Will hostas survive a flood?

hostaaddict · Post by **hostaaddict** » Jun 15, 2008 3:19 am

I asked this question on the Garden Bench when responding to question about the Iowa floods. I had a lady visit me today and she wanted to know if I thought her hostas would survive the flooding. They were evacuated from their home earlier this week and are staying in their lake cottage here. They have been underwater for several days already and not sure when the dirty waters will recede. Their truck and house are also flooded, but she is more worried about her hostas (much to her husband's disdain). She has spent so many years building her gardens and accumulating hundreds of varieties. She even had bunch of new ones waiting to be planted. I tried to look on internet to see if I could find any info. All I could find was about grass being flooded and that the soil should be aerated some after being flooded. Anyone ever have any experience or knowledge about this?

steg · Post by **steg** » Jun 15, 2008 8:06 am

I'm not sure what will happen. That's a lot of water, and who knows if they're still there.

Someone posted this same thought earlier, not much to go on:

viewtopic.php?t=48725

Maybe when this is all past you can let us know if her hostas survived or not. At this point, it's probably and wait and see what is left when the water goes down.

AlwaysWeeding · Post by **AlwaysWeeding** » Jun 15, 2008 8:21 am

Alot would also depend on how close they are to the river itself. There were pictures of bricks and asphalt uplifted and taken downstream on the news yesterday. The river flow itself would likely take a big toll and take some away. Hosing away the silt would help a lot when you can use water again.

Post by **Chris_W** » Jun 15, 2008 9:57 am

That's sort of what I was thinking too, that the silt and debris will be the bigger problem than the water itself. I think hostas can survive being under water for a period of time, but then all the junk left behind would need to be cleaned up.

I certainly wouldn't give up hope. Hostas can bounce back from a lot of things and in time the garden will be back to normal, so please don't despair over the plants.

We'll be hoping for the best!

Chris

flowerchild59 · Post by **flowerchild59** » Jun 15, 2008 10:52 am

Maybe one of the "Master Gardeners" at the extension office of your local Dept. of Ag might be able to answer those questions. It might be listed under as the county "Soil and Consevation" office too.

Justaysam · Post by **Justaysam** » Jun 15, 2008 2:06 pm

Don't know if it helps or not, but my yard in our first home would flood every year, staying underwater sometimes 4-6 weeks. My hosta in that area came back each year, increasing in size, and I never lost one. I did not have any movement in that water thou. I would think the current would be the problem, not the water itself.

hostaaddict · Post by **hostaaddict** » Jun 15, 2008 4:46 pm

thanks for the info. I will pass it on to her when I next see her. She will be thrilled to hear that yours always came back after being flooded. I'm not sure how much current there is . Probably was moving quite rapidly like most pictures show. A call to the extension office might be in order when they again get phone and electrical service. As of today their home and truck are still all under water.

thehostagourmet · Post by **thehostagourmet** » Jun 16, 2008 8:13 am

There was extensive flooding in North Dakota about 10 years ago. A couple who had moved there from Western New York would stop by and visit me when home to see relatives. Their Hostas were under water for about 10 days with no lasting damage.

jody · Post by **jody** » Jun 16, 2008 8:36 am

We were flooded in MD when hurricane isabel went through in 93. My entire yarden was under 4'-5' of water (salt water from the bay) that had oil, gas debris etc etc from other flooded houses/yardens in it.

After the water receded, some of them looked horrid and even went dormant (though I just knew they were dead

) some looked as though nothing had happened. Everyone of them came back fine the next year

Some of the other plants in the yarden weren't so tough/lucky though.

And just a couple of weeks ago the VA yarden was under water. We got 12" of rain in 4 days time and there was no place for it to go and the ground was already saturated. Some of the beds were under water for over a week. So far the hosta all look fine

but of course as mentioned above... I don't think some of the other plants were as tough

Hallson Gardens

Will hostas survive a flood?

Will hostas survive a flood?

Not sure

Floods