Hostas - what now please ?

ERICS MUM

i have 4 in pots, looking good but their flowers are nearly finished. Luckily the leaves are intact so far, I’ve found that my front garden is relatively free of slime critters (touch wood).

i assume I remove the flowering stems at soil level.  Will they flower again ?  Should I feed them and if so, with a general food rather than a flowering plant food (I use tomato food on my bedding plants etc).

thanks

Fairygirl

They won't flower again this year, but no, you don't really need to do anything to them now except make sure they don't get dried out. If you're keeping them in pots long term, make sure they're in a suitable medium - ie not just compost. Something like a liquid seaweed feed is beneficial as it's good for foliage plants. 

You could divide them [if they're getting a bit congested]  but it's usually easier to do that when they just come back into growth in spring. 

ERICS MUM

Thanks Fairygirl, I can manage that ! 

B3

Get the dead flowers off before the petals drop, they're a b####r to get off the leaves.

RaspberryKiller

Mine have been ravaged by snails...

ERICS MUM

RaspberryKiller said:

Mine have been ravaged by snails...

Oh what a shame, it’s a stunning plant otherwise.

as mentioned earlier, I realised last year that we don’t have many slugs and snails in the front garden, so I keep the hostas out there and even grow the odd dahlia.  It’s only a matter of time I suppose before the slimey critters slither their way through from the back.

RaspberryKiller

Once the flowering is done, I'm thinking of dividing them. Getting far too big and taking up a great deal of space (I have x 2 of them).

Dovefromabove

I really wouldn't divide at this time of year. You'll end up with some very lopsided and unbalanced plants. They won't grow much more this year. Divide as they begin to appear in the spring so the plants can grow into an even shape. 

Fairygirl

I've largely given up on them [I can hear Hostafan crying!] because of the damage.
Yours look great Dove. I do find them easier in pots because I can protect them a bit better.
I take the flowers off usually, but the jury's out on whether it makes any difference. 

Hostafan1

Fairygirl said:

I've largely given up on them [I can hear Hostafan crying!] because of the damage.
Yours look great Dove. I do find them easier in pots because I can protect them a bit better.
I take the flowers off usually, but the jury's out on whether it makes any difference. 

I'm undecided if the flowers on many varieties enhance , or detract from the overall beauty, but the bees absolutely love them so I leave them on.

Hostafan1

@Dovefromabove, nice canna. 
I still have " fireworks" envy.