How much space ... should a hosta have?

[wildflax]

Okay, so my back shade garden is doing its own thing. Last year my step-daughter brought me a bunch of mystery plants and this year much to my surprise they all look like monsters! Should I be spacing things out sometime? Do you divide hostas? So little time, so much I should learn! Please let me know what you think folks!

[Noreaster]

I was actually pondering this very idea today...I have extremely limited space, and I know I don't have the room for all of mine to grow to maturity at their full potential. So I don't know what I'm going to do in a year or two. I'm getting nervous because many of mine seem to have had leap years out there. I don't think I like the super dense look, mainly because I like to move my plants around a lot until I'm satisfied with the arrangement. I think that would be hard to do, once things get crowded. Also with the whole HVX thing, I'm leery of the roots touching neighboring plants in the the event one shows signs of the virus and has to be dug up. So far I've only divided a few hosta that I was getting rid of, to make it easier...not sure if I will try dividing to maintain a small size. Probably not-that seems like too much extra work. I don't think hosta have to be divided to maintain vigor, like some other perennials.

[Chris_W]

Hi wildflax,

From the looks of things your hostas are very happy

If it was me, and had limited space, I would just start removing the ones I don't like, aren't growing well, or don't hold their own through the season. By getting rid of the ones that aren't performing well, or you just don't like, would give more space to the ones that are growing and looking great.

Hostas really don't need to be divided, though I hear that an awful lot. How much space they will take up all depends on the variety. Some get huge - others stay fairly small. In my experience, though, I think most tend to always get larger than we first think they will

[Noreaster]

I also find it frustrating that you'll often find a lot of conflicting info from site to site on just how big a hosta will get at maturity, or what constitutes small, medium, large, etc...makes it hard to plan if you're new to gardening, like me. But I imagine that does vary greatly by region, soil, and various conditions.

[Chris_W]

Yes, overall sizes do vary quite a bit depending on the garden. When I organize my hosta catalog the sizes are fairly judgmental - I don't really go by the exact conventions for sizes. Also, the "official" sizes (dwarf/mini/small/med/large/giant) are based on the plant height and/or the leaf dimensions. That doesn't really help when trying to decide how far to space them apart... The final thing that makes it tough is that a lot of the size information is the size at the time of registration. If it is a 5 year old seedling at registration it might end up a lot bigger when it is finally 10 years old.

Of course, if you don't mind a bit of the crowded look it sure does help to cut down on the weeding and mulching

[sugar]

You can put lots of hosta on a small surface and still have a very nice garden...

[wildflax]

wow! That's a beautiful looking hosta sanctuary!

[jgh]

You probably don't realize you've enterred a zone of tremendous controversy. It can be simplified to the question "Should hostas touch each other?"

Some folks really like the picture of perfect mounds of individual hostas, with space around them and maybe an attractive mulch. If they love a hosta and don't want to move it when it is becoming too large for its location, they will divide it to keep it in its space.

Other folks like the overlapping look, with the mounds growing into each other creating a low-maintenance ground cover garden. They might divide the plants sometimes, but basically they keep the "canopy" pretty full.

There isn't a correct answer. It's a matter of taste. As long as you keep them fed and watered properly, either approach is just fine. I actually do both, depending on the bed...

[Linda P]

My hostas are mostly just jammed in. ALL of them got much bigger than I thought they would. I have great soil to begin with, and live on a dairy farm, hence I have lots of soil-enriching stuff at my fingertips (or my nosetip....)
Anyway...the question of size is always difficult. I have an Allegan Fog that comes close to being a large hosta. When I got it, I do believe it was listed as a small, and some people told me it was a mini. Chris lists is at a reasonable 30" wide by 13" tall. The Hostapedia lists it at 40" wide by 18" tall. My 5 yr old clump is 25" tall by 57" wide, and I took a big chunk off it last year. It has no root competition to speak of, gets several hours of sun a day, and is generally just really happy. I've had to move about 5 or 6 other hostas out of the way (ones that really were small ones!) to give it room to spread out.
Then there are the other ones....
Eskimo Pie is registered, I believe, at 26" wide by 22" tall. Mine, after 5 years, is probably about 6" wide by 2" tall. It kept getting smaller and smaller. I moved it this year, to either get it growing or kill it off altogether. This is another one that grows fairly well in pots, but once it gets in the ground it seems to get smaller.
I think it's always just a best guess with size. There's no exact science about it. If we were planting fence posts, which generally tend to stay the same size, we could lay them out being fairly sure that they would stay where we put them, in the same order. Since these things grow (or not) it's a trick to try to space them.
Had I left 26" spacing for Eskimo Pie, I'd have had a lot of weeding to do over the years. As it is, I just filled in around it, and finally moved it out. I did leave what I thought was the proper amount of space with the information I had at hand when I planted Allegan Fog, but boy...was I off! So...just make your best guess, be prepared to move them if they feel too crowded, and stand back and let them do their thing....


