Ok, so my hostas have really impressed me this year :-D I have 3 in a pot that I think I should move to the flower bed. The blossom stalks are tall, the flowers are gone and they are starting to put on seed pods. Should I cut them off and conserve energy before transplanting or let them be? This is the 2nd year in the container and they are big & beautiful. Should I move them at all?
stratsmom, I plant most of the Spring, Summer and Fall except when it was so very hot. We buy things all the time and make sure we fill the hole totally with water let it drain and fill a second time them plant and water a little every day for a while till it is established. We don't loose anything. Barb in Pa.
Smom; I would cut off the spent flower stalks before you transplant it to it's new home. That way the plant isn't to stressed with trying to make seeds and establishing new roots. I usually cut off the spent flower stalks as soon as the Hosta's are done blooming as they really do not need to go to seed to get more plants. My Hosta's really did great this year for me also. Plus my phlox has done super. They are blooming crazy this year. Like WT my grandmother would transplant plant's during the spring, summer and early fall. She said that as long as you take enough soil so the roots are not to disturbed you can move anything at anytime. Then keep them watered. Hope that helps.
Thanks girls! As soon as it cools down I'll go out and cut the stalks off. I'll put them out in the flower bed tomorrow night :-D
I always cut the stalks off the Hosta's as soon as the flowers fade too. I think it 'cleans them up'. I would move them soon so they get good roots before winter.
Stratsmom, I would cut the seeds stalks off too to ease transplanting, but next year you might want to let one of more go to seed. I get baby hostas that way all the time. I really like Barb's suggestion of watering the transplant hole so well before situating the hosta. That is a great idea & I will do it in the future. The other thing that I do is use a beach umbrella over struggling transplants. I look for these umbrellas in the off season when they are cheap. The poles have pointy ends so they are easy to just stick in the ground where needed. The last suggestion I have is to use some of those water crystals in the transplant hole. This is a good idea if you think you won't be able to water the transplant as often as needed.
While I have transplanted Hosta in the late summer my season of choice is spring. I will only divide in the spring as the hosta overgrow their location, I need additional plants or I want to control the spread of the plant. The age of the hosta dictates the methodology of division. Younger clumps are easier to divide than the older, denser clumps. The newly divided plants establish themselves early in the season and experience less stressed if the weather turns hot. New open locations usually have 75 to 85% shade. In my yard they are under oak trees, the leaves rarely burn and the flowers are many. Hostas are often used for focal points in the garden landscape and can be used to control the viewers perception about the size of a garden. Jerry
Jerry-- "Hostas....can be used to control the viewers perception about the size of a garden." Can you spell that out more? ie, the big ones make the garden seem....bigger? smaller? The minis make the garden seem....miniature? In our house we would be saying to you "explain me Lucy".
