Mowing hostas

jobranch · Post by **jobranch** » Sep 20, 2007 8:22 am

I was speaking with a friend yesterday and he said his hostas were looking real bad due to the drought and heat, so he took his lawn mower and cut them down to the ground. This was three weeks ago. He said since then new growth has come out and they look great. I have never heard of this. Has anyone else done this?

Jeff

Wild Dog · Post by **Wild Dog** » Sep 20, 2007 11:14 am

Yes, they will often put up new growth but that is from current roots which is also next springs growth. Pay me now or pay me later.

They may also just die.

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Sep 20, 2007 12:59 pm

I wish I could get this message across to people over on the DG hosta forum! There is a woman there who is telling all the newbies that they should cut all the leaves off their plants when they get them! I tried to explain about photosynthesis to her and the others but all I get are blank stares and 'well my deer eat them down and they come back just fine'! I told her they're not surviving because of her treatment but in spite of it. Silly woman thinks only tulips need their leaves!

MollyD

Frodo the Hobbit · Post by **Frodo the Hobbit** » Sep 20, 2007 1:00 pm

When I lived in Rochester I had a ring of common hostas around a big tree, and by mid-summer they were always in rough shape. I would mow them down, and they always came back looking great. The key is that they were mature, in shade, in good soil, well watered, and most importantly, NOT important...

I would also mow down a hosta like lancifolia to maintain the "immature" look I like.

Frodo

PS On a small or new plant I will go as far as propping up a partially broken leaf just to keep it feeding the plant. The key is where your priorities are between looks and growth.

Wild Dog · Post by **Wild Dog** » Sep 20, 2007 1:28 pm

DG hosta forum

What is DG hosta forum?

The key is where your priorities are between looks and growth.

Minor point, the key for me is to understand the horticulture then I can set my priorities.

Post by **Chris_W** » Sep 20, 2007 2:09 pm

One grower that I buy from will cut down the foliage on really big plants about mid summer so that they are easier to ship. But when I've received flats of the same batch of plants where one group was not cut down and the other that was cut back, after they sent a new flush of foliage, the ones that were cut back were less mature looking the following year. It seems that energy is being used up trying to send out new leaves the previous summer instead of sending out dormant buds.

Sure, they may look better, but I don't think it is better for the plant when they are young to begin with.

But, the BIG reason why mowing down a hosta garden with the lawn mower is a bad idea is that if one plant is carrying a virus the lawn mower blades will be sure to spread it to everything else. The only safe time to mow down or cut back a garden is after they have died back in the fall so no sap is flowing.

Ginger · Post by **Ginger** » Sep 20, 2007 2:12 pm

So, Many of my hosta had fungus this summer and all put out new flushes of leaves as the old leaves were basically rotting away. Several are still putting out new leaves and new flower stalks, Abba is just now putting out her first flower stalk of the year. Since the plant is doing this by itself without outside interference (like mowing) will the plant be affected next year?

Ginger

Wild Dog · Post by **Wild Dog** » Sep 20, 2007 3:11 pm

Abba is just now putting out her first flower stalk of the year. Since the plant is doing this by itself without outside interference (like mowing) will the plant be affected next year?

I believe that flowering reduces foliage because the process takes a lot of plant energy that could go to root production. I don’t have any personal research or academic work to support this. Some processes occur because of genetic reasons that are set off by hormones or other signals that just can’t be stopped or are very difficult to stop such as flowering, dormancy and spring emergence. Once started they do not want to stop, one thing that can be done is increase the day length but I don’t know if there is any net gain. Back to flowering, I don't know that cutting off flower stalks has any effect on root growth.

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Sep 20, 2007 3:55 pm

Chris do you mind if I quote what you wrote above about cutting leaves over on DG?

MollyD

jobranch · Post by **jobranch** » Sep 20, 2007 6:10 pm

What is the DG forum?

allnitro · Post by **allnitro** » Sep 20, 2007 7:05 pm

Butch and Jeff,

DG is davesgarden.com a gardening forum like Hallson's.

jobranch · Post by **jobranch** » Sep 20, 2007 10:15 pm

Just looked at Dave's Garden. I like Hallson's forum better.

ViolaAnn · Post by **ViolaAnn** » Sep 21, 2007 10:02 am

Chris - I'm so glad that you mentioned the potential for spreading disease. That was my first thought when I found this thread. The potential is too great these days with HVX running rampant.

I'm a regular on Dave's Garden (Hi Molly), and I think the two compliment each other quite well. DG is larger, and the various forums cover a wider range of topics while this one is more specific. I DO feel that the ability for posting pics is better on DG - I notice here that many of the pics are no larger when enlarged than when in the thumbnail size. But then DG has a small fee in order to take advantage of all it offers.

