Hello, again, and help please.

[Justme]

Hello to everyone, I have been a very bad hosta momma. I used to be around here all the time, then life got in the way and it has been a few years since I have hung out here or with my hosta.

I had over 100 different hosta and then - well, a disease, maple roots, lack of water and sun from very dense tree coverage killed off most of them. Then roofers dropped shingles on them and last week most of the remaining 2 dozen or so had large tree limbs dropped on them by the tree trimmers or were wacked down to stumps by the same guys thinking they were weeds.

Oh, and there are no longer any markers, so I can only remember about 1/2 of the 25 or so that are left.

So, now they are weeded and fertilized and watered. If I just keep watering them, now that the trees have no limbs and are letting in some sun and rain, will they come back? Or should I just give up and the ones that are just stumps just write off and start my gardens totally over? Should I dig up the ones I think I can save and re-do the soil? Or leave them alone as they have been stressed enough, top dress them with some new organic matter?

Thanks for any advise.

[Zkathy]

I'd say wait until next year and see what you get.
Kathy

[Linda P]

I think I would just leave them alone, too. If you've weeded, fertilized and watered, I'd stand back and see what happens.

[ViolaAnn]

Sounds like good advice above. Do you have a list anywhere of the hostas you had? Or labelled pictures? They might be very helpful in IDing the ones you don't know.

[Tigger]

If there are maple roots, you could go ahead and use a long, sharp shovel to cut roots that are close to the hostas. Then next year you could dig the hostas, clear out the roots, and replant.

Good luck. Don't forget your babies again.

[thy]

I was thinking the same thing as Tigger... if it is maple roots you have to dig them up and re do the bed ... maybe using some fabric and those metal wire paper baskets.

Just now you have to give them a lot of water... they will come back then, but at the same time you give water to the roots

the hosta list Bert started is still here... somewhere

Good luck

[Justme]

Only Fried Green Tomatoes survived at the edge of the bed under the maple tree. It is still fine and huge. Not liking that the limbs are removed from the tree and it is now in full sun all day. But it got full sun all afternoon before, it will be fine. I do have a lists, but for some reason not for the bed along the back of the house where most of the Hostas that survive live. I know the obvious ones like my June or the Blue Angel. But I have 3 medium to large ones that I must have planted the last year I added to the garden and didn't write down. I have no idea what they are And they look too much alike to even tell them apart now.

Thanks for reaffirming my thought that I should not stress them further by moving them. I was just wondering if they would benefit from new less compact soil. Maybe in a year or two if needed then.

I think the ones not under the maple would have been fine if they had gotten more water. And hadn't had roofing shingles dropped on them. Or heavy tree limbs dropped on them. Or if the carpenter bees hadn't keep us out of the back yard.

I will try to not get so many in the future and stick to a smaller, more manageable garden. I said try. I swore I was downsizing to one bed. But I am already eyeing the large space under the spruce tree that was left after we raised the bottom 8 ft.

[Carol O]

I thought of this post/thread when I went out after the bobcat/kubota (tractors) left after replacing the septic tank and hauling off the extra dirt. My poor H. 'Wide Brim' almost got crushed to death. The first day it was unscathed but the second day, most of its leaves had been crushed. I decided to move it into a pot for some TLC. One section broke off, so I put it in 2 pots and cleaned it up, best I could.

[thy]

Large wide spreading hostas can be a keyword for an easy but beautiful garden

Weird... we talk so much about named hostas... but the important thing is our pleasure when we look at it... named or not

www.hostaparadise.com have an excellent search machine... go to advanced and play around

[ViolaAnn]

[Justme]

I had to dig up 3 yesterday from the front maple bed. There were all one stem with one leaf the sized of a quarter. They might even be all from the same host just from different eyes that survived as there were only about a foot apart. I am sure my husband thinks I am nuts and should have let them die. We are going to just add top soil and plant grass in this area this summer. But I figure if there were roots, yes there were, then I could at least try to see if they would grow. I am not out anything to move to a better spot and let time and water work their magic. Candidates for what this/these Hostas could be include Elvis Lives. Love that Hosta.

And, yes, the most important thing is how much enjoyment we receive from our babies, not their names.

[Ginger]

Hosta are slightly sadistic, they like to be treated badly occassionaly I bet they will come back just fine!

[Justme]

I have seen a few new eyes on some. Flowers starting on the bigger ones. But some (4 or 5) are only one small stem with one nickel sized leaf, there are roots still. As long as there are roots there is hope, right? But new soil and compost dressed on top. Some fertilizer. Lots of water. Sunshine! finally. Hope they will come back. Although the Royal Standard is NOT liking the sun at all. It needs to buck up and get used to it.