These are 36 liners in 4" pots that I got late last fall. They sat on the driveway over winter. I took them inside in early march to give them a headstart growing.
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I haven't been brave enough to try this. Keep us apprised of how they do. It would be great to get a midyear update, a fall update and then the same thing next year. Give us a name for your group of plants. That way we'll know to what you are talking about next time.

I might try liners - maybe next year or the year after. But let us know occasionally how you are doing. It interests many of us.

bkay

I've bought hosta liners for the past two years. I may again this year too. Some of them do better if grown in a pot for the summer to gain some root size, mostly the minis, then they go into the ground. Most have done really well, and one in particular this year that surprised me the most in how much it has jumped in size is Ice Prancer. It's only two eyes, but the one eye is nearly as big as one of those on my mature Elegans. Most others that I planted two years ago have doubled or tripled in eyes, some don't appear to have grown much, but will know better when they leaf out. Last year's babies are a mix of some having doubled or remained the same.

Buying liners is a lot cheaper than buying full grown plants, but it does take patience in growing them. No instant gratification. I grow them in a holding bed where they can gain size before moving them around to different beds. It's easier to see their progress and care for them when they're all together.

Karen

I place a small order with Hosta Liners this year for a few reasons. First they guarantee their plants as disease free. Their prices are good, and they had some plants that were high on my wish list and weren't generally available. I bought what they call 4 inch market ready plants. These are larger than their regular liners and have been grown in 4" pots. However, they ship bare root. I purchased Fire and Ice for $6.75; Faith for $6.50, and Lakeside Prophecy for $9.50. Shipping was a reasonable $8.95 for Priority Mail.

Hosta Liners being located in Georgia these plants have been up and growing for a while. They arrived here in zone 5 today.

Here is what they looked like upon arrival.

LS Prophecy, Faith, and Fire and Ice in that order. You can see that the root systems look good and that F&I appears to have two eyes.

F&I was going directly into the ground in a bed that has all white flowers. It will be protected from mid day sun by a Kousa Dogwood. Here it is planted.

There will be frost tonight, so I've put a pot next to it and it will be covered anytime we may have frost, probably for the next three weeks.

LS Prophecy and Faith are going into pots on my deck. I may keep LS Prophecy on the deck permanently as it is a very beautiful plant and I want to have it front and center. The permanent bed for Faith is still being prepared. Here's what they look like potted up.

These two will spend the night in my 3 season porch until all risk of frost is gone. It's early, but it's nice to have some Hosta in full leaf. Overall I'm pleased with Hosta Liners and will likely order from them again.

Steve

Steve,
Thanks for showing those plants, I like LS Prophecy and Faith, they will be offered at my Hosta Society sale in a month for perhaps a $ more, will buy them. This reminds me that I got El Nino and Dancing in the Rain of similar size from Jung's for twice the price.
Bernd

Steve,

Your LS Prophecy looks great. I wanted to order that one as a liner but they were already sold out.

i purchased my liners about 5 years ago. a bazillion of 'em. lol

the ones i put in pots fared "eh"...though it did help a few that had poor root systems/super mini ones. i put some others directly in the ground in a basic soil area and said good luck....about 30% are still with me today.

still others (the ones i was most excited about) i planted directly in the ground in my premium soil spot in the yard that also got some sun. they are HUGE. my success rate was excellent.

just my two cents.

Andy, sweetheart! How da heck are ya? I put all of mine in the ground that year. I only lost some to voles. I'm still trying to cage all my hosta.

Paaaaaaaaaaaam!!!!!!! So happy to see you still around! I'm doing great - how are you?

Yes, I think of you all of the time when I shuffle those crazy liners around. ROFL

lol - still kicking and co-oping.

Does anyone know if HostaPlants.com, HostaLiners.com, StreakedHostas.com, HostaGallons.com, and BentleyGardens.com are all related? I believe HostaPlants.com is owned by Bill Silvers of Silver-Elbert nursery in Georgia. Bill is a regular seller at hosta conventions and has great stuff. It is pretty clear that HostaPlants.com, HostaLiners.com, StreakedHostas.com, and HostaGallons.com are all his, but Bentley Gardens is a big eBay seller, also in Georgia, but with a different address. Just curious, but if Silvers is involved in Bentley Gardens I'd feel comfortable ordering from them.

coralb, please update us on how long your liners take to catch up to hostas in gallon containers you might buy. The prices seem good and many new varieties are available.

Mark

Mark,

I know that Hosta Liners, Streaked Hostas, and Bentley Gardens are all part of the same business run by Ed Thaubald in Locust Grove, GA. I don't know anything about HostaPlants.com or HostaGallons.com. Neither of those were listed on the business card included with my order, nor were they referenced or linked on the Hosta Liners web site.

I'm sure you could email Ed (bentleygardens at aol.com) and ask him about those other sites.

Steve

pam, i dont know how you do it! i dont have ANY space left! only thing i am still nuts about are lilies and ligularias. lol

Steve, what kind of planting mix are you using?

That's a self made mix called the 5-1-1. I got the recipe from the container forum. It's five parts bark fines, one part peat (or bagged soil) and one part perlite. Here's a link to a thread on that forum.

A lot of people on the hosta forum use bark mulch as part of their mix. It provides a much more free draining mix. It has to be watered a lot, but it gives the air space needed to produce good root growth.

Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: 5-1-1 mix with pictures

I use aged pinebark and sand with lime for ALL of my plants, once a liner comes out of the tray it goes into that mix, I have had very good success with that mix

Ed

Ed,

Thanks for clearing that up. I will also be at the national convention, and will be sure to stop by and say hello. Thanks also for the great plants. LS Prophecy was at the top of my wish list and to be able to find it in a good size and a reasonable price determined my decision to order from your site. I'm glad I did.

Steve

Bill's website's are hostaplants.com and streakedhostas.com

My websites are liners, gallons and Bentley.....

We both grow plants for our respective nurseries....I run the admin on ALL of the sites, and ship most of the orders from here from ALL sites. That's why you'll see hostaliners.com label on a streakedhostas.com order.

I will be at the national in Massachusetts helping Bill with vending as Silvers-Elbert Nursery...

I am proud to be affiliated with Bill and he has been an inspiration to me for years now

I hope everyone's plants are doing well and have much success in the future

Ed

Sounds good Steve, happy we can help find that one plant.

Ed