You're in Texas. Many of the other Texans here have better luck growing hosta in pots. In which case, some sort of fertilizer is a necessity.

Hopefully FreshAirTowneSquare will pipe in! She's had some experience with potted hosta

Do you freeze where you are? If you only get down into the low forties, with an occasional 30-ish, then I would recommend that you put them in pots. That is how it is here near San Jose. I tried Patriot in the ground and it got smaller and smaller and smaller. Mine in pots do VERY well. Pots in bark (very fast draining soil) and put in a dry place during our winter rains. Texas is different, so I hope the texans will reply.

Whatever it takes it is well worth a try to grow these beauties.

-Babka

We had an exceptionally cold winter this year - got down to 15 for a few days. The hostas I have are in the ground and do exceptionally well - they must love where they are located - they are huge, healthy. I have Earth Angel....its in a 1 gallon pot, and I plan to make an order from a couple of mail order nurseries [am considering Hallson and Naylor - anyone got any other suggestions?] We have just gotten lots of rain, but its feast or famine with rain usually. I had Guacomole in a pot - it did very well for a couple of years, but faded away - hence, my reluctance to put in pots. I have plenty of places to put hostas, and would like to build up to some pretty beds with many different kinds - like I have seen in some of the beautiful photos here on Gardenweb. Although I havent fertilized my other hostas and they are doing great, I would like to learn more about what they like. Would also like to know if there is anyplace in the East Texas area [Houston/Dallas/Ft. Worth] that is a hosta breeder that sells to the public. Thanks.....
Judith

Welcome to the forum. I grow all of my hostas in containers in bark like babka mentioned. I will put a link to the system I have been using. If you are having good luck with them in the ground, you may want to continue. Maybe you get more rain there and have better soil? Mine simply would not prosper in the ground. The closest nursery I have found is Bob Scott's in Oklahoma City. They have a wonderful display garden and a nice selection of plants.
Here is Abba Dabba Do. A good grower for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: constant water

I noticed some of my hosta in one bed are not doing so well. When I dug up the smallest one it had tiny red bugs in the root area. I did not find any slugs in the bed. Does any one know what the bug is or how to get rid of it.

hi judith-another fellow rosarian i see. i grow many hostas in pots and they mostly do great; i use a light potting soil and seems to work fine.

Hi Alameda,
I also grow in pots. However, Smith County did some hosta trials a few years back and apparently did well with them. Some varieties did better than others. If you want to grow in the ground, you might call the extention service in Smith and see if they did anything special. The agent's name is Keith Hansen. His email is k-hansen(at)tamu.edu. He responded to my email by sending me the list of their trial plants, the ratings and recommending I look at the list of recommended varieties from Tony Avent at plants delight nursery. All their trial plants were on some kind of automatic irrigation system, though. They mentioned a section of their trial was hurt by the broken irrigation system.

I have some I plan to put in the ground. I'm growing out several to get them a little larger root system before I do it. Over the past year, there have been two or three articles in the Dallas Morning News that mention people growing hosta and doing well with them. Also, a former client has some that have done very well for her. Again, they are on a sprinkler system. I don't know the varieties, but they all look like they might be Blue Angel to me. A couple are at least 2 ft. tall and 3 ft. across. All have been planted in the last 5 years.

I don't think the recommended varieties are the same in the ground as in pots. I'm having a heck of a bad time with Blue Angel in a pot and it is always one of the ones that gets recommended.

By the way, the Dallas Arboretum has done some trials. They also have one going on right now, if you get a chance to go look. You might check their website as well. I have heard that deep bed preparation is required. We're talking about black gumbo soil, though. If you are in east Texas, you probably have good soil. Voles can be a problem in sandy soil, though. That guy who does the heirloom bulbs in Golden Texas says he has problems with voles.

Good luck.

bkay

Hi Judith,

I'm sorry. I didn't read your second post. It sounds like you are already doing well. The only thing I can suggest is to get good plants.

As far as local, Northhaven Gardens has some hosta. I haven't been there this year, but Ralph Pinkus is the person who introduced hosta to the Dallas area. I havne't been there in a couple of years. Calloway's has a few. They are pretty pricey - $20.00 range for not uncommon varieties. They are really nice sized plants, though. If you'll look on Monrovia's website, they detail which varieties they have (Calloway's source). They are a wholesaler, but you can probably order them through your independent garden center.

I drive down Central, right by Northhaven each Monday. If you are interested, I'll stop and see what they have. Just let me know before a Monday.

bkay