Hostas In Containers

I love having potted hostas in my garden but then what should i do with them in winter.

Hostas in containers. Grow hostas in large pots so the compost dries out less frequently. Select a container 3 inches larger in diameter than the current root size of the hosta or plant in a container large enough for the hosta once it reaches its mature size in two to three years. How to plant hostas. Use a small garden spade to dig a hole the size of the root ball.

Hostas make a lovely shade garden plant but there is no reason that these hardy and versatile foliage plants need to remain tucked away in your shade garden. Often this container is very large and not moved for the winter. When choosing hosta plants for your containers look for the smaller varieties like whirlwind and save the massive specimens for the landscape. Slug pellets are available for treatment.

Also if you have serious trouble with slugs in your garden container gardening with your hostas may be the answer. Some gardeners in your part of the country have told me they had good luck leaving hostas in the pots overwinter. I am in zone 6 and too tight with my money to just throw them out in winter. Avoid metal containers as hosta roots need to be kept cool in summer.

I tend to take a more conservative. Growing hostas in pots requires only a few considerations. Also you can wipe a ban around the rim of the container about an inch from the top with vaseline or petroleum jelly to discourage the snails and slugs in the first place. First most experts recommend choosing a pot that is somewhat on the small size for the mature size of the plant.

You don t necessarily have to buy containers for your hostas. These will have smaller leaves less water loss and a smaller root system less need for water. Growing hosta in containers. How to grow hostas how to plant hostas.

Some varieties can be kept happy in containers but in general hostas perform much better when they are grown in the ground. Hostas in container gardens can still be reached by slugs. If pots are the only option stick with dwarf or compact varieties. And with proximity to the house hosta seeking deer may look elsewhere for a snack.

So the hosta is grown in a container to raise it to an eye level that compliments the surrounding planting. Growing hostas in urns elevates them from the slugs and snails that like to dine on their foliage. Hostas will also thrive in containers and look wonderful accenting a shady patio or porch. The straight species hosta tokudama has the bluest leaves of any hosta and lives in this terra cotta container on my porch.

Hanky panky a very unusually colored small hosta has grown for years in my old dogwood stump.