Re: getting ready for winter

"I knew that hosta don't do so well under walnut..."

Why not? I have hundreds of hostas growing under walnuts and I have observed no ill effects.



Sent: Monday, October 24, 2005 3:04 PM
Subject: RE: getting ready for winter


All true but I suggest that one learns what
specifically should be done about the problems that
hosta DO suffer from. Southern Blight is a soil borne
fungus, it must be treated at appropriate times in its
life cycle and fall "cleanup" is not one of those
times.
Our gardens are not "natural habitats" but they do
resemble natural habitats in that more natural rules
do apply than don't.
I offer that this is a place to teach and learn so the
hobby gardener can learn the things that will help and
those that will hurt. Ray for example is a well known
good grower, so if he researches my position and comes
back and teaches me what I don't know and reaffirms
what I do know.
I knew that hosta don't do so well under walnut and
water maples but did not know that they suffer under
magnolia grandiflora. As others add what are good
canopy and bad canopy tress we all move forward.
To not use this type of forum to teach and learn dumbs
down the whole. I know that was not your intention,
I'm asking you to rethink your approach.

--- "W. George Schmid" <hostahill@Bellsouth.net>
wrote:


Gentlepersons,
You are right, yet you may be a bit wrong, too!

Yes, I agree, Mother Nature does it best. I spend
many days in the Blue
Ridge mountains during all seasons and I marvel at
the way everything works.
The woods soil is something to die for and it is the
accumulation of eons of
falling leaves and needles, not to speak of branches
and even trees. To see
rows of native orchids growing on a rotting tree
trunk in Slickrock
Wilderness is a wonder.

In Japan hostas grow the same way. Their native
habitat provides all they
need, just as our native plants feed on nature's own
detritus;

BUT

Hostas are strangers in our world. What I am getting
at is that our native
conditions may present challenges hostas do not face
in their native
habitat. I have never seen heat-dormant hostas in
Japan as one would see
here in the baking, hot South. My point is that
hostas are not endemic to
North America and there is a possibility that here
they may encounter
adverse conditions and/or virulent pests unknown in
Japan. Another point is
that gardens are not a native habitat. There is no
balance of nature in
gardens. Grow hostas under a Magnolia grandiflora
and leave all the leaf
detritus in place during late fall and winter and
you will find out very
quickly that the hostas will quickly disappear.

It may be better for inexperienced gardeners to
clean up before winter. The
old hats at gardening know where to look for warning
signs under all that
trash. A newcomer may not know and find out too late
that Southern blight
has attacked and decimated his precious hostas while
they were covered up.
Let's see now: I have never seen reports of Southern
blight attacking native
hostas in Japan. QED!

My nickel's worth with apologies to those who have
been able to make their
garden a "natural" habitat. George

W. George Schmid

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE HOSTA-OPEN
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index