What'll I do with me hostas
plant pauper
Posts: 6,904
in Plants
Hi all, (but mostly Hostafan). I have 2 hostas which I would like to remove from a huge tub/pot. They're all in amongst each other and the leaves are just starting to yellow. Should I go at them now whilst I can still see which is which or will this harm them? I want to put some Winter displays in the pot so they're a bit in the way. When I'm replanting (in the ground) is there an optimum depth?
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The recommended time is in Spring when you can see the "bullets" or the new shoots starting to push up from the clump.
At this stage you'll be able to see the best place to make your cuts. I use an old bread knife, unless the clump is massive then use a small border spade , if you have one.
Replant with the bullets just at , or slightly below soil level.
Thank you. I like the way you say "recommended". Is that the same as on your own head be it if you move them now?
You must have terribly well behaved plants. Many years ago I seem to remember my dad finally resorting to a saw and rude language to divide a Hosta! Hopefully mine will a bit easier than that. I'll just plant around them for now. No point in asking someone who knows and then totally disregarding their advice. Thanks again.
I have found that hostas divided in autumn sulk and sometimes die so best to wait till spring. However, if you need the pot for something else, there's nothing to stop you simply separating the two hostas and planting them while the ground is still warm enough for them to recover and re-root.
You can then divide them in spring assuming they're big enough and that that's what you need to do. You'll need to be vigilant with the wildlife friendly slug pellets once they're in the ground though. Start sprinkling lightly on Valentine's Day cos it's easy to remember and then weekly, still thinly, through the season. This gets the perishers as they emerge form hibernation or hatch from eggs and stops them feasting on your treasures and breeding.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
I lifted some clumps of smaller varieties, golden tiara and chinese sunrise a couple of weeks back as they were being crowded out by vigorous neighbours. They actually fell apart into tiny plants, so didn't even have to cut them. 5 clumps gave almost 40 plants.
Sometimes rules are there to be broken.
spare a thought for me pp, I've got around 200 , yes, two hundred, to dig up and split over the winter.
Absolutely no idea what I'll do with them all. A bridge to cross at a later date methinks.
I've already got around 300 in the polytunnel from splittings this Spring.
" Hi , I'm Hostafan1 , and I'm an addict"
Brilliant! I've just cut the wee grass so that gives me a different thing to do before I cut the big grass! (attention span of a gnat)
Here's a thing and I know it's weird....I'm nearly afraid to say it in case I jinx myself but I have no problems with snails! None! Not any! What's that about? My pond is like snail soup but they're funny looking pointy things and don't come out. My last garden was a shocker for them;I assumed that hostas were made of lace for a while
but here.....nothing!
Good grief! Fan for fanatic alright! That's amazing! I have 6! Not quite in the same league.
lucky old you. Sorry about " old" just a figure of speech, honest.
I do have some slug / snail damage by now, but nothing I can't live with to give the thrushes and hedgehogs din dins.
If a clump is being attacked I will give a bit of a sprinkling of pellets. I don't thing I've even used 1/4 of a " bottle" of pellets all year.
I've had to use some in the tunnels are they're contained and birds don't go in there very often.
I'll put it down to wildlife. Many many birds, don't know about hedgehogs but if not then they're missing out. A bull wandered down the road the other week. Does he count as wildlife?