soggy medium. If you want to mix your own, blend bark nuggets (as small in size as possible), Perlite and compost.

Don't set the pot in a saucer, that will sour the potting mix and probably rot the roots.

I can't speak to your concern about when to pot, as I am in zone 6. As a suggestion, I'd do it in the cooler part of the evening or early morning. Keep it in a bright shady area, acclimating the hosta to more sun over time. Water daily and keep an eye on it.

Best of luck on your hosta adventure. Many here will be interested to hear how you and your Florida Tropical Sun Hosta get along.

I know I'll be wishing that I was in Florida about January-February when the cold North wind is blowing snow down my collar. :-) There are advantages and disadvantages to each home site.

Deb

Missy, I found the best pots for me are the ones I found at Lowes, they are various sizes, various depths, and they are black plastic with holes on the sides of the pot. So no matter if you set them on the ground, they still drain out the sides.

Earlier in the other thread I did not finish with what I use to pot my hosta. The MiracleGro (no moisture control please), some perlite, some bark small pieces as small as you can find, and then I mix in some crushed crab shell. I suppose you could use shrimp shells too, but oh mercy enduring the odor would be awful! The chitin in the crab shells feeds the good bacteria that eat the bad nematodes which will mar the beauty of your hosta, or other plants for that matter.

If you discover really long roots on your hosta, then tease them out a bit to fit around the potting mix coned up high in the pot.....I make sure the crown of the plant stays up higher than the mix surrounding it, but cover the roots. You don't want mix covering the stems/petioles of the plant. Water it in, top it off with a bit more mix, and set it in the shade. Potting it up will be a shock to it at first, but with shade it should recover nicely within a day or two.

If it is a big hosta, with lots of long stems and heavy leaves, it is recommended that you gather the stems together and put some blue masking tape (3M is blue, it is not too sticky) around the bouquet BEFORE you dig it out of the soil. Then, leave the tape on the plant until after the leaves have recovered from being moved and potted up. This keeps them from drooping.

Size your pot according to the root system. If it is a black or dark colored pot especially keep the pot from the sun. I deal with this problem by surrounding large pots with smaller ones or else with plants that have large tops to make shade and protect the black pot from overheating. The sun can really COOK the roots!

see link.. sure looks like undulata albomarginata to me .... seems like a bit of marketing hocus pocus to me .... chris????

wonder what the mark up is.. on a 3 dollar hosta??

lol ...

i did NOT read what is above... i am sure it is sublime ....but will simply add some thoughts

first... the link says to grow them in sun.. it does NOT say.. in a pot in sun ...

i dont care what you try ... the biggest issue is going to be.. HOW HOT THE MEDIA IN THE POT GETS ...

hosta like cool roots... i do not think of FL sun .. especially in a pot.. as keeping anything cool ...

so no matter what you do.. insure. that the pot itself.. is never in the sun ....

and that is not an issue of the pot itself.. nor the media ... which matter.. but dont define the potential heat...

so the protect the pot itself...

and dont put it on the sidewalk.. the driveway.. etc.. that type of stuff.. holds the heat.. long into the night.. and in ?FL.. most of the next day .. lol ... and night is when many plants.. especially hosta.. get time to recover.. no recovery time.. equals fried hosta ...

if i had a second thought .. my headache obliterated it...

good luck

ken

ps: who in the world.. and why in the world.. did someone suggest it needs more sun ....exactly.... what is the issue ... i am a bit skeptical that you run into many local hosta experts .... there are a myriad of hosta issue this late in the season.. all over the country .... but surely.. nothing.. right now.. is sun related ... any chance you want to find out if your expert has any real HOSTA knowledge?? ... if so.. post some pix.. and let us define your issue ... most problems right now.. are lack of SUFFICIENT WATER, ALL SUMMER LONG .... of which.. if that happens to be your problem.. tossing it out in sun.. isnt really going to help ...

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Ken, I did not post a photo yet, so not sure what you are talking about, regarding what it looks like. I am trying to figure out how to post photos. and will do so this evening.My hosta that is doing well is in a pot (actually it's a dish garden, but deep pot rather than typical dish garden shape) with rocks and big holes. My one that is not doing well is in a shady spot in the ground. In Florida summer is our r rainy season so it is not lack of water. I have also kept it watered when it looked dry. When I figure out how to post a photo I will do. Thanks so much for your advice.

missylin,
I believe Ken was referring to the hosta pic in the article...

The problem, as of right now, is that your FL soil is sandy and the sand wicks away (draws away) the rain water faster than the hosta can absorb it. Yes Hosta need good drainage, but your soil situation is unique. Also, (and I'm guessing here) there may not be enough of the right kind of nutrients in FL native soil. That is why the hosta in the "dish" is doing well and the one in the ground... not so much.

We have a member in Jacksonville and she primarily grows her hosta in pots for good reason. Among them is that she can move them around as the sun changes position over the seasons.

hth,
Deb

Hi Deb,
No semi serious gardener in Florida uses our native soil. ( Except for true native plants.) We mix it with at least 50% amended soils that we buy. Depending on what we're planting we use more or less amendments. Our Florida soil has no nutrients. We have to add them. On the plus side I can grow some veggies and flowers in the winter. And other places' summer plants we can have earlier in the the year. ( summer is our hardest season) .

The hosta in the ground is in a very good soil, and being fertilized. .? I was looking at pots today, but didn't find what I wanted.

Another thing to consider, the hosta that is not doing well may simply be a dud. With the hybridizing for FL conditions, it may have gotten it's genes messed up. A hosta's failure to thrive, after taking soil and site into account, may just be that particular plant has a problem.

Also, it could be that it is going dormant because of heat or it is just that time of year for a nap. If you could try and post a pic we could see what you are seeing. It would be an interesting comparison of the two, bowl opposed to earth sited.

Pots or raised beds (I read a member from TX in your same zone mentioned in another string somewhere) might be your best bet for success with hosta the "water hog" :-)

hth,
Deb

Do they look like this?

Beautiful hosta, Paula!