Re: Hosta Growth
Chick wrote:
>
> All right! Finally a subject with a bunch of messages I disagree
> with. Things were getting boring.
>
> I have a hard time accepting that the roots
> on container grown plants "in the main, however, are incapable of
> functioning in most soils." Come on Ran. That's akin to me stating
> flatly that bare root plants arrive all shriveled and dried up and are
> so stressed that it takes them so long to recover that they seldom
> bloom the first year and everybody knows that if a hosta doesn't bloom
> it won't multiply. (Now there's a sentence that my high school English
> teacher would have loved). And you know I'd never say anything to
> disparage bare root plants like that.
************
Chick And all
I was growing Hostas in pots, for planting out, in the late fifties, and
have been doing so ever since. There is a difference , however between
roots that have devloped in "artificial" soil mix, and the root systems
of field grown Hostas. This can be observed by simply taking two plants
that are growing in pots in the same condtions, and planting one out.,
while leaving the other in the pot. Take good care of both, and dig up
the "soil grown" plant four weeks later. I hope some of you will try
this in the spring.. You will see what I mean. No disparagement of
potted hostas was intended. After all I grow thousands in pots myself.
We do , however use a mix that is a humus and soil combination. To
those of you who do not know ,there is a "raging" and ongoing debate
between "field" growers, and "pot" growers, as to which is the better
system and what differences there are in long term results. I don't
think any has really won in this debate---I (as usual) spend a lot of my
time "straddling the fence" (always painfull) and will say that Chick
has some good points
Ran ( smiling)
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