Hi Teeka and welcome to the wonderful world of hostas. Most hostas will hold their color from spring thru the fall season especially when grown in shade. Once the frost hits them they will be done for the year. They do need a dormant period every year. Just remember to water, water, and water this summer to help them get established.

Which varieties did you purchase?

Tim

So if I grow them in containers, what do I do with them once they go dormant(do their leaves just die? or is there any green left for me to know they are still alive?)Do you stash them in a corner or just leave them where they've always been?

Here are a few of them, and I hope I don't butcher the names!:

Queen Josephine Shiny Leaf

So Sweet

Francee White edged

Moonstruck

Wide Brim

Brim Cup

Gold Standard

Sieboldii 'Kabitan'

Halcyon Powder Blue

Thanks for the warm welcome, Tim!

Hey Tim.

The foliage will die. Die off to a sorry, soggy (or crispy) demise in the fall...depending on the weather. There is no winter interest.

You can remove the dead foliage after they die off. I like to leave a couple of the flower stalks in the spot, uncut...or cut down but left several inches in length so it's a marker spot when spring comes and anxiously watching and waiting for them to come up.

I do not grow hosta in pots because winters here range from mild to frigid...predictable weather, but temp fluctuation does too much damage to pots for me. I don't want to increase my chances of hosta death. I'm sure someone else will post info about hosta in containers.

Gayle

After they go dormant, you have to be careful that the crown does not sit in moisture all winter. That will cause rot. You can store the pot in an unheated garage or shed, I just would not leave it out in your rainy winters. But, if you live in a snowy area of the PNW, you could leave the pots out, just cover them. You could group them all together and cover them with plastic tarp... in some way that would sheet off the snow melt.

Welcome let the enabling begin! :) This is definitly the best forum to come too for your Hosta questions. I got the bug last spring when I got some Hostas from my great aunt's house and this forum helped a lot. It gets really cold here usually but this winter was pretty mild stayed around 0 only getting down to about -15 maybe one day and this was the first winter I had to winter over any plants in pots. I only wintered a few Hostas over Karin and Golden Tiara(which for the life of me I have no idea where it is-children and tags don't mix!)The Karin seems fine but can't say about the Golden Tiara yet, I guess I'll find out eventually! But most of the other plants came through fine.

These posts can help a little for overwintering pots.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hosta/msg1212042616494.html

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hosta/msg0918185927399.html

overwintering in pots
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/north/msg091344177929.html

and this one is a bit different but I think might help if you use containers

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hosta/msg0918185927399.html

most likely.. wait.. WELCOME!!!!

just tipping them over.. so rain and moisture does not drown the crowns.. will work fine ... a dormant hosta needs the cool period.. it really doesnt need all that much water ...

plus all the other posts ..

where is babka..

ken

Teeka-
You have aquired a fine bunch of hostas! I'm far south of the PNW (down near San Jose) so I cannot offer much advice. Naylor Creek Nursery is in Washington and they grow terriffic plants. Are you planning on keeping them in pots or putting them in the ground?

-Babka

so much new info! I love the idea of the half barrels for containers and those pictures are so inspiring. Babka, yes, I do plan to put them all in containers because what I am trying to create right now is a botanical garden on my deck!!!:)

I left a bunch of half barrels in my old home (filled with plants that just wouldn't survive here) and one thing I didn't like is that they only had one hole at the bottom for drainage...are there some out there with more drainage holes? I don't have a drill out here:)

So if I overwinter them in the garage, do I have to water them at all?

ONE other question: How do you get through the winter months without the hostas....what other foliage plants are there that have winter interest in zone 7-8? Maybe I have to get some indoor ones??

Thanks, everyone, I am so glad I found this forum!

teeka

Teeka, you need to accept that you are NOT in a tropical climate. You are not going to have the lush leafy environment all year, like you're used to. You can, however, surround yourself with alternatives.

I would suggest looking at evergreen shrubs.... conifers and deciduous. The PNW is known for being a great area for conifers! Try going to a local nursery and asking what you can look at that is evergreen in your area!

Incidentally, if you look into heuchera, they are evergreen. But they do put out a new flush of leaves in the spring. They come in many colors.

"ONE other question: How do you get through the winter months without the hostas....what other foliage plants are there that have winter interest in zone 7-8?"

Shrubs, trees, and ornamental grasses have winter interest...meaning they don't die back. Some perennials are left up over winter (not cut back)...ones which have interesting seed pods or are kind of architectural in their stalks. Snow lands on them and it looks pretty.

Zones 7 and 8 are still pretty tropical to me. If you get any snow, the scenery is beautiful. You could always go out and shovel snow. Haha.

Gayle

I thought the PNW is known for Rhododendrons because of its abundant rain falls and its towering conifers providing shade. Some people there have stuck 300 into a 3 acre or smaller lot. They come large, medium and small in size and in leaves. All kind of colors. Here in zone 5a in NY I just now have my Rhodos starting to flower. See Greer Gardens on their Web site. I have several PJM right now all purple with flowers, some sit in sun. You can combine hostas underneath taller Rhododendrons. They seem to look tropical to me.
Good Luck!
Bernd

that is gorgeous!

Here, winter is just alot of rain and overcast, not snow.

The rhododendrons out here are spectacular right now, OMG!!

I do need to change my mindset and look for interesting bark on trees, maybe, winter berries and look into the conifers, which are also spectacular out here.

Wouldn't it be great,though,to have those bright hosta leaves to look at in the winter months??

Thanks for your feedback, I am definitely going to take full advantage of this spring and summer with hostas,though, I am going to buy more this weekend:)
It's all those amazing pictures you put up in another post!!I have alot of catching up to do!!

teeka

Teeka-
Does no snow mean no freeze where you are? Down here we need to shade hostas from that California sun. Here is our atrium (covered with 2x2 redwood and 50% shade cloth). One pic from August 2008 with some red coleus, and the other two just this morning. Been busy and haven't had time to move these pots around yet. Some will go on an east facing deck. When they outgrow a 3 gal plastic can, I have to divide them and give them away. No room.

-Babka

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Babka,

Beautiful pictures!

Your love of plants and especially hostas give a new meaning to the word ingenuity. Wish I lived nearer when you decide to divide and give away some. lol

Teeka, Since you are just starting to aquire hostas, you have some great hosta gardens to view and get ideas from.

Don't make the mistake that I did on thinking you need 'all' hostas. I still am aquiring more when I really need to 'fine tune' some of my beds. Oh well, some day----.

Connie

Babka,

Your photos are amazing. What a beautiful collection you have.

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