Well,anyone who has been on this forum for awhile knows that I never water hostas,except when newly planted. We always get enough rain to maintain the garden. Phil

When it rains - and we're fortunate in getting an adequate supply of that. The only time I do any supplemental watering is when establishing a new plant or shrub or tree or when I'm doing some transplanting.

My hostas do fine - more than fine - without copious extra water.

This post was edited by duluthinbloomz4 on Sat, Jun 7, 14 at 17:15

I never water anything. The hosta beds are all filled in so stay self-mulched. Pretty much the same with all of the perennial gardens. If something dies from lack of rain, it dies.

Last summer was the first when we really had drought conditions here and everything made it fine.

Well, this is a loaded question, you are right about that! The answer is going to very much depend on zone. Here in zone 7B, the answer is every single day or they will suffer. We actually haven't had much rain here for the whole month of May, the ground is already impossible to even get a trowel into (try that when zone 5 is just starting to ship hostas to you!). I can tell how much I need to water b/c other plants are bent over (and not just in the heat of the day, but in the AM) and looking pitiful. I'd say anyone above zone 7 probably isn't going to need to water as much as anyone Zone 7 or below.

Never. My garden gets adequate rainfall that keeps just about everything (even astilbe) adequately watered without help from me.

Something newly planted or recently divided will get a recycled cat litter jug of water following planting: a pinhole poked an inch from the bottom of the jug, jug filled with water which exits pinhole at base of plant. Water remaining in jug below pinhole prevents jug from blowing around in the wind. Frugal gardener's repurposing & irrigation system.

Every day in the summer. I'm in an arid region, and sun at 6,000' is plenty fierce.

Don B.

If you're in Pittsburgh, then an inch a week when they're new and an inch every two weeks after they're established. If you're in West Virginia, it depends where in WV you are (Weirton?).

tj

Till summer heat arrives we get enough rain to get by, then every 2-3 days. If leaves are really sagging in the sunniest area (1 spot) even more often till temps break.

Newly planted ones get water every day for a week or more.

Paul

My home is in zone 7a and rain has been scarce. I planted 3 new hostas and transplaned 3. They were browning at the leaves despite deep watering daily. I bought a product called Soil Moist Granules and mixed it around the soil of the hostas and watered liberally and mulched. At this time, the browning has slowed down and the plants appears to be getting established.

I water my pots every 3 or 4 days, along with the rest of the landscaping. We get no rain here all summer and fall.

-Babka

tsugajunkie im in alderson wv

I was just thinking about this thread as I was out watering, LOL and I thought of another factor or two. How much the area is exposed to light and wind. If your area is very shaded and has plenty of trees working as a windbreak, then you would certainly water less. In my situation, the trees are sparse (for now :) and the areas that my hostas are in are part shade to part sun even, so are exposed to lots of light and wind that tends to dry things out in a snap. This and my zone leads to my daily watering regimen. Just more to think about.

Even when we had that bad drought in the Midwest a couple of years ago, I didn't water anything. The only thing that suffered was the grass. But everything in the garden (hosta, coneflowers, ferns, coral bells, etc) did just fine. The hostas in direct sun burned on the edges but didn't wilt or die off otherwise.

So you're well into the Appalachians. How's your soil?

tj

clay soil...but I removed clay and added compost and good soil where I planted hostas...went way bigger than I needed on the holes I dug

Steeltown, I'm mostly pots and in zone 9a I water just about every day when it warms up. I have one bed in the ground by the driveway and I don't water it until it's been dry for several days. Our normal weather pattern is afternoon thunderstorms but normal weather seems undependable these days. Since this bed is on the west side of our house and by the driveway, I will then water it around 1pm to try and keep them cool, cool off the driveway. Humidity is a factor here too. Very high.

I, too, have clay. Better to amend the entire bed rather than just the hole, even if its a wide hole. You run the risk of creating the "bathtub" effect where the amended hole fills with water with a nice clay liner. You would be good with my original suggestion of an inch a week when they're new and an inch every two weeks after they're established. The inch comes from either you or rain. Now, that's not planting in July or August, even the bathtub might not keep up with transpiration then, and if in a lot of sun you may need more.

tj

I've read many times here on this forum that you cannot over water a hosta, unless it doesn't have any drainage. With your amended clay soil, your moisture retention will be better than someone with sandy soil.
If you're willing to accept some crispy edges and signs of sunburn, you probably won't need to water established hostas much at all, just like the folks on this forum are saying. I rarely watered my garden before. However, I have changed my tune quite a bit...I got tired of coming home to a sunburned Sum & Substance.
I do have some hostas in nearly full sun. They WILL get sunburned if I don't water them almost every day.

I have a well, so don't have a water bill.

I look forward to my hostas every year, and I don't like to see them distressed. This year, I plan to water a lot through the dog days of summer, then I will slow it down. I'm curious to see if my more generous watering will result in any faster growth than before, but that's not why I'm doing it. I just want them to look lush and happy.

I think your hostas will train you...if you see them distressed and you don't like it, you will water more. You'll learn which areas need attention daily, and which might not even need attention weekly.

When a backyard neighbor cut down some tall trees, I had a few hostas scorch if not watered a lot-especially on hot days. But I remedied that with some fast growing vines, and now things seem ok. I kind of water when I feel like it, after a hot and windy day and/or when i have time. I have two rain barrels that I use to fill watering cans that I use to go around and water my annuals and various potted and in ground hostas. Probably not very efficient, but I think of it as quality time with my hostas, lol. Also that way my husband doenst have to remark on the sprinkler being left on for hours at a time.

Very well-stated, Mary. Crispy edges = Grrrrrrr...

Don B.

We're on a well, so when the weather gets really hot most of the hostas get watered every day, because most of mine are under evergreens and maples, which compete for water. I use Sun Power as a barometer... when it starts to droop I know it's time to water them even more. A friend of my husband's installed an irrigation system for us many years ago, before I added all my hosta beds. It doesn't cover my hosta beds completely but considering everything, it's the best money we ever spent.

I really thought I was in the minority until I read irawon's reply. I water once or twice a week due to all the trees. Rain doesn't even count for my plants until it's hard enough to make it through the leaf canopy; and even then the roots soak up a LOT of water. I also move plants all through summer, so sometimes I even water three times a week especially during the dry summers we've had lately.

Hummm , maybe I have been watering too much. I generally have water running at least 5 hours a day too/ Between the hostas and the vegetables, I don't seem to be drowning any and they are growing just fine. I have clay amended soil but the top seems to fry out to much and then I can't pull weed besides. Very interesting to know how much is too much

Almosthooked - (OBTW you ARE hooked) If your plants are happy, you are not watering too much.

-Babka

Babka, I guess the Almost maybe should be dropped huh??? lol But I really am trying to quit... some day anyway. We had 8 of our friends over and they hadn't been here in the spring for a while and couldn't believe what I had grown in the last couple years. The men were kind of avoiding the walk about because they were sure the wives were getting the ideas of maybe just doing it to

Coil, My husband is always turning off the sprinkler too and thinking it is enough . We are on a well. so as long as the water table is high, I water . If it wears out the pump, then we can go buy another if need be. Don't mess with my water!

I finally got the water hooked up on my new frig, the other old had an ice maker that NEVER was hooked up.. Must be the water thing huh!

thanks for all the info guys...I have been watering 2 to 3 times a week..im on a well..and im also about to install couple rain barrels

Earlier this spring I was worried that I had underwatered last year, but my plants all look great this year so maybe they don't need as much as I thought. I definitely used to water a lot more in the early days of my garden.