I like bowl shaped pots for the smaller hosta - with multiple hostas it's like a mini garden. Easier to control watering. I also have Pandora's Box alone in a small pot and it has grown better than it did when in the garden.

Below is the bowl, I have two that I need to adjust/move - Popo is growing too big and will need dividing or removal to the garden; also Summer Music was a small division and will probably be too big by next year and ready for the garden. So I'll move a couple of the variegated mouse hosta that haven't thrived in the garden.

Paul

hi

you seem to be thinking along the lines of planting once to perfection.. and then never changing

do what you wish..

if they thrive.. you win ...

if they struggle.. because you went a bit to deep.. try again ...

its all about vigor.. not that they will disappear overnight

pauls is NOT 4 inches deep.. that is my only observation ... which you could solve with some coarse rock in the bottom ...

ken

For reference, my bowl is about 7" tall and soil depth at center is approx 5".

Paul

I've had Gaigin in a 2"x10" bonsai dish for years. Probably time to divide him, as he covers the dish.

-Babka

a href="http://photobucket.com"; target="_blank">{{gwi:1050424}}

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Paul, great idea for the minis in bowls! I'll have to steal that one.

Dougald, glad you asked this question, cuz I've been wondering the same thing.

Deanna

Babka, did you switch out the potting soil at any time on that, or is it in the same potting soil it was in when you planted it?

Deanna

Deanna- I changed it once a few years ago. I changed to fine orchid bark and just give it 1/2 strength Miracle Grow about once a month. I have cool nights here and I need FAST draining medium for my pots.

-Babka

Paul - How do you over winter your bowl of beauty? I would LOVE to do this but am VERY afraid I would lose my lovelies!
Do you put it in the garage/shelter? Thanks!

cl, I pull all my pots into my three season porch. By late Feb to early March they were starting to grow due to the mild winter.

Paul

Babka,
I have a pot of Radiant Edger that looks like that picture of yours. I should have split it 2 years ago and now I am afraid I might have to break the pot to get it out. Not looking forward to that in the fall!

chris

I had 3 of my Mouse minis in the garden for 3 years and they survived. This year I moved them to a container and they are thriving! I also have Pandora's Box in a shallow container and it seems happy, apparently they like snug roots.

I have a long trough for four first year small plants. Maybe some of them are minis, but I don't recall now. A trough is like a window box but sits on the floor or a shelf. It is serviceable, but it is not as pretty a display as a bowl-type pot is.

The bowl I have is a footed bowl, so it is round inside and the foot is the flat part. Let's see if I have a picture ready to hand. The hosta I have in it are Pandora's Box, Dixie Queen, and 2 Tiny Tears. I have it sitting on my deck table beneath an umbrella. It gets morning sun, and I can keep an eye on its moisture level.

Thanks Paul!

moc - is that a mini daschie or a mini porcelin dog to go along with the mini hostas?

Paul, I have a couple of similar wide shallow bowls in storage. One I used as a impromptu bird bath and sealed the drain with silicon. All I have to do is pop it. I've been holding back on buying minis because my newest bed isn't ready for them yet. I think I will brave the heat today and clean the bowls up and fill them with mix.

My garage is attatched to my house and has the furnace and water heater in it along with my washer and drier. So it never freezes in the winter (hopefully). In the furthest corners from the furnace and nearest the overhead door I am sure it gets close to 32. All my heat is what radiates from the two heating devices and stacks, except once a week when I use my drier. Does this seem a good place to overwinter a couple of potted mini-gardens?

I have been getting up earlier and earlier to beat the heat but so far all that is getting beaten is ME!

Les

Paul and moccasin, how wide are those bowls?

Les, I've overwintered hostas in my garage and it doesn't get below 32. I don't think it would hurt if it did get below 32. I know what you mean - it's 7:20am, and is 83 deg with 54% humidity - yuck. One local meteorologist says it will be 104 today, 106 tomorrow, and 108 Sat, Sun, and Mon. I think I need to move further north.

Deanna

Thx for the answers ... it does seem that minis will thrive in a relatively small depth of soil.

The overwintering is sobering - I had planned to take pot and all and put it in the garden burying it. Here in the Ottawa Valley the ground will be frozen from late November through the end of March. I could store in the garage which does get well below freezing in winter though less cold than outside = the freeze thaw cycles may not be very kind in that space.

Where are my posts going? I'm typing them and they are disappearing....weird.

Anyway, here is what I said before:
Gardenfanatic, the bowl is 12 inches wide, and 4.5 inches deep including the footed base....4.5 inches from top edge to table surface. The soil depth is around 3 inches I suppose.
And it drains very well.

Les, that is a real squirrel dog, my little Dixie girl. She is the reason I got the little hosta Dixie Queen. That girl is on guard for any squirrel which comes to the feeders, which is her stance in this picture too. Dixie is the boss around here.

