Potted Hostas

[ogrefcf]

So I have several potted Hostas I put in my shed. I don't quite know what to do with them. Do I just leave em in there till it's a bit warmer? Do they need any water? Here's some pictures.





Sorry for the dirty shed.

[Chris_W]

I would leave them alone until your hostas have started to come up outside. Fight that urge to water, it can only do damage at this point in time, especially if it freezes again, and they don't really need any until those eyes start to really elongate and then won't need much until the leaves actually form. I've seen way too many survive the winter fine only to be drowned and rotted in early spring....

[ogrefcf]

Thanks Chris, that's what I figured. We have a really nice week of weather in the 60's so going to clean the shed out. I'll just put them back in when I'm done.

[kaylyred]

Here's a question about potted hostas. I have a potted 'Candy Dish' that I turned on its side and left in a sheltered courtyard area over winter. I just noticed that either the soil in the pot has settled (the most likely, since this wasn't planted by me and was an auction plant, so it was likely dug and quickly put up in a pot) or something was digging in it. Either way, it appears that a bunch of the soil has either been removed or displaced and now the roots are close to exposed.

Should I add soil at this time to fill in? Will that cause any issues? Should I consider bringing the hosta indoors, replace the lost soil, and water, then plant out once the hosta (hopefully) comes back and we're past our frost date?

[Chris_W]

Hi Karen,

How does the crown/roots look? I've been poking around in my tipped-over potted hostas and they are looking great this spring. Much better than I normally expect to see

If the roots and crown look like they are drying out then I'd cover them with some potting soil and then put it somewhere sheltered, out of the rain, or cover it with a board or something. You don't want it to dry out to nothing if it is exposed. Personally I have trouble with hostas forced indoors because they are shocked too easily by sun, wind, hot, and cold once they go back out unless you really take the time to harden them off.

It won't be long before we really start to see things coming up - way too early! We have at least a month left before our average last frost and 2 months before our absolute last frost. But like I mentioned, my potted hostas look great this year, so I'm happy with that.

[thy]

Agree with Chris, but have fun with one hosta indoor every year.
You can start to bring it out when the hostas in the garden start to unfurl ( or wait a bit if you want) first in the shade and inside for the nights, for letting it get used to wind, then slowly into a more sunny location.

[nanny_56]

Glad I saw this as I am going to make my first attempt at hostas in pots this spring!

By the way I bookmarked this...(there at the bottom of the page)what does that mean or how does it work??

[Justaysam]

I took mine out of the garage, cleaned out the dead leaves and watered them. The eyes are up and some ready to unfurl. If I get cold temps predicted, I put them back into the garage for the night. Here, you have to do a lot of in and out to be sure they don't get zapped. Can't help it, I love to see them.

[kaylyred]

Forgot to update this thread. I set the 'Candy Dish' upright and filled in with potting soil. I didn't water at first, but then the heat wave came, followed by a lot of rain, which sort of took care of that. Checked the pot this afternoon and I see eyes beginning to emerge. Looks like my little hosta survived having its roots exposed.

[LiquidFeet]

New question: I'm in Zone 6. I have hostas in 9 large pots, which are sitting out in an area of my garden which gets only a bit of dappled light in the summer. I love the way the pots raise the hostas up over the heads of the rest of the plants.

I'm not sure about how to handle winter. This area may get some sun in the winter, but I didn't pay much attention last winter so I'm not sure. There are some cedars and pines around it, but mostly massive oaks. The pots are huge, waaaaaaay too big to dig holes in the ground and sink, waaaaaay too big to move to the garage. Also way too big to shovel snow up around the sides of.

So, the hosta roots are up at the top half of these pots and will get exposed to the cold winter air. What do I do with them?

---I have placed the pots in very shallow holes with gravel under them for drainage help.
---The soil in the pots is a mixture of compost and screened loam. I did not use a Miracle-Gro-type of potting soil; there's no peat or vermiculite in there.

1. May I just leave them out there all winter, with the pots upright? If I turn these things on their sides it may be hard to get them back upright, and I'm not sure the hostas won't fall immediately out.
2. Do I wrap the pots with some type of insulation (I'm seeing pink fiberglass)?
3. Do I remove the plants from the pots and park them in the ground for the winter, then put them back in the pots in spring? That's a lot of trouble, but I'll do it if necessary.
4. If I need to move them out of the pots, at what point in the fall/winter do I do that? Before dormancy, or after? Before frost, or after?

[plantbug]

LiquidFeet, I am in zone 7 and all of my hosta are in pots. They stay where they are all the time as they are too big to be moved. I have lost maybe five hosta in past five+ years but can't say it was the winter weather. I don't get much snow but the hosta seem to like it where it is colder than 7. Good luck. plantbug

[LiquidFeet]

Follow-up:

Two winters ago I left the hostas in pots outside through the winter. They suffered. Some died, others shrank. I think this happened in the spring when the snow cover on the pots melted, then froze, then melted, then froze, then melted, then ... well, you get the idea.

The following winter I took the potted hostas into the garage, except for the two largest ones that I couldn't move. In the spring I turned the ones I left outside onto their sides to make sure the freeze-thaw thing did not do its damage. They survived spring thaw just fine. So I think I've found my solution to over-wintering hostas in big pots here in New England.

In the future I'll follow that plan; put what I can in the garage, and let the rest do its thing outside until the snow begins to melt. Then I'll turn the outside pots on their sides to drain the melting snow. Oh, and I now have a dolly, so maybe I can even move those huge pots this upcoming winter.

[LiquidFeet]

whoops, miss-post.

[LiquidFeet]

Another whoops; another miss-post.

[Hot Cold Warm]

Thanks for your follow-up of what worked and what did not work for you.

I was searching the internet because I have much of the same questions you asked in your 2011 post about the large potted hosta and what exactly should be done to protect them.

Your experience will help me and my hostas survive the freeze thaw cycle and that is much appreciated.

[LiquidFeet]

Good luck with them.