how deep in width ...

or depth of soil...

i dont understand ...

ken.

Hi Kathy....i have a mature Sagae and moved it this last spring - boy, was it a heavy clump and yes, I had to dig and dig as the roots were deeper than most of my other mature hosta but I would not call that very deep..at least not here. It never missed a beat and was gorgeous this year. Your Sagae will become quite a specimen ... you might like it to dominate that particular bed ... no doubt you will adore it as most of us who own it do.

My Liberty is a new babe only so I can't comment further on that.

As to your first question, it is your personal preference that matters as to how deep your bed should be. I have read that the longer a bed is, the width should be greater as well. It is all about esthetics (to the garden gurus) but ultimately your preference and what pleases you. I like to keep trimming my free-form beds so they gradually get deeper with time. Lol

I envy you your zone...we have -17 Celsius today with snow for next few days. Brrrr.

Ken, how deep in depth do the roots go? The bed is about 5' in diameter, but I'm wondering if I should dig it deeper. It's about 18" deep with the bottom 8" very sandy, for drainage and the top 10" well-amended planting soil. I could dig the hole deeper and make the amended layer deeper if needed.
Kathy

This post was edited by zkathy on Sat, Dec 14, 13 at 14:19

Look at that! We posted exactly at the same time, lol. Your bed is better prepared than mine ever was....you know what you are doing Kathy - bet you can't wait to plant them when they arrive!

Jo

Hi Jo,
What a beautiful Sagae! It's pictures like that that have me sure Sagae deserves a very prominent spot!
We've got a cold rain here today, but that beats frozen precipitation with a stick in my book.
Kathy

12" is usually enough. Unless you are on top of hard pan clay you should be fine. If you are planting along side of Empress Wu, I'd plant Sagae, but give them plenty of space. EW is faster growing than Sagae, but they will both be giant plants. If you are planting in front of EW then choose Liberty, it's a medium sized plant.

How can you choose between those two plants? Both are at the top of the popularity list and both should be in any serious Hosta garden.

Steve

Sagae

My Sagae last spring (2013) following a fall (2012) transplant. It's in the front bed with the big boys. The move slowed it down but In a couple of years it will likely overwhelm its neighbors.

Sagae two years ago before transplant:

I have a 'Liberty', and wasn't planning on getting a 'Sagae'.......Until I saw my neighbor's 5-6 year-old plant. Big and beautiful, and it sold me the minute I walked over to it. 'Liberty' is generally slow-growing, but worth the wait, in my opinion. It's those AMAZING super wide, yellow margins. A very dramatic plant.

Really, you can't lose with either one. Of course, both is always better. I see since you've ordered both, you understand this.... Heh heh heh.

Happy Hostaing!
Don B.

This post was edited by Don_in_Colorado on Sat, Dec 14, 13 at 18:56

i understood the question until i read ken's response. Then I was confused.

crikey, ken, why do you do that to us?

LOL

dave

That deep sand will be great for them. You won't need to dig any deeper than you need to fit the roots and they will work their way down or out to wherever they want their roots to go.