How deep should you plant a hosta?

FreakyCola · Post by **FreakyCola** » Aug 05, 2005 5:24 pm

Thanks for a great lesson on planting Chris. I totally agree you should write a book!

I think the hostas in my "Ivy" & "Blue" beds were planted too shallowy. These are the beds I keep complaining about maybe not having enough light on the west side of the house. The hostas there just don't get big at all & I think this is the 3rd summer for them.

I'd seen a guy on TV (it was one of the hosta legends so I thought he knew what he was doing. He explained how he spread the roots out & it seemed like it was only 1or 2" under the surface.) We discussed the show here so maybe someone will remember who I'm talking about.

So that's how I planted all those hostas. I felt at the time it just wasn't right, so I didn't plant the last ones that shallowy. Of course, I can't remember which ones were the last planted, but all the ones on one end are so much bigger I believe now that those are the ones I planted deeper.

There's one, a Niagara Falls I got from you Chris, that is really struggling. I think I'll dig it up & check. Since it's a big hosta it should be much deeper.

greenguy · Post by **greenguy** » Aug 05, 2005 7:00 pm

As you know I was always on the other side - thinking a little bit shallow was better then any to deep

now with all of your info i'll have to rethink a few things

GrannyNanny · Post by **GrannyNanny** » Aug 05, 2005 10:56 pm

What a treasure trove of good information! I now know what happened to some of my seedlings that didn't thrive -- too near the surface, I'm sure!!!! Thanks, Chris.

Old earth dog · Post by **Old earth dog** » Aug 05, 2005 11:02 pm

To shallow here in the Midwest can be a real bummer with the freeze/thaw cycle we have all winter.

jgh · Post by **jgh** » Aug 06, 2005 12:47 am

nice work!

Thanks for the reassurance. I have been questioning my planting due to forum comments about planting shallower. I've always felt that with our brutally hot summers and brutally cold winters, that planting deep enough that none of the crown is exposed was the right way to go.

My only quibble might be that my experience with too deep has been more and smaller eyes and leaves rather than larger... my thought was that the dirt sort of served like stomping... the eyes that were already activated were retarded/damaged by the deep planting and didn't emerge, but a whole new group of dormant eyes were activated. I guess I observed this particularly on a whole group of big blue sieboldianna types. This is just anecdotal, though... you have been much more scientific in your efforts.

Post by **Chris_W** » Aug 07, 2005 9:29 pm

I've been looking around and talked with PeggyB and I think you are on to something with the large ones Jim. If a large, slow one was planted too deep, especially while it was actively growing, it might be possible to rot the main eyes so that it would need to force the dormant buds to grow. In this case instead of correcting in a season it might take 2 or 3 season's to recover from the loss of the main eyes.

The idea is still to find the "right" depth, but overall I think it would be better to make sure the dormant buds are completely covered and not showing or there can be worse problems.

I'm glad that people found this discussion useful. And I'll keep you posted if I learn more about other plants as we go.

Dee · Post by **Dee** » Aug 07, 2005 9:54 pm

This thread was so helpful to me today. I dug up a Great Expectations that has been oh so less than great to separate a solid eye it sprouted this year. Anyway, when I dug it up, I guess I had planted it too deeply or something because it looked like one of Chris's pictures. It had about 2-3 inches between the original bud/root area and where the dormant buds had sprouted. Please be kind and remember this was one of the very first hostas I ever planted and I sure didn't know what I was doing - heck, still don't most of the time.

Anyway, I ran back in the house to compare my plant to your pics and see what I should do. The original/bottom bud/roots were kinda mushy so I bleached them a bit and replanted in a pot. It will be interesting to watch its progress after replanting. Anyway, after all that babble about nothing...thanks for all of the great information and research Chris. You sure do pay close attention to your plants!

thy · Post by **thy** » Nov 10, 2007 12:29 pm

Searching the forum for info I may have forgotten. So bumping this one up

Wild Dog · Post by **Wild Dog** » Nov 10, 2007 1:53 pm

Great work Chris!