Linda P

[Noreaster]

This is probably a stupid question, but if they are jammed in together and grow, and the roots I assume spread out as much as they can...it must be pretty tight down there in the soil, too. Does crowding them together cause them to eventually decline or die?

My oldest hosta and first plant I ever bought is Regal Splendor, and I didn't know how big that was supposed to get so I planted it in a tiny strip next to the house. Well, I moved those years ago and they just seem to keep on growing after I thought that they were done. Do you think yours are ever done growing, Linda? Do you ever divide or take chunks off purely for the reason of keeping the hosta smaller?

[ViolaAnn]

Chris said:

The final thing that makes it tough is that a lot of the size information is the size at the time of registration. If it is a 5 year old seedling at registration it might end up a lot bigger when it is finally 10 years old.

The light has gone on. That's why many of mine are exceeding the size in the AHS Registration pages.

As far as how close to space them, I think a lot depends on which hostas you have close together and how they look together. I move mine around a lot until I like the way they look. And since my space is limited, I've started culling the ones that don't perform.

Ann

[Linda P]

I do move mine around if they are too crowded to suit me, as in the case of the 4 or 5 that had to move to make way for Allegan Fog or just because I don't like the way a couple of hostas look next to each other, and sometimes I'll take off a piece to share, but mostly I just let them go. They do stop increasing in size at some point. The only ones that have gone backwards in size are ones that got cold damage in a particularly cold and open winter (no snow cover to insulate them), or were sujbect to vole attack. I have 20 year old clumps of Royal Standard that have the 'fairy ring' effect, just a vacant spot in the center of the clump..but they are perfectly healthy, and when the leave unfurl you can't see the empty spot. Like Alexa, I am always rearranging various parts of my garden, so I never expect to have a 'once and done' sort of planting, other than the shrubs and trees.
As to the crowding causing them to decline, I have not seen that here. I can't speak for anyone else. I have very deep topsoil here, very well drained for the most part, and I add organic material to it. During drought years, which we get here from time to time, the hostas do go downhill somewhat. I have a well and can water as much as I need to, so it's not a huge problem. This year, we've had rain every few days all spring, so the hostas are as large as they've ever been. There are some that I thought were full sized a few years ago, but they were obviously not. I do think water is a key thing...if you have them crowded together, you have to make sure the water gets to the roots.
Linda P

[wildflax]

Thanks to everyone who posted. I appreciate the pictures and the extra information on nurturing. There really is something calming to hosta shade gardens -- it's a whole different feel than the hot sun garden in the front.

Happy Gardening to all!

[Noreaster]

Yes, it is a very different feel than a sunny garden, isn't it? Even though I sometimes regret not having more sun so that I can have more color, I really do prefer shade/hosta gardens for their "serenity". I don't think I could ever live somewhere that didn't have a lot of shade.

[nanny_56]

I just had to remove Key Lime Pie...I thought it would be more upright than it is. It was just eating up to much space with its wide spread. SO it it off to a neighbors house! I have started a list of who will go in what order if need be to keep the must haves!

[flowerchild59]

I try to space the hostas where I want them to be in 5 or 10 years. I sort of like the look of them not touching if at all possible. (Is it Lucy Goose that can't stand to have them touch....I have her phobia too
I can always add annuals in the mean time for color and the such. I also have added hibiscus or some other flowering bush on "standards" for color too. Nice touch of architecture. Of course, this is usually in the bed where I am waiting for the trees to finally get tall enough to do their thing and the little bit of shade provided by the hibiscus is much appreciated by the hostas.

[thy]

Does crowding them together cause them to eventually decline or die?

Yes it can!
I had mine way to close together and ´the bigger or best growiers did actually kill Revolution, Fire and Ice and even rather big hostas as Christmas Pageant last year looked like a mini due to ivi Full Monthy and Kiwi Hippo.

This said, they were so close, that when they were dug up for my new house, we did not dig holes, we just "broke" the bed in pieces.

This year they are small, way smaller than before dut to the root damage we did. But with space I am sure they wil come back very nice next year.

If you tske out pieces of them, like a piece of a cake, some will keep the size, spme wil get smaller. If you cut them, do not keep the half--- it look ugly for 2 years, keep 1/3 or 1/4 an somewhat rounded shape... or do as other say and I have don..give away the ones you would not miss.
Pia

[LucyGoose]

(Is it Lucy Goose that can't stand to have them touch....I have her phobia too

Honey, I have sooooo changed!! ....all my are crowded, too......I just dug up some for our plants sale that do nothing for me.....Twist of Lime....(sorry Jane.....I kept a piece for sentimental reasons.... )....a Guacamole that I have tow of and for real....it get too much sun anyway.....yep, I am getting real good in my old age of just digging and pitching plants..... not the hostas, just other scraggly plants I do not want to nurse anymore....Plus I got a new one that get big.....I needed that room....

I think I was rattling.....Great pictures, too!!