Ann

largosmom · Post by **largosmom** » Sep 21, 2007 11:40 am

Hi, I would love to comment over on the DG forum, but have no idea which thread you mean as I've not had much time for my forums in the past couple of weeks.

It was the DG forum that sent me here to Hallsons, and I find that they are complimentary. I also just recently joined a Hostaseedgrowers forum, so now I have three hosta forums to keep track of. Here's my thoughts:

DG--great forums for general gardening, and each specialty forum such as that for hostas, lilies, garden design, can also have some good expertise, but the advice can be mixed. It is a "fee for service" site and was the first gardening forum I joined and the only forum I pay for as I find it valuable due to the broad range of gardening topics covered. The plant files has great information like none elsewhere on the different plant cultivars. For that reason alone, I am willing to pay the fee.

Hallsons--more focused hosta forum, fewer members, but more experts. Here I learn more in-depth information about hostas, their care, and what brought me here first, issues with HVX. I skim the other forums here only occasionally. I got my first info here in growing and hybridizing hostas and still rely on the experts here.

Hostseedgrowers. This is a very new forum for hybridizing and growing seeds. Lots of "expert experts" there, which is useful to me as a newbie hybridizer.

"Hostapix". This is a yahoo mailing list forum, and I receive a dozen or more emails from the list daily, focuses mostly on photos of hosta varieties, but there are several day lily people there and there are general garden photos that get sent out too. This one can fill your inbox very quickly. As I have google mail, however, I can search for a picture of a particular hosta and there are numerous experts on the list, so tips can be had for the asking. It's no replacement for the hosta library, but many of the hybridizers share pics of their oncoming seedlings and hostas here, so it's a bit like a preview of what will be available in a few years.

Laura

Wild Dog · Post by **Wild Dog** » Sep 21, 2007 11:42 am

Me thinks, HVX and other viruses as well as nematodes are a matter for prevention through quarantine. Pot plants for 2 to 3 years before placing in the garden.

Jamie · Post by **Jamie** » Sep 21, 2007 1:33 pm

I use to mow a hosta once a week before I knew what they were and they still came back without a problem

..

I'm sure I won't be the first to say this, but DG is no comparison to Hallsons. With minimal forums at Hallson and almost hitting 2000 members the ratio for members here is a lot higher then the others. Plus Hallson doesn't have 100 ads popping up like the others do.

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Sep 21, 2007 1:47 pm

[quote="Jamie"]I use to mow a hosta once a week before I knew what they were and they still came back without a problem

..

Jamie when people say that all I can think is that it's like saying that people survive being hit by a car therefore being hit by a car isn't serious! They come back but at what cost to the plant? Aside from grass I can't think of any plant that's treated this way and expected to look good the next year! It's funny but each plant genre seem to have it's own 'myths'. With daylilies I've found that people seem to take great pride in being able to abuse the poor things (no food, water,etc) and still have them bloom. Somehow they think it's the mark of a good plant to take all that and still bloom. I think it's a major miracle!
Even if you believe that cutting off the leaves stimulates root growth you're still left to contend with the fact that hostas like other plants need leaves to do photosynthesis for their food. If you cut the leaves off what are they going to use to generate food?

MollyD

Wild Dog · Post by **Wild Dog** » Sep 21, 2007 2:56 pm

It's funny but each plant genre seem to have it's own 'myths'.
Molly

My now deceased father-n-law was famous for saying in a booming voice

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW"

Usually "old wives tales" are defended with "I've always done that without a problem" or "my mother or father always did that".

Now let me add my favorite, "some times it's not what you know but what you know that ain't so".

Forums like this are great resources to learn the real horticulture of hosta, the collective knowledge is large and valuable.

largosmom · Post by **largosmom** » Sep 21, 2007 3:48 pm

Here, here, Wild Dog.

Hopefully people can disagree respectfully of other's opinions, and help newbies along wherever they are.

I enjoy all the forums I participate in, regardless of their unique individual "flavors". It's like visiting different cities with their own cultures, and you can enjoy each for their own sense of community and mix of cultural influences. I learn something new almost every day and find it very nice to pass on what I have learned from those more experienced than I with whatever plants I am working with.

Laura

Jamie · Post by **Jamie** » Sep 21, 2007 4:13 pm

Hi Molly,
The key words were before I knew what they were

... I agree though that plants in general weren't made to be mowed "including grass" but they learn how to adapt to the conditions there put threw like this hosta did

.. It did have smaller leafs but it continued to grow

Some people says it's a myth that abusing roots stimulates growth but I've never seen any proof to these myths that people are calling it. I've done it for 4 years and have good success. I don't want to do the research to see if it really does do any good and would rather spend my time enjoying what I love to do and not worry about how I'm doing it.

.