This is not the ideal time as it's getting into the hot time of the season. But if the option is now or never, you could certainly do it, just expect them to sorta flop over.

Look on this forum for instructions on moving a large fully leafed out hosta. It'll be on page 1 or 2.

And yes, there are several variegated forms that can get rather large, given time.

I can't think of any green and white hosta that would be as big as S and S...
You can move hosta now....in fact it's not a bad time as long as you water lots and often, use masking tape to tape the leaves into an upright position until the roots take hold....then the leaves will push the tape away...
Cut them up and make more. they will wilt less if you soak the cut up divisions in a bucket of water for a week or so....leaving the place where the leaf joins the roots out of the water.
It will grow new roots where you cut it apart and and the leaves perk up and soon be ready for it's new home.
Go for it!
Linda C

For the large variegated look up h. montana 'Aureomaginata,' and h. 'Frosted Jade.' I suppose the scale of one to the other depends on the age/maturity/growing conditions of the plants being compared. In the right conditions, Montana Aureo could be very large.

If the hosta is that big, you're gonna need a substantial root ball to pull off a summer move. If you lose too many roots, the plant cannot keep up. It might survive, but it won't look great for the rest of the year.

Thanks for the info,I will dig up and hope for the best

What about a compromise? Remove the part that is over the sidewalk.

Actually, hostas are warm (hot) season growers. They put on all of their root growth in June, July, and August (as well as earlier and later in warmer climates), so summer is an ideal time to move and divide them. Fall is the worst time, spring is usually better as you won't lose any stems and the plants themselves look better as they unfurl.

But if you don't mind a couple floppy stems (center eyes aren't as strong because they are often held up by the outer stems) or losing a few leaves this time of year, then chop them up into as many pieces as you want, don't worry about saving all the roots, and they will put on all new root growth immediately after planting and watering. Just remember to keep them planted at the SAME depth as they were previously growing. New roots develop on the crown just at or a little above the old roots, near the top of the crown. If you plant them high (as shown in the instructions here on garden web) then they will struggle to grow new roots and will struggle to ever take up water, hence the problem with continuously flopping stems that cause people to get out the masking tape to hold up. Instead, just plant them at the same level as before, water them really good, and most divisions will hold themselves up just fine.

In 4 to 6 weeks the new divisions will be almost fully rooted for the winter. If you wait until fall they won't put out any new root growth until the following summer, usually starting in June, so in the fall you would definitely want to salvage as many roots as possible.

Hope that helps to clear up some of the misconceptions going around on this topic.

Chris

And I learn something new everyday!

Karen

Thanks Chris. I live in SWMO zone 6. I usually divide in the spring and early August. This year I'm going to start early July. Thanks again. By the way, is it a good idea to keep the new divisions in a nice shady spot, or in a sunnier spot and water them heavy?

I recently repotted some hostas and a couple of them appear to be wilting / dying. I suspected I might not have planted them the right depth, so I checked and found that I hadn't planted them all the same depth. In looking for instructions on the web, I found Chris's message above which says "If you plant them high (as shown in the instructions here on garden web)..."

Could someone pls guide me to these instructions? I checked the FAQs but couldn't find them.

Thanx!

It's unlikely they'd be dying because of planting depth this soon.

They're probably limp because they dried out while being transplanted. Chances are, they will probably be fine, but now that the existing growth has gone limp, it'll stay limp this season. New growth will have better life to it.

Think of it this way... once you fold a piece of paper, the fold will always be there.

One thing you could have done to minimize the wilting is to tape up the leaves. Leave the tape on for a week, or so, till the roots start taking up water again and it should do better.

Also, when you transplant, it's good to keep it out of direct sun.

when you repot a fully leafed out hosta.. you interfere with its abilitly to pump water to the leaves..

ergo ipsp presto.. the leaves wilt like the lettuce they are ...

if you leave lettuce on the counter for a few hours.. would you not expect the same...

i appreciate that you searched for the old topic.. but you should have started your own thread .. so replies come to you .. rather than the old poster..

ken

As Archie Bunker used to say, "Ipso Fatso."