Hosta Culture

Hosta plants are shipped with a minimum of one to two vigorous eyes. These plants are field grown with well-developed root systems. By field grown, we mean that our hostas are grown under natural tree shade exposed to the outdoor elements of Kansas heat and winters. Hosta plants will be shipped to you with roots wrapped in moist newspaper or sphagnum moss. Unpack as soon as received and place in a cool shady place with roots remaining as wrapped. Be sure to keep the roots moist until ready to plant.

Hostas are plants for the shade garden. So, find a spot in your garden where these plants will get a sprinkling of sunlight throughout the day. Two hours of total sun during the day is ok for most of the green and variegated leaf varieties, however, the blues are better off where there is more shade. Your hosta bed should be placed in a well-drained area. If the soil is clay or sandy, it is best to prepare the bedding spot with a good portion of peat moss. The peat should be spaded into the soil and mixed thoroughly to a level of approximately six inches deep. A sprinkling of a good balanced fertilizer such as 5-10-5 or 10-10-10 mixed into the soil will help in getting the planting off to a good start. Be sure to plant as soon as possible.

We soak the roots of all our new plants for about two hours in buckets of water to make sure that the roots are moist when planted. We recommend that you do the same. When planting, place the roots at approximately the same depth as the plant was growing in the nursery. When planting is complete, be sure to soak the plants and surrounding soil to the spaded depth of your planted bed.

Hostas respond well to rich soil and water. Composted cow manure or pelletized chicken manure can be placed around the plants so that every time you water a small amount of plant food is filtered to the roots. Do not however, cover the plant eyes with manure. If the weather should turn cool and wet, manure placed on the plant or covering the bottom of the eye could cause rotting. After planting water daily for approximately ten days, after that, taper the watering to twice weekly, then once a week. At River Bluff, we try to give our gardens an inch of water each week through the growing season. If plants are potted, watering is more frequent. In fact, during dry weather with high temperature days during summer, potted plants are watered lightly each day to keep the soil moist.

 

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