I am so glad I planted Cheatin Heart in a planter.Its quite limie-yellow and would have disappeared by now.Slugs or deer are the culprits here.
Who has Hostas in pots?
That is a good idea.
I have really beautiful hostas that I got "on sale with no names attached" that have been growing in pots on my patio in Naperville, a Chicago western suburb, for three years. We live in deer country...across from a Forest preserve,,,but I spray around my patio with LIQUID FENCE and the deer haven't been a problem. They do love to eat my apples that fall from the trees...I have to go out early every morning to collect what falls!
Hi folks.....
Newbie here from Canada. I have been a lurker for years and decided to just sign up this year. I got into gardening 6yrs ago and so far am loving every moment of it. As it turns out, I have a green-thumb because everything I plant just goes nut.
I am looking to get into container gardening more next year 2011. Here is my one big Hosta am going to be dividing
Welcome to DG, syndacite 1, and hope you enjoy our friendly forums often.
You'll have fun dividing that one!
Welcome syndicate.
Welcome syndicate, what a beautiful pic and very nice hostas. I love container gardening. Easy to care for and I can move them around. I do lots of tropicals and they are all in containers cause I don't like digging in the fall. I just overwinter in the container either letting them go dormant or keeping them growing.
Thank you everyone. I do Have a request if anyone can help please?
Just a little bit about me to tell you: I was deployed on military duties and only got back this summer. On my return, I got posted to Ottawa Ontario Canada, and I had to sell my house in Toronto, find a house to buy in Ottawa in 5 days and then do a move.
All went well but I had to leave most of my plants behind, which means am starting afresh with the little I salvaged. I am in need of some seeds ( Yvonne Salvia and other Salvias, morning glories, four o clocks, castor bean seeds, giant sunflower seeds, etc ) I can send a SASE if needed
Thx
Mick
I have a butt load of Castor Bean seeds from the attached pix. I can collect Salvia Greggii seeds and maybe another variety. I have Sunflowers but not the giant ones. I have Celosia seeds too. Waves petunias maybe too when the rain stops, I may find some. Don't need SASE, people have sent me plenty free, pay it forward.
Everyone's pot growing experience helps me. However, in my situation I must grow in pots due to a BAD maple root problem and even worse vole problem. My quandary is what size pot? I will be growing approx. 75- 85 varieties this year. Many are new acquisitions and the remainder are from previous years. I will be using inexpensive nursery plastic pots and I have from 1 gal to 15 gallon sizes available. I am in zone 7b My question is what size pot for new bare root acquisitions ...does the initial pot size be based on the current root size or the intended plant size, e.g. Blue Angel as compared to Blue Cadet; both would fit in a 1 or 2 gallon pot upon acquisition. Then do you keep the plant in its pot size til it is root bound or overtakes the pot or just comfortable then transplant to a larger pot? Since hostas like acid soils does anyone use side dressings of garden sulpher every couple of years? What are your experiences with polymer crystals to cut down on watering? How often do you repot? Any observations or comments would be appreciated. Should anyone wish my direct email is jfkiii@blueridge.net.
Thanks, Jack
We have large maples in the yard here so I get that. I plant my hostas in any size container I want to use. I go by intended plant size and have never had a problem with that. Hostas are remarkably adaptable and hardy. You can transplant to a larger pot once the plant fills its current pot or pull it out and divide. I don't side dress but I do use worm castings and worm tea. I also use compost from time to time. The compost contains fruit waste so is on the acidic side. I give them a little protection during the winter under the eaves of the house or under the deck, but they do require a period of winter dormancy. Hostas prefer climates with cold winters and warm summers so you should do well with them in your climate.
Hi Cville_Gardner, thanks for your post and the terrific images of some of your plants. As I mentioned my plants will not be in decorative pots like yours; if exposed that makes for a more pleasing appearance. I am looking for eventual leaf size and volumes to obscure the plain nursery containers so as to have hopefully the look of a pleasing variegated carpet ...hopefully.
Jack
They should eventually do that. A few of mine are in the black nursery pots and that's what happens as the season goes along.
I am zone 5 or 4 sometimes 6...rofl. Sorry our weather has been so strange any more. But I have been overwintering in pots for a couple of years with great success and like you and Cville, due to maple roots! I did last year overwinter two in just the plain garden black pots. 2 that were under pine trees and 2 sitting in a bucket (didn't realize those were in there). I didn't lose any hosta's in pots but lost a few planted in the ground competeing with the tree for moisture due to our drought last year. ;( In the past I have taken bags of mulch and made a square fort (for a better word) and sit the pots inside of it for some protection in the shade. I think (I am guessing) that in the sun the thawing and refreezing in my area would be hard on them. Problem I had with the fort a few years back were mice got in and ate my lily bulbs! I don't remember them bothering the hostas tho.
