Hosta Care Articles
Hosta, Hosta, Hosta by Tony Avent
http://www.plantdelights.com/Tony/hosta.html
Nematode Problems?
If a plant becomes infected and it can be easily replaced you might want to destroy the entire plant. Spraying with Diazanon spray or hydrogen peroxide,
(1/2 cup of 3% H2O2 per gallon used as a foliar drench can be effective at killing some nematodes but will not kill them all and should be repeated 2 or 3 times every 10 to 14 days. Orthene may reduce the active nematode population by about 60%, but none of these chemical treatments kill the eggs. The best way to destroy nematodes and the eggs in an infected hosta is to soak the entire plant in a warm water bath. Soak for 10 minutes in a 120F warm water bath or 5 minutes in a 130F bath. After soaking, immediately rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
Roseanne Kaylor
Dividing Hostas
Shamelessly stolen from the internet http://hardyplants.com/Hosta1.html
The first plant, 'Francee', is three years old and is at the perfect stage for
division, while the second, 'Colossal', is six years old and the crown is too
crowded.
As a rule the larger and more dense the clump the less divisions that
are possible. On fast growing Hosta, three or four year plants produce
the largest and best divisions, while on slower growing plants like the
'tokudama' and 'Sieboldiana' types, old mature clumps that are eight or
more years old produce the easiest and largest divisions.
Hostas dug and ready for washing
Our two clumps are ready for washing, note the hose end sprayer - this
works well for cleaning the dirt off the crown and roots. Do not worry
about damaging the roots with the jet of water- they are tough and can
take the abuse.
Clean the dirt off of the top and then turn the clump onto its side and
clean again; do this a number of times. It also helps to pull the roots
up and off to the sides as you wash.
Personally, if I have the time, I take the clumps to the lake and swish
them in the water while I am pulling each cluster of roots apart; the
more dirt you get off the clump the easier it is to pull the divisions
apart or to see where you need to make cuts.
The best tools I have found for the removal of Hosta clumps from the
ground are the above fork with flat blades and a tiling spade. Dig
around the clump, starting six inches from the base of the clump. Once
you have cut a circle around the clump, pry the clump lose and pop it
out of the ground. On very large clumps in heavy rocky soils or clay
based soils it can be a chore.
Two pulled divisions
The dirt is washed off and I only lost one or two leaves. We want to
keep as many leaves and as many roots as possible on our new divisions
so that the plant will grow fast and become strong for next year.
Hosta can be divided any time of the year, but mid to late summer is
best, because at this time of the year plants are actively growing new
roots. After some practice, you can produce nice plants that do not even
look like they have been divided.
If you divide in the spring before the eyes have completely expanded,
expect to have smaller and shorter leaves if you have to use a knife and
cut the crowns. If you can keep from cutting up the crowns you can
expect good results with a nice balanced clump shape.
If you divide in late spring after the leaves are out most of the way -
many times you will end up with clumps that look floppy the rest of the
season or until new leaves grow if you choose to cut off the old leaves.
Three pulled divisions Here we have the 'Francee' clump semi-divided. On
this clump, I have made all divisions by hand without the use of a
knife.
The less cutting that you can do on your clumps, the better your
divisions will look and grow.
The first step, after cleaning the dirt off of the roots, is to pull any
easily removable stems from the crown.
After you have removed the easy divisions, wash the clump again and pull
the clump in half. Keep pulling the different sections in half until you
get to the number of stems per division you want. In most cases. I
divide my Hosta for increase or to sell the next year- so I divide down
to single stems and keep them well watered and fertilized with a mild
foliar spray.
To remove a stem from the crown, use a back and forth pulling motion and
not a side wise motion, work the stem back and forth until it comes
loose or breaks from the crown. In the above picture, we see a nice
large division on the right ready for potting up - it will have three or
more eyes next spring. On those Hosta that are slower growing, like the
large blues, a nice large well rooted single stemmed division like this
one will give you a nice large mature single or double set of stems next
year, with very large leaves.
The other two clumps I will divide more for multiplication purposes and
half would be ready for selling and the other half will go back in the
ground to grow out.
Hosta 'Colossal' root ball Here is our clump of Hosta 'Colossal'. Notice
how tight the clump is growing - there is no way that this can be
divided by hand.
PA nice sharp knife will have to be used. Spread the roots out so that
you can located a place to make your cut. Remember that you want to keep
as many roots and leaves as possible, so make your cuts through the
crown but not into the roots. I start by cutting the crown in half. I do
this by placing the knife in the center of the crown, as far away as I
can be from any large stems.
Make the cut about half way through the crown and then see if you can
pull it apart by hand; use the same back and forth pulling motion. If
you can't pull it apart then make the cut deeper.
Two cut divisions Notice how I have tried to not cut any of the roots,
also notice that no mater how well you wash - once you start making your
divisions you will need to wash more.
If you are just making a division for a friend or another plant for a
different place in the garden - these two pieces would make nice looking
clumps next year the way they are now.
Five Divisions Made with a Knife I have made five divisions using the
knife. Notice that some of the stems are cut in half and others do not
have a balanced set of roots around them. This is the disadvantage of
having to use the knife. Also note that we have less divisions. Both of
the clumps started with around 20 stems.
From the 'Francee', I produced 20 divisions with ten large ones that
were potted up for next year and ten that were planted back in the
ground. All of them had a good set of balanced roots and will produce
nice looking plants next year that will be much large than our replanted
divisions.
From the 'Colossal', I produced five divisions for selling and five that
needed to be replanted. Those I had to replant will be smaller next
year.
Once you have your divisions, the next step is planting them. Do not let
the roots dry out too much. If you can not plant them right away, place
some moist dirt or peat moss on the roots and put them in a place out of
direct sun light. If your roots dry a little bit before you get a chance
to replant - soak them in a bucket of water with a small amount of
fertilizer. Do not leave the plants in water for more than a day, the
roots will begin to rot.
For divisions that you have produced by pulling them apart and which
have a nice balanced root distribution - plant your divisions about 1
inch deep- spread the roots out and cover the stems until you cannot see
any of the white portions at the base of the stems. Water them in well
so that there are no large air pockets in the soil. Do not step on the
soil around the plants - this will compact the soil.
If you had to use a knife and cut up the crown - plant the divisions
around 1.5-2 inches deeper and water in well.
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