Help with Hostas please

Granny · May 10, 2007

One of the garden chores that has been waiting since forever (needed to be done long before we bought the house) is dividing up 4 big clumps of hosta, which have been in place so long they are more than a foot across before the leaves emerge and cover half the back walk when they do. So, today is the day I am going to dig up the hostas and divide them up. Some are going to a friend with a new house who happens to be in need of some hostas, but then there are the rest.....

There is no way I can dig the hostas, divide them all up and get them all back in the ground somewhere new all in one day. Any ideas as to what to do with the divisions until I can get them replanted? Thanks!

Zana · May 10, 2007

What I've done in the past when faced with the same situation is to put the divided clumps that are going someplace other than straight back into the ground in the same spot, into one or two large pots(depends on how much you're moving...so could need more than the aforementioned number of pots....but you dont have to do one per pot unless giving away), cover the root end loosely with soil and keep moist but not soaked, and in full shade and out of high heat areas to lessen shock.

I've done this more than once. In one extreme case I had almost a week before replanting the divided clumps in their new location. You can be brutal and divide huge clumps into many smaller clumps. Up to you how small you want them to look immediately afterwards once in full leaf.

Granny · May 10, 2007

Thanks Zana! The things are absolute monsters, so I will probably be pretty brutal. These are so big that even being brutal there will be dozens - maybe I should have a driveway sale, LOL.

May 10, 2007	#1
Granny Tomatovillian™ Honoree Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 507	Help with Hostas please One of the garden chores that has been waiting since forever (needed to be done long before we bought the house) is dividing up 4 big clumps of hosta, which have been in place so long they are more than a foot across before the leaves emerge and cover half the back walk when they do. So, today is the day I am going to dig up the hostas and divide them up. Some are going to a friend with a new house who happens to be in need of some hostas, but then there are the rest..... There is no way I can dig the hostas, divide them all up and get them all back in the ground somewhere new all in one day. Any ideas as to what to do with the divisions until I can get them replanted? Thanks!

May 10, 2007	#2
Zana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Southwestern Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,521	What I've done in the past when faced with the same situation is to put the divided clumps that are going someplace other than straight back into the ground in the same spot, into one or two large pots(depends on how much you're moving...so could need more than the aforementioned number of pots....but you dont have to do one per pot unless giving away), cover the root end loosely with soil and keep moist but not soaked, and in full shade and out of high heat areas to lessen shock. I've done this more than once. In one extreme case I had almost a week before replanting the divided clumps in their new location. You can be brutal and divide huge clumps into many smaller clumps. Up to you how small you want them to look immediately afterwards once in full leaf.