please look over this thread and tell me what you think and/or if you had similar experience this year. thanks
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/534980/
I know, I know, hostas are not supposed to do well here...
I'll admit it...they are on that list of plants that everyone else seems to be able to grow but they just won't grow for me!
they melt...
I had planted one in an area that I thought got only @ 2 hours of direct sun and afterwards realized that it got 4 to 5 hours of direct sun. Well, the ends of the leaves started to crisp up even with a solar screen to block it. 3 weeks ago I pulled it up, potted it, put it in the shade on my patio and lo and behold I got me some beeuutiful blooms 2 weeks later. This one just likes direct shade on a cool concrete ground. Oh, after the blooms bloomed out and I cut the stalks off I noticed 3 more coming up.
Mine were slow to come up because of the cool weather we had in the spring, but are doing great (the ones the big old dog did not trample, that is). I have no idea why yours would have come up so late. Each year mine have grown larger and the blooms are really large this year. The only ones I have are 'So Sweet' that I bought at Home Depot. Some are in the ground under an oak tree and 2 are in large containers and were all planted at the same time. Mine receive sun for just a short period of time.
I just happened to take a photo of one of the ones in a half-moon shaped container that is 2 feet wide (side to side), a little over 1 foot from front to back and 2.4 feet tall. It has filled in the whole container. Compared to the ones in the ground, it has grown a lot more. I think it is because I have a hanging basket that has bloodmeal mixed with the potting soil. The water flows from the hanging basket into the container in which the hosta is situated. Also, the soil mixture in the hosta's container has about 1/3 part rose soil mix to 2 parts of potting soil. The soil in the ground where the other hostas are located does not contain any rose soil nor bloodmeal. I have never fertilized them because I don't know what kind of fertilizer to use for one and because they have been doing very well without it.
Htop, I think hostas are OK in z8. Maybe I will live vicariously through your success. Z9 is where it starts to get iffy. I think it would be easier to explain if they were dead, just dead. but having stuff under the soil line looking so good but just not breaking ground or being "timid" about it, that is what I find puzzling. Then again, in my area we went from unusually cool early spring to unusually hot late spring (hi 90s in june!). Maybe what happened is they were dormant because it was cool, then they stayed dormant because it was hotter than their comfort zone. Still, I can't make sense of this.
well, I guess I'll have to see what happens next year. I have 3 areas where I have hostas, all the same amount of shade. Two are acting "normal" and the third is acting as described above. So it's not like they're behaving consistently across the board.
Yes, that is strange. Is the dirt different in the location in which the "weird" ones are growing from the areas where the others are growing?
nope. weird, I tell you, weird! LOL
I am so jealous! I gave up on hostas a couple of years ago. Seems I was always fighting the snails eating them, and about the time I had that won, they just melted. I can take only so much rejection.
:-)
Beautiful hostas, Hazel.
oh well, I gave up on the snail wars ages ago. besides, I discovered that they leave them alone once the plants mature. None of my plants have ever died from snail attacks, they just look UGLY. BTW, I think any of the products out there are good, the key, if they bother you that much, is to apply for sure after rain or every two weeks.
Once upon a time, when I cared, I stumbled into a guy that had the most elaborate scheme for fighting snails. He had fined tuned it to determining when/where they laid their eggs and then went on the attack. He swore this strategy resulted in no slugs. Well and fine, but that is waaaaayyyy more time than I want to spend on snails.
vossner--sounds like his aggravation got to the point where it became an obsession! Anybody noticed the slugs are worse since we've starting getting some rain? They aren't doing any damage now that the plants are all so big but I'm seeing their slimey little trails all over the brick and concrete paths.....
I Live on Lake Conroe in Willis and they flourish in my gardens and bloom!!..They were a bit later coming up this year but boy oh boy they did and are getting larger with each year..I have mine in almost total shade and they are in a moist flowerbed and I don't have problems with slugs...it's all in where you plant them..Mine get only filtered light along with my Hydrangeas and Torenias and Ginger Lilys
and more
and the variegated one..these I planted last year..so they are still babys
jealous, very jealous
but you are in zone 8, so you should be OK also. It's 9 and warmer where it becomes a matter of pushing the envelope or plain zone denial
This message was edited Aug 12, 2005 9:54 AM