Nothing I'm about to say disagrees with Chris but there is a method to make it easier.

Choose the depth you feel is proper then mulch when you've finished planting, the plant can find its own depth with out much suffering. Mulch will not overcome way to deep but help and mulch will absolutely overcome to shallow. Mulch is creating new soil, building it up slowly and the plant will find its own proper level.

Two things mulch offers is insulation, summer and winter and air. Air is a little discussed subject and just as important as water, sun and food. I’ve found that hosta roots do not need as much air as most believe but the crown area does need sufficient air.

The air around the crown is consistant with hosta growing in the wild in Japan.

John · Post by **John** » Nov 10, 2007 6:36 pm

Except that hostas planted too shallow will only develop extended petioles to reach from the soil into the mulch-- they need soil to establish themselves at the correct depth, not mulch.

Wild Dog · Post by **Wild Dog** » Nov 10, 2007 8:35 pm

they need soil to establish themselves at the correct depth, not mulch.

You miss the point that mulch is making soil if it is organic. Many growers are growing in bark based media in pots for years in fact I know a lady who grows in whiskey barrels with nothing but pine fines.

John · Post by **John** » Nov 10, 2007 8:45 pm

They will grow, but not pull themselves to the correct depth. Once the mulch has actually broken down into soil, that's another matter.

Wild Dog · Post by **Wild Dog** » Nov 10, 2007 9:40 pm

Once the mulch has actually broken down into soil, that's another matter.

That is the whole point, planted fairly shallow then mulched 2-4 inches each year the plants will find their own depth in a minimum of the 2nd year, you'll not be more accurate with any method.

Trully John, I've done this for 20 years with thousands of hosta.

TeresaMy · Post by **TeresaMy** » Nov 10, 2007 10:14 pm

Thank you Chris, for posting this thread. It's very helpful. I can't say any more than what's been said. I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you sharing your expertise.

Roxanne · Post by **Roxanne** » Nov 10, 2007 10:14 pm

I started planting deeper about 4 years ago, but I have put down pick up load after another of mulch over a period of about 11 years. Mulch does not turn to soil in a year or two, it takes longer than that. If the Hosta is planted too shallow, it's gonna suffer for it, mulch or not. Besides, everything I read says to NOT mulch right up to the petioles, rather to pull it back from the crown.
Of course, when winter winds howl here, the mulch goes where it will, anyway.

Wild Dog · Post by **Wild Dog** » Nov 10, 2007 10:40 pm

Mulch does not turn to soil in a year or two, it takes longer than that.

I'm not saying it does, but trust me when I tell you that this is one of those little secrets that you'll only get from someone who has done this for years.

Actually it begins to disappear about as fast as you put it down in about the 3rd year or begins to become part of the soil. It is a bit more complicated than that but, that fact has nothing to do with the plant finding its own level. If you noticed in Chris's photos there are dormant eyes sort of above the lower ones that is the plant seeking a new level.

It is a bit like potting media, planting depth doesn't make as much difference in pots because potting media has plenty of air spaces just like the mulch. If you mulch regularly the plant will settle exactly in the space it wants to be in which, by the way is consistent with the conditions in its natural habitat. If you start to deep the plant will have more of a problem finding the proper level.

baja220 · Post by **baja220** » Nov 10, 2007 11:42 pm

I found this thread a couple months ago and thought it was very enlightning. Almost bumped it up then.

Great info Chris!!

John · Post by **John** » Nov 10, 2007 11:53 pm

Right you are, Roxanne!

Wild Dog · Post by **Wild Dog** » Nov 11, 2007 12:39 am

John, bring the scientific method to inform your beliefs. Do as I say and prove the negative.

John · Post by **John** » Nov 11, 2007 10:35 am

We all bring our personal experiences to the forums-- a discussion is always more interesting and useful to me than a lecture.