Hostas on standby

[jobranch]

How many of you have a few hostas on standby each year to be traded/swapped?

[Pieter]

If you don't admit to doing that you're in denial and I'm not.... in denial that is. I keep divisions aside for trading, as well as for the yard sale we have every spring. And it's not just Hostas, also have Heucheras, Iris, Echinecea, Lilies, various mints and many more.... and my wife regularly keeps reminding me we don't have any more space to accommodate yet even more plants.....

[Linda P]

Me...not as many as I used to have, but there are still a number of them out there. I thinned some of them out this week when I sent 25 plants home with my friend Linda.
Some are so large that they should be divided and rowed out again, but I'm about out of room!
Linda P

[Chris_W]

I often set aside those "one offs" to be used as gift plants, unless it needs to be something special and then I'll dig into the regular stock. I guess you could say I have about 7,000 plants on standby all the time, give or take a couple thousand Okay, maybe that doesn't count

[JaneG]

Chris!

Yep, when I get a new plant or am moving/dividing one of my own, I usually pull off an eye or two and plant it separately so that I can easily get to it when I need a trade or gift plant. Many of my hostas are planted in closely spaced pairs. So I can remove one without setting back the plant, but when they are fully leafed out it doesn't necessarily look like two plants. It's really nice to have something you can quickly dig up when someone is visiting your garden and you want to send something home with them. Without the huge effort of digging into a large established plant.

[eastwood2007]

Hey, that's a great idea! Most of mine aren't large enough for that yet, but as they grow, I will start doing that!

Never even thought of it - thanks for the idea!

@ Chris!

[Shade Tolerant]

I started doing that same thing this year. Just because sometimes you get a visitor that wants one of your very pricey hostas. Usually the visitor is someone who doesn't even know what hosta they are looking at It's much easier to just give them a pot or two of one of your extra more common ones.

[Wheasie]

I'm out of room and want to add newer varieties - so I'm going to have to start. Thinking of giving up my 'Sweet Home Chicago' next year - VERY nice size!

Louise

[ViolaAnn]

Also out of space. My Brim Cup is going. Will be divided and given to charity plant sales. May also get rid of Center of Attention. It didn't get so slug eaten this year with the copper mesh collar, but the leaves always tear in storms and it doesn't look very nice. And I MAY dig out a huge Clausa (I have several). Trouble is it REALLY likes water and flourishes in the path of the downspout from my roof. What else likes it that wet? Will also have to be careful about planting a new one for awhile because it is rhizomatous.

Am also planning to lift my Halcyon which has been growing very slowly. I'm thinking it is too dark and too dry where it is close to my Linden tree. Will replace some of it back where it is, but will move part of it to a brighter, wetter location.

I DO like the idea of dividing plants when they are out of the ground and planting them together but separately and may try that too.

Ann

[thy]

It is the other way around here I think

I have been forbidden to bye hostas from my friends... I had no space and may had to move , they sais----.. so NO I could not bring home any hostas at all

Big problems here.... until I figured out to let them hold and nurse them until I had a new place ...

With no space, spare ones have never been an issue....

No one have to speak abouth my 5 h. Junes... they were needed here

Pia