Re: reflection on Hostas

  OK.!   Hostas take up too much space and need dividing.  What You are all
saying is all the other shade plants stay where you want them and never
grow??  I have too many shade plants to believe that for a moment.  What do
you do then?  You dig and divide,  move or give away the excess or the plant
that doesn't suit the location or expectations.  No different from hosta.
You have to pick and choose the plants you plant.

  Virginia NW Indiana z5



  ---- Original Message -----
  From: <ECPep@AOL.COM>
  To: <shadegardens@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
  Sent: Friday, July 23, 2004 7:15 PM
  Subject: Re: [SG] reflection on Hostas


  > In a message dated 7/23/04 4:49:14 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
  > remmulp@STNY.RR.COM writes:
  >
  >
  > > and dwarf varieties. Most of the "small" ones are too large for me and
  > > started to overwhelm (and overstay) their welcome.
  >
  > I 'll agree here also.  I have a lot of hostas and I have forgotten most
of
  > the names over the years though they do well when there is a lot of land
to
  > cover with garden.  We have an old farm and they can cluster around
trees totally
  > free of any care.  Some years they look pretty good and by midsummer
they all
  > begin to look ratty. If you have lots and lots of free space, hostas
will
  > fill in.  If you have a smaller garden you may want something else.
I'll say
  > this for hostas, they never die, they are yours forever.
  >
  > If you have a smaller garden one of these hostas will eventually need a
lot
  > of space.  We put some in the ponds though not behind the electric fence
the
  > deer ate them.  As Bill said, even the middle and smaller ones begin to
have
  > multiple crowns and spread into very large clumps.  You cannot believe
when small
  > how large the clumps can become.  Just wait.
  >
  > Hostas tend to be a cult plant with a dedicated following.  Something
like
  > daylilies and irises.  Growers like to have a lot of them.  I collected
a bunch
  > of them once and then sort of lost interest.  As daylilies, so many
arrive
  > newly each year and most of them look alike.  A very few have deep
purple flowers
  > which is an asset though the flowers are seldom mentioned so finding one
with
  > flowering assets is difficult.
  >
  > When originally planted, I did not think to use a tapestry effect and
vary
  > the colors.  I just planted what appealed to me.  Where they are
basically all
  > green, they are not very interesting.  We have had two very rainy
summers here
  > and the result is giant Hostas. I have cut some flat to the ground to
stop the
  > overlapping and killing of other plants. Picture two 55 gallon
rainbarrels
  > completely missing in the Hostas.  I planted around 500 Sieboldiana
seeds one
  > year and the result is too awful to think about.  A few have very good
crinkly
  > leaves.  The rest are going twenty at a time to my niece's landscape
nursery.
  > They are so big that around twenty in plastic wrappings fill up a pickup
  > truck.  Again, if this were not a farm, you would be up to your ears in
Hostas.
  >
  > One should plan plenty of space and when in five years or so the plant
  > becomes overwhelming, one needs two men and some determination to remove
it.  The
  > last big one I removed broke the shovel.  We have a lot of garden space
so the
  > Hostas are not hogging all the shade as some areas never got planted
with
  > Hostas.  Where I interplanted Hellebores, I have had to slice the Hostas
to the
  > ground every summer.
  >
  > I have not been reading all the Hosta posts so this may be a repeat
comment.
  > There is one common and cheap one called Regal Splendor which is bluish
green
  > with a while border.  The leaves are very tough and slug free. The form
is
  > tallish and vase shaped.  It is a good center plant to begin a garden.
It is
  > the only one asked about in my garden.  If you visit us now, you get a
Hosta to
  > take home.  After digging out dozens of them the Hosta areas are still
very
  > full.
  >
  > If Bill has anymore energy, he is not too far away, he can come and dig
out
  > our Hostas.  He mentioned close to the house.  A hosta which roots into
the
  > foundation of an old house is a menace.
  >
  > I still like some of them but the caution of overuse is to be heeded.
Once
  > you plant a shaded area with Hostas, there eventually will be nothing
else
  > there.  When you remove them, one small root left behind will present
you with a
  > new plant in a few years. If nothing else, they have extraordinary
vigor.
  >
  > We sent some to Florida with a visitor this summer.  Waiting to hear
those
  > over summer results.  He tossed them in the back of his car and they
arrived in
  > perfect condition.  To think, I used to take care of these plants with
some
  > research on culture. Even those cut down with the lawn mower return and
have the
  > ability to survive under the mower.  Don't underestimate the power of a
  > Hosta.
  >
  > Claire Peplowski
  > NYS zone 4
  >
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