Container gardening ...well I, by necessity in my shade gardens have been required to use pots. I have invasive maple and hickory roots plus VOLES [damn little rodents that I can't get rid of .... even use warfarin laced baits, unfortunately raccoons eat it all!] .... so I use pots, have so many [more than 100 plants in pots ranging from 1 gal to 15 gal.] Having so many I cannot afford decorative pots; I use those inexpensive black commercial nursery pots. Over the years, I have used pots on a very limited basis as decorative feature containers, using whiskey barrels and a few clay or foam decorative pots. My heavy use of the nursery type of pots has been limited to the past 2 years, 30 to 40 last year and about 70 more this year. I use a potting mix [a Fafard premixed product that I alter with more ingredients [using a formula that I created] ... pine bark mulch, peat moss, perlite, and this year a polymer crystal/fertilizer mix to reduce watering requirements [I hope it works]. I also use a nursery fabric in the bottom of the pots so that soil is not lost through watering.
Now that I have set the scenario my questions follow .... Has anyone used the black nursery pots long term with any good, or bad, results? Has anyone used the polymer crystals with success? Does anyone use slow release fertilizers in pots? Do you use slow release in addition to say a 13-13-13 that releases upon application [so as to get fertilizer to the plants immediately]? If you use pots how often do you repot? If you plant small 1st or 2nd year TC plants do you pot based on the plant size when purchased or the mature plant size? [I have read that overpotting does not get good results]
Any responses with your thoughts or questions would be helpful. If you wish you could send comments to DMail or directly to my personal email account, jfkiii@blueridge.net
Thanks, jfkiii
much of my post of a few minutes ago is a repeat of my post of a couple of weeks ago; I am hoping to get more experiences from you guys, thanks
I also use many of the commercial black nursery pots, also with the Fafard mix (and I add Perlite and other ingredients to it) and have done it for the last three years to save the hosta from the deer. I rely on the reconstituted water crystals in each pot, along with Osmocote slow release food (green cap) - I think it's 14-14-14, for each hosta. I haven't lost any and they all look good.
I did manage to make some room for planting some of them this spring, in the soil, and put up deer mesh to keep them out. So far, so good. All the roots looked wonderful - no problems at all.
Hi Arlene, hey thanks for your post. From what you say, so far we are soul mates in our approach. I am wondering how long you have left your plants in pots without repotting. The whole 3 years you have done it that way? Have you found it necessary to move any plants into larger pots due to growth or crowding? I have an alternative to the Osmocote product. I use a product of the same strength by Helena Chemical and a 90 day release activated by soil temps and not by water; their product is less expensive. What size pot do you use for newly purchased plants?
Re the polymer crystals, I have found a source at a reasonable cost ... crystals plus a slow release 7-7-7 enough for many pots. [10 [pounds] @ $59, no tax, no shipping cost from Amazon. I just used this product. In about 10 days after planting, I will also treat those pots with foliar feeding or a regular fertilizer those typically break down or is used by the plant within 30 days.
Speaking of roots, I just received an order from Green Mountain Hosta that were competitively priced, had terrific size and a fantastic root system. I am sure that these plants will do great! I will post plaudits about them on the Garden Watchdog.
Jack
Three years has been the maximum so far and I didn't repot any of them. I'm surprised they didn't split the pots! They stay in the pots as I purchased them and those I was faced with digging went into any available nursery pots as long as they fit but most were around 8 or 9 inches.
Do you reconstitute the water crystals before using them? Once I got used to doing it that way I never went back to using them dry.
Sounds like you got some great buys! I have what may end up being a lifetime supply of the crystals!
Hi, no I don't reconstitute the crystals, since the product I use has the fertilizer added, I don't know how that would work out. I don't have any problem mixing the elements, since I use all in a basically dry form. any dampness in the Fafard product doesn't affect the mixing. [I am able to obtain it in bulk in 1 cu yd scoops thereby saving some money].
I am also going to use the crystals on other plants and shrubs when planting new items. The instructions with the product suggest that you use it around the perimeter of the planting hole.
Hi all, I have had 3 hostas in pots for a couple of years I think now. Everything is going good but mine are in cheap decorative pots from dollar general bought at the end of season sale, they are like foam or fiberglass so a tad more insulating that the normal pot. I will be putting more in pots because of maple and birch roots.
I just read an articule on the crystals and someone did trials on them and could not see any significant difference with or without. I bought a small package one time to use in a hanging basket that was lined with moss. Didn't see much difference either. Did read about someone using sponges in the bottom of the pots, but they said the sponge only lasted a year. With my luck it would last and the roots would grow in it. Just a couple of thoughts.