Potting hostas

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Mar 20, 2008 12:01 pm

I'm going to be moving a large number of hostas in the next few weeks and I'd like to put many of them into pots they can stay in permanently. I'm zone 4b. Is there a recommended minimum pot size that will keep the roots from being damaged by frigid temperatures in the winter? I've asked this before on different forums but the responses have been difficult for me to interpret in my environment. We can reach -20F in winter . Snow cover is variable and I do not have a building where it would be safe to store them out of the weather. We have a barn but rodents and other critters would welcome a winter hosta meal if we put the pots in there.

MollyD

thehostagourmet · Post by **thehostagourmet** » Mar 20, 2008 2:19 pm

Molly, a large percentage of my Hostas is in pots. I hybridize, and it's easier for me to be able to move them around. I have, however, lost a good number of potted plants over the winters.

Trade gallon (3/4) and real gallon pots fare better, but are no guaranty. Closer to the house, a few feet, is also better. The cold frame has helped too for quarts. Best is to bury the pots in the ground. This is what I did for the first time in the fall of 2006 with my expensive streaked breeders. Didn't lose any. Did it again last fall, and added a couple of my own irreplaceable seedlings. Hopefully, it worked again. I'll let you know.

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Mar 20, 2008 2:26 pm

Thanks George I appreciate the information.

Will start giving that a try this year.

MollyD

Ginger · Post by **Ginger** » Mar 20, 2008 2:56 pm

Molly,
I too keep mine in pots, however I have a much warmer climate

. If you cannot bury them as suggested, group them all together in a circle with the biggest pots on the outside and the smallest inside, then use hay or leaves or whatever you can find to pile up all around the outside of the outside pots, then around the inside pots. You can then lay it over the top of all of it, or lay plastic etc over it to hold the heat in and remove when it is not as cold.
Good luck
Ginger

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Mar 20, 2008 3:09 pm

Thanks Ginger and George. Are rodents ever a problem with this method?

MollyD

thehostagourmet · Post by **thehostagourmet** » Mar 20, 2008 3:56 pm

In short, yes. Rodent bait in 2 PVC pipe sections with an elbow between is said to work. Our cat has kept the population down to this point, but she is getting older.

The other problem is freeze-thaw. The layer of ice or snow melts on top of the pot, but underneath it's still frozen solid. If the water can't drain, the crown can rot. If you see this happening, you should tip the pots on their sides. Obviously, you need to turn them upright again before they sprout, unless you like right angles in your Hosta shoots.

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Mar 20, 2008 4:04 pm

Note to self- tip those pots back up before they start growing !

No I'm not fond of right angle hostas!

Okay I'll have to remember the pipe with poison since rodents are a way of life in the country. Freeze thaw cycles have been a BIG problem this winter.

MollyD

Post by **Chris_W** » Mar 20, 2008 4:55 pm

Hi Molly,

I used to have cold frames and stored a lot of potted hostas in them. If the pots were really wet going into the winter the freeze/thaw cycle damaged a lot of them. I learned that using a very coarse, well-draining mix made of about 50% bark, 50% peat and no soil grew better roots and drained fast. You have to water more, but the hostas love that extra oxygen at the root zone. Then there was the rodent problem, but the bait blocks solved that problem.

In general I found that the hostas always did a little better being under-potted slightly rather than over potted. Basically if it just fits into a 3 or 4 quart then that's what I would use, then slowly go up in pot size. When I put a small hosta in a large pot then the moisture issues surfaced again.

After I quit using cold frames and started field growing everything I rarely would overwinter in pots. But in the fall of 2005 I had way too many plants and no room in the ground so I tipped hundreds of hostas on their sides, covered with a microfiber frost blanket held down by rocks, threw some rodent bait underneath and had better overwintering success than I ever did in the cold frames. A small amount of moisture gets through but doesn't collect. At the same time I had some very small plants in quart pots which I turned completely upside down and covered those with the frost blanket. I didn't lose a single one of those either, but I did forget to turn them right side up and they grew pretty funny that year

Hope our experiences help you.

Good luck!

Chris

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Mar 20, 2008 5:55 pm

Hi Chris!

You mentioned a "well-draining mix made of about 50% bark, 50% peat and no soil grew better roots and drained fast". Did you use this mix only in winter or year round for your potted plants?

Learning from other people's experiences is what makes this site so great! That and saving me money by not having to re-invent the wheel

btw where do you buy those blankets? Figure I better buy mine early in the summer!

Thanks!
MollyD

thy · Post by **thy** » Mar 20, 2008 7:15 pm

Every hosta with planaginea heritage can be a problem ... think it is better to keep them in the soil in Zoine 4 B

Pia

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Mar 20, 2008 7:47 pm

Pia,

George lives less than 2 hrs from me and manages so I think I can do this. There are reasons they have to be moved soon (getting a new roof and house getting painted). Once they're in pots I really don't want to disturb them again for a while. I figure this is already going to set them back some.

MollyD

Ginger · Post by **Ginger** » Mar 21, 2008 3:18 pm

You might be surprised Molly. I know we have hugely different growing conditions, but the first year I potted mine up, they all doubled in size

I think they had such great new soil and no competition from any other roots or critters they just could not help themselves

Ginger

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Mar 21, 2008 4:52 pm

It would be awesome if they did that Ginger! These plants were all put in last year so I'm very sorry to have to disturb them so early

MollyD

thehostagourmet · Post by **thehostagourmet** » Mar 22, 2008 10:17 am

Molly, I use Fafard 52 mix. It has a high bark content.

George

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Mar 22, 2008 3:14 pm

George where do you find that? I've never seen it out this way. Pro Mix is hard enough to find.

MollyD

thehostagourmet · Post by **thehostagourmet** » Mar 22, 2008 6:33 pm

Molly, Fafard.com has a retailer locator. It gave me
Lowe's Farm Market
Honeoye , NY 14471-9768
Phone: (585) 229-5952
as within 10 miles of Canandaigua, NY.

Try them.

George

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Mar 22, 2008 6:40 pm

Thanks George! I will do that!

MollyD

Hallson Gardens

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Bark mix

Fafard 52