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Hostas over winter. Advice needed.?

ErgatesErgates Posts: 2,953
in Plants
 I planted two beautiful Hostas in pots outside the front door this summer.  They did really well, and I managed to keep the slugs off them, which was a first, I’ve never managed to keep Hostas alive before.
However, it never occurred to me that they die back in winter, ( yes, I know I should have checked!) so now I have two very ugly pots in a prime position, placed to stop people falling off the gap by the steps.
I need to replace them with something more attractive. Can I repot the Hosta ?bulbs somewhere else or will they die? Or will I need to move the whole lot and put new pots at the top of the steps?
Any suggestions gratefully received, especially from Hostafan!

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Just replant them in any pots you have and leave them somewhere. They don't need any special attention, other than looking out for slugs/snails when they come back into growth.  :)
    YOu can divide them too at that point, if they're big enough.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    If you can repot them into plastic pots that'll slip snugly into the pots by the door, then in the spring you can just take out what's there and slip the hostas back in.

    Even better, if you get four of those pots that'll slip snugly into the pots by the door, then you can have interchangable summer and winter plantings that'll swap over easily.  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • ErgatesErgates Posts: 2,953
    Thanks, both! I had a lot of difficulty finding two plastic pots that fitted into the decorative ones, and those are the ones the Hostas are in! Looks like the best thing is to take a tape measure on my next trawl of the garden centres to find two more! In the meantime, I’ll move them out into temporary pots. Maybe get a couple of small conifer types that I can stick Christmas lights on in December!
  • mattychinmattychin Posts: 11
    Could you put some small bulbs shallow planted bulbs on top to flower sequentially until the hosta comes back? Like snowdrops, winter aconites, crocus, narcissis etc?
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Yes - you could certainly do that @mattychin. The only problem is that there wouldn't be much showing through the end of autumn going into winter [November/December]  - depending on how quickly the hostas died back, but that would be very good once they start coming through, with something else to bridge the gap.  :)
    I do the same as @Dovefromabove does quite often. A nice big ornamental pot, and you can then insert plastic ones every so often with different plants, to ring the changes through the seasons.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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