A couple of weeks before eyes started to appear here in MN; I covered one of my hosta beds that gets a lot of shade with about 4 inches of cedar mulch a neighbor was getting rid of. Now as the rest of my yard has started to wake up, nothing doing with this bed. I uncovered some of the plants last night, and the eyes, with the lack of sun are coming up all white.

My questions are.... Should I uncover the plants down to the old mulch line if you will, for sun, growth, and to avoid crown rot.... and if I don't, will they eventually make their way through the 4 inches of new mulch unscathed?

Thanks for your input.