Mature Hosta?

[dash]

Hi Folks,
I've purchased a lot of hosta over the last three years. Most were single eye in the beginning, some have increase others not. I know a lot of health and growth has to do with placement etc.. but how do you tell when a plant is mature and how long should you wait to divide a mature hosta? - Thanks for any input - Dash

[Chris_W]

I think when a hosta is approaching the sizes (clump and leaf) listed in the registration or the hostapedia or other references it is getting closer to maturity, and when it starts to look like the catalog or hosta library pictures of larger, older plants.

As for dividing, I only divide when I want more of that plant. Is that what you want, just to propagate some of them? So long as there are multiple eyes you could divide just about anything if you want, but that would set them back a little bit.

If you've been collecting for 3 years I'd say not much of them will really be mature. I have some plants that are 10+ years old and consider those the really mature ones.

[Pieter]

When all's said and done, there really are only 2 reasons to divide any Hosta: you want more of them to spread around the yard, or it has gotten so old it's developed 'fairy ring' syndrome -where the center of the crown no longer is productive-. For mini/small/medium Hostas to go from a single shoot to where it gives a fair impression of what it looks like at maturity is easily 4-5 years in your garden, and maturity itself is probably another 3 years away. Large and giant Hostas take longer to reach maturity. And while you may like the look of your Hostas now, they're teenagers and will need I'd say at least another 3-5 years before they approach maturity, you really cannot appreciate them until they are fully mature.

Chris is right about the maturity bit, I dug up a 'Sum and Substance' earlier this spring that had gotten too big for where it was. It had been here since 2002 and has now been potted up to be sold off at one of the local garden club's plant sale tomorrow. In its 10th year in our garden this is one plant I consider to be approaching maturity, with in excess of 40 shoots on it. It'll make an impressive display in someone's yard soon, it'll be easily 7' x 3' this year. I lifted it in its entirety rather than divide it, which I could easily have done, but I already had a number of 5-8 shoot S&S divisions and I figured there'd be someone out there prepared to pay a higher price rather than wait 6-8 years before it got to this one's size. This one HAD to move from where it was, it really was only there to be grown to a certain size to make it more desirable.

[dash]

Thanks Chris & Pieter,
That's very helpful. I do have a Golden Tiara that is showing "fairy ring " this year, I've had it for 6yrs and it's been a real beauty. It has over 80 eyes this yr so I guess it's time to divide. I was curious because my Sum & Substance is 4 yrs old and only has 2 eyes, and all my Patriot are running 6-8 eyes. I'll be post pics some time soon. -Dash

[dash]

Thanks for the help , this is the picture of GT I promised. -Dash

[impatience]

Pieter, How much did that S&S weigh? What did you use to get it out of the ground? Wow!

Dash, I don't divide my hosta as they will then look like juveniles for the next few years. I like those mature clumps.

imp

[Linda P]

I do not divide mine either, unless I need a piece to share with someone, or to donate to my hosta club sales.
I have a Royal Standard that has been in place for 22 years, and the entire center is bare dirt. Once it comes
up and fills out, the leaves cover the bare center and all is well. I also have some 15 yr clumps of Golden Tiara
that are just fine. I've not noticed a real fairy ring appearance with them, though the center is not as full,
as seen in your pic, Dash. The Royal Stardard I mentioned has at least a foot or more of 'dead' space in the
center, with a very pronounced ring of eyes around it. There was an experiment conducted a few years ago
by a forum member who dug out the center, filled it with compost, and reported that the hosta began to
fill in again.
I do have a few hostas well into their second decade that might benefit from a little TLC. Some of them are
a bit smaller this year, no doubt due to root competition, some possible vole snacking. A huge Lime Piecrust
suffered some rot last year and is smaller. All in all, though, I think a good many of them will take somewhere
between 7 to 10 years to get their full size. I'm still waiting for Elatior to stop growing. It was 8 1/2 feet
across last year, and I'm thinking it may hit 9 feet this year, from the way it looks now.

Linda P

[dash]

Imp - Now that you mention it I had a 10 yr old unnamed that I divided because of fairy ring and it really set it back

LP - It does look like it's filling in already. Thanks for the advice