propagation

shaggybirdman · Post by **shaggybirdman** » Apr 14, 2007 9:06 am

i'm thinking of using my hosta for accent plants to my bonsai. i actualy only have 2 bonsai. all the others are in progress, and know as pre bonsai in the bonsai circles. i have a ton of 1, 2, and 3 year seedlings. i still call a 3 year old maple a seedling because they are still small. under 8" tall. i hope this stupid spring weather doesn't screw any up. all are still in my garage safe and sound. ounce the root balls defrost they get to play yo yo. in and out of the garage till night temps stay in the high 40's. it's a royal pain. i need a green house BAD!!!!

shaggybirdman · Post by **shaggybirdman** » Apr 14, 2007 9:16 am

true, but i'm already used to playing yo yo with my bonsai. they will get great winter protection in my garage. i have no intentions of planting them. they will live out there days in pots.

now there's another thing. is a pot a pot, or are there better pots to use. red clay, nursery gal pots, or just whatever looks good to me?

Pieter · Post by **Pieter** » Apr 14, 2007 9:24 am

Depends on how large you want to grow them I suppose. Surely a mini like BME can be left in a #1 nursery pot for 3 or 4 years, but it would be pretty root bound by that time and come close to filling the pot I suspect. If you want them to stay smallish you'd have to divide probably about every three years or so, depending on the rate of growth.

I grow a ton of plants in nursery pots simply because my yard is small and the garden beds cannot accommodate all the plants I want to grow. I chanced into an absolute motherlode of nursery pots last year on a large condo development and have enough to last me for the next 2 or 3 years I'd think. One of the things I do with plants in nursery pots is rotate them in and out of the larger, more decorative ceramic planters I have, those Vietnamese/Chinese built ones. That way I can maintain the best visual interest for a given spot in just about any season. In the winter there will be Heucheras in them, late spring and summer Hostas will be added.

eastwood2007 · Post by **eastwood2007** » Apr 14, 2007 11:04 am

That's an interesting concept, Pieter. I may consider that. Question: Do you plants winter over outside in your pots or do they have a sheltered place?

Pieter · Post by **Pieter** » Apr 15, 2007 9:24 am

Interesting question, Charla, you been peeking? Yes, I have a covered area with some racking I built, the attached picture will give you the idea. Most, but not all of my potted Hostas are put up on the racking in about November and are gradually brought out again as they start showing their noses.

shaggybirdman · Post by **shaggybirdman** » Apr 15, 2007 10:11 pm

so just leaving the pots out of the ground during winter doesn't bother them? my bonsai don't mind it, but they are in my garage out of the wind. then again hosta die back, so i guess wind is not a real issue then. is that a correct assumption on my part?

Pieter · Post by **Pieter** » Apr 16, 2007 1:36 am

Wind isn't an issue. Water is. You have to make sure the pots are well drained, if the soil mixture is too heavy and doesn't drain well, the crown will rot. Under cover that is never a real problem though, is it....But, you have to keep our respective zones in mind, ten degrees of frost is heavy out where I am in zone 8. I suspect frost can have quite the drying effect on the crowns and roots.

malaprop · Post by **malaprop** » Apr 16, 2007 4:11 am

Back to TC vs. mail order grower discussion.

Much of the time the "2nd year TC' is a tc that's a TC that's gone thru one domancy....and a day, which technically means it is in it's "2nd year". I find such disappointedly small for the price. And I'm usually looking at plant that I'll have to wait for, and these generally won't produce a 2nd eye until I've had it in my garden for 2 seasons.

My candid feedback would be for mailorder sellers to not sell single-eyed plants with only 3 leaves on it--especially the slow growers, like the toks, too young to produce a scape for a full price, or one dormancy tcs. They're just too immature, and encourages people to shop in person. The collectables of course has to be mail order for me--not much nearby in stores.

Field grown?
I find growers selling field-grown stock that are not divisions better (fresh divisions typcially have a one season set-back for me ) I prefer to buy from.

tcs.
If you like getting your order in the point season, which I do, sellers selling 1 dormancy tcs. are reluctant to send them out until they can see if the hosta resorted to a "greenie".......but if they have them 2 dormancies, the odds are very slim for a plant they've had for 2 dormancies will suddenly revert to green.

Anyway, that's my observation.

malaprop · Post by **malaprop** » Apr 16, 2007 4:19 am

These are only 6 months old, and some are 8-10 inches across, and never been dormant.

shaggybirdman · Post by **shaggybirdman** » Apr 16, 2007 7:58 am

Pieter wrote:Wind isn't an issue. Water is. You have to make sure the pots are well drained, if the soil mixture is too heavy and doesn't drain well, the crown will rot. Under cover that is never a real problem though, is it....But, you have to keep our respective zones in mind, ten degrees of frost is heavy out where I am in zone 8. I suspect frost can have quite the drying effect on the crowns and roots.

well i'm in NY outside buffalo. zone 5. winters here are very cold, and the ground freezes rock solid. the 2 hosta that are in front of my house have no problems every year, and hopefully no problems with this crazy stupid spring this year.

i'm working on my soil now. so far i have used a 50% potting soil, 25% bonsai soil (hadite mostly. i screened out all fines.), and 25% turface screened threw a 3mm screen. not sure it's the best, but so far is working ok.

what are you using for your potted hosta? what is everyone else using for soil in your pots?

