Re: Hosta Growth
Butch Ragland wrote:
> This statement assumes we can make a better soil than nature is currently
> making in the spot you have chosen plant?
I'm sorry, but that's not what I said and I can't see that it means that at all.
Maybe I just can't write clearly, so I'm going to try again. But first, yes, in
many cases I think we can make better soil than nature is currently making for
the purpose of growing hostas. That's why, around here at least, people add
compost to the clay or sand that normally comes as standard issue in most yards.
As much as I respect Mother Nature, I'm not convinced she cares much whether you
can grow a nice hosta.
I use potting mix in in our containers because I think it's the only practical
thing to use in our operation and in twenty years, nobody has ever shown me any
evidence that plants grown in a good quality mix don't do just fine in the
garden. Frankly, since good potting mix costs $2-3.00 a cubic foot, probably
about the volume that would fit inside your monitor, I would gladly use topsoil
if I thought it was better.
I do not recommend using potting mix in the ground, never have. Although since
it contains mostly peat and composted bark it would make a terrific soil
amendment, its just too expensive. When I plant a hosta, whether it was grown in
potting mix or plain ol dirt (gumbo if you grew up in So. Illinois) the soil it
came with falls away when I loosen the root ball and as far as I can tell, no
longer has any consequence in how the plant grows in the garden. You can mix it
with your back fill, since most garden soil can be improved by adding organic
matter, or if you hate potting mixes you can throw it in your neighbors yard, or
whatever. It's job is finished and how your plant grows from that point is,
imho, dependent on the soil it's planted in and how it's cared for, not what I
grew it in.
(Just a clarification, hopefully, of another unbiased opinion from)
>
>
> Chick writes
> >Now, I agree that if you don't dig a decent hole,
> >don't loosen the roots, don't improve the soil, in other words, if you dig
> a hole
> >big enough to stuff the root ball in, then the roots will probably
> continue to
> >spiral within the soil the plant was grown in and will not root out into the
> >surrounding soil.
> Butch Ragland So. Indiana zone 5
>
> "Conflict is as addictive as nicotine, alcohol, drugs, etc.
> I'm sorry to report that cooperation is not."
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