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Hostas

B3B3 Posts: 27,505
in Plants
I have a selection of bog standard hostas - Nothing fancy. They've been pot bound for a few years now and seem to thrive with minimal care ( a light scattering of slug pellets the spring and daily slug/ snail search in the summer until I get bored.) I'm happy with the size and don't need any more.
Is this an if it ain't broke don't fix it situation or will my neglect eventually bite me on the bum?
I assume this is the time of year to do anything if necessary . 

In London. Keen but lazy.
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  • Joyce GoldenlilyJoyce Goldenlily Posts: 2,933
    If you want to keep your hostas going I would be inclined to tip each one out of its pot, cut each root clump into 3 or 4 equal, if possible, lumps, replant one section in fresh compost and put the rest of the root balls on the compost heap, give to friends, offer free to a local gardening group, advertise on a local free recycling on line group etc. You could leave them in a bucket outside your gate with a Help Yourself sign. 
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Good plan @Joyce Goldenlily. I'm about to leave a large Christmas cactus that I don't even like when it's flowering out for ' collection '
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    My hostas are divided when they fill their quite large pots, about every 2nd or 3rd year.  They need fresh compost. compost.  My daughter does nothing and her collection of variegated hostas have all come to look boringly similar.

    Different hosta varieties will demand this treatment at different time intervals.

    When Joyce says cut, she means cut. Not just the usual division of perennials by teasing apart.  A good sharp, sturdy carving knife.  They don't seem to suffer from this.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    edited April 2023
    I recently bought some Hostas from Sienna Hostas. This is an extract from one of their blogs which sounds like your situation @B3:

    Although it is true that occasionally dividing your hostas can really benefit their health, dividing yearly is not necessarily a good idea. This is really dependent on the variety, vigorous hostas like 'Blue Cadet' can be repeatedly split with little in the way of negative effects but many varieties actually benefit from a year or two of being left alone to grow. 

    We have plants in large pots on the nursery that haven't been split for over 20 years and although they are probably due to be divided they are looking happy and healthy.

    The other thing to consider is are you happy with your hosta? If you are then why mess with it? If it's looking unhappy or drained of colour and needs a bit of a lift then by all means go ahead and cut away.


    I'd say that if they're happy and healthy, they flower and you feed them, put your feet up and admire them for another year @B3!

    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Oooh I love it when it's best to do nothing at all! @Plantminded
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    Me too, so pleased not to have do anything!
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    It is true that hosta will take a year to recover from repotting.  But doing nothing has its flip side.   Left too long and hostas are almost impossible to get out of the pots without breaking them.  
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    bédé said:
    It is true that hosta will take a year to recover from repotting.  
    No it isn't   that's total tosh
    Devon.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    edited April 2023
    Mine never did. I've done the splitting root pruning repotting thing. That year I ended up with X number of large plants. I really wanted to know how Long I could expect to get away with doing nothing.
    It seems that I have at least this year😊
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited April 2023
    It is my experience, (and what else can I go on?) that hostas are not typical in their first year of dividing.  Mrs Bowden senior told me this.  (Before handing over to their children.) And it fits with my experience.

    Of course, like any generality, there will be exceptions.

    What drives me to repot is the aesthetic balance between pot and plant.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
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