Pieter · Post by **Pieter** » Apr 16, 2007 9:17 am

The planting medium I use in my pots is half-n-half compost and peat, with a very generous dose of Perlite and some sand. I get the compost from the municipality. Got a frontloader bucket full last year, did a generous top dressing of the beds and mixed and bagged up the rest for winter storage. At this point I'm almost out and will have to start thinking about getting some more.

shaggybirdman · Post by **shaggybirdman** » Apr 16, 2007 9:32 am

i'm not happy with peat moss. it takes forever to wet, and seems to dry out fast. it seems that the potting soil i have is mostly peat moss. i wish i had some cheep hosta to try in straight turface, and see how it grows. my bonsai love it. do hosta like having there roots moist 24/7? the 2 out front get watered every day just about, so that makes me wonder about using 100% turface , but i'd like to try it. is there a such animal as a cheep hosta?

my 2 mini hosta are doing great. gave them a drink yesterday for the first time since i planted them on the 5th. i do the finger stick check, but i keep them a bit more moist than my bonsai. i hope that's what they like.

how soon till i can start to feed them? they were planted 5 APR 2007. i have 20-20-20, 7-7-7, 0-10-10 (my fall fert), and a few others that i can't remember the n-p-k on.

thy · Post by **thy** » Apr 16, 2007 10:25 am

Hostas like fluffy air filled soil wich can drain and keep water, they like to have humid soil around the roots.. but minies generally prefere more drainage than the bigger ones... BME do not care at all, it just grow

Do not press the soil down, just water it down the roots

Don't be afraid, it is easier to pamper a hosta to die than neglect it so much it will die

So what do you have in the shaded front yard

Pia

eastwood2007 · Post by **eastwood2007** » Apr 16, 2007 10:46 am

Regarding bring your potted hosta in for the winter, Shaggy....

Hosta need to go dormant, at least most of them do, in order to come back well the next year. I have alot in pots, so I last fall I let them go dormant normally, then moved them to a cool spot in my climate controlled greenhouse in January before our usual fluctuating season. The thing about our winters here in Kansas is that the temps thru the winter can fluctuate dramatically and that freezing and thawing is hard on plants in the ground let alone ones in pots, that don't have constant ground temps. It is best for them to maintain a more constant temperature even though they are dormant and even if that temp is 0. This is the first year I did it this way, and the hostas came out beautifully! They have increased in size over last year and I didn't lose any, unlike previous years when I lost one or two by just leaving them outside. I also kept them on the dry side so they wouldn't rot. I did water them about once a month.

shaggybirdman · Post by **shaggybirdman** » Apr 16, 2007 8:42 pm

thy wrote:Hostas like fluffy air filled soil wich can drain and keep water, they like to have humid soil around the roots.. but minies generally prefere more drainage than the bigger ones... BME do not care at all, it just grow
Do not press the soil down, just water it down the roots

Don't be afraid, it is easier to pamper a hosta to die than neglect it so much it will die

So what do you have in the shaded front yard

Pia

not a clue. one is all green, and the other is green center with a white fringe.

maybe a bonsai soil would work. free draining, and turface holds water very nicely. it will hold it's weight in water. it's used to dry out sports fields. my bonsai love it.

shaggybirdman · Post by **shaggybirdman** » Apr 16, 2007 11:03 pm

thy wrote:Hostas like fluffy air filled soil wich can drain and keep water, they like to have humid soil around the roots.. but minies generally prefere more drainage than the bigger ones... BME do not care at all, it just grow
Do not press the soil down, just water it down the roots

Don't be afraid, it is easier to pamper a hosta to die than neglect it so much it will die

So what do you have in the shaded front yard

Pia

what the heck is BME? i'm a no0b to host, so acronyms create more questions.

Pieter · Post by **Pieter** » Apr 16, 2007 11:44 pm

B(lue) M(ouse) E(ars)....

thy · Post by **thy** » Apr 17, 2007 5:34 am

Thanks Pieter

eastwood2007 · Post by **eastwood2007** » Apr 18, 2007 10:41 am

Shaggybirdman, these are pics of my hostas after letting them go dormant a few months then storing in greenhouse. I think this method has given me the best results so far, but I have only been doing this about 4 years.

Some others may have some better suggestions...

renaldo75 · Post by **renaldo75** » Apr 18, 2007 10:57 am

Those look great, Charla!!

Are those the ones you had in the house during the cold? Fair Maiden is such a distinctive hosta - to me anyway.