Dougald, never having had to deal with frozen ground (except briefly and then who knew what it meant!), I was thinking that you might use a couple of hay bales to surround your minis, in their containers. Or not...just in some plastic milk jugs with the tops cut off or whatever that would not freeze. I think this kind of insulation would help, or am I not allowing for some basic factor? Down here in south Alabama, my concern has always been to keep things from freezing, not keeping them frozen. A different way of gardening from what you are dealing with.

Deanna, that bowl is 15" across and 7"tall. I also reuse Pansy Bowls with a mix of 1st and 2nd year hosta seedlings...here's a pic. It creates a bouquet of leaf colors.

Paul

Sorry here's the pic.

Paul

Oh, Paul, that bowl looks great with the variety of hosta in it! The bowls are very easy to deal with for multiple smaller plants. But, I do not like to lean down so much to see them. However, the flat footed bowls are easy to set upon a pedestal or fern stand, or a shelf, and enjoy the plantings that way.

Babka out in California with her Asian style home and garden must use the bonsai style pots frequently. I have no Asian style but like such an ornamental set up. I think such a container would make our hosta feel right to home. :)

mocassinlanding ... good point on insulation - I use that technique on a variety of other plants in the garden beds to either ward off the extreme cold to grow something that is not hardy here (like wisteria) or to prevent the freeze thaw cycles from starting growth too early in the event of an early March thaw (like oriental lillies).

I have two choices really. One would be to store the dormant roots in the pot in a dark very cool (but not freezing) place - the garage qualifies as long as the pots are well insulated and I watch carefully for the inevitable extended streak of weather below -20F. The other choice is to "plant" the hosta, pot and all, in the soil and just let it freeze as it would if it were not in a container. I would plant it in winter shade and since we get reliable snow cover (ask me how I know - my shovel is handy) the ground will stay frozen till about mid April.
This would be less work and less prone to human and weather vagaries IF it will work.

Any others out there who would freeze their hostas in the pot for the winter? Will it work?

Freezing the plants in pots and sinking them in the ground has one major drawback... they tend to hold moisture in the cold spring... the early spring rains are cold, the soil is frozen or only partially thawed, and the moisture builds up in the pot as it really has nowhere to go. I mostly pop the little ones out of the pot and right into some well drained soil for the winter. In spring, I dig them up and repot them. One danger here - watch for frost heave in the spring... nothing sadder than a cute little hosta with small roots laying on top of the soil drying out...

For my big pots - I let them freeze hard and then hope we don't get a huge snowstorm in November... cause I go around and tip them on their sides. That way they don't build up excess water during the winter and early spring. When they thaw, I set them back upright.

And just in general - water is the thing you always want to control in pot-grown hostas. Pots tend to dry out faster and get hotter than plants in the ground, so you need to keep them well watered. On the other hand, I've talked about the dangers of too much water and rotting. So be sure to have good drainage, including a layer of gravel or whatever on the bottom to let the excess drain away - and then water them very regularly. And do consider how much sun they are going to get - a clay pot can get too hot to touch sitting in the sun... that is not a soil temperature hostas are happy with.

I just remembered - one of Bob Solberg's tips at the convention this week... clay pots are not hostas friends - they like plastic. His position is that clay wicks moisture and retains heat. I, on the other hand, don't like plastic, so I either water more or pot the plant in plastic and then place that into a pot I find more attractive.

This is a container that I began using for my minis this season and so far so good. It is volcanic rock with a 3" wide by 4" deep hole drilled into it. No drainage holes, but the rock is porous. It is in the center of the photo.

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Ignore the 'green and white' ones, they were here when I moved. I am contemplating what to replace them with.

Hey Paula-the green and whites are hostas too. No need to apologize.

I am commiting myself to defend Lancifolia, U. Albomarinata and other "older" Undulatas and common hostas. They are the foundation our hobby has grown upon. Lets give them a little respect, OK? LOL

H. Undulata Albomarginata were in my top 20 list. Probably the only nomination. I will say that over and over without shame. It is a quite attractive hosta.

Les

Okay. Respect given. :)
Maybe I will only dig up one...

Frost heave is always a concern of course. I have had iris bulbs pushed out of the ground but generally plants establish themselves with roots well enough to move with the soil and settle back. Planting a hosta in fall would not allow its roots to establish so is why I wanted to plant in the pot. Idiothe makes a good point about water and drainage and planting out of the pot seems to work.

I have tried leaving other plants in containers to overwinter and my success has been verrrry low. Even plants hardy to zone 2 don't like a few months of intense cold around and under their containers.

Next winter I will give a try to planting a containerized hosta in its pot in the ground as per paula's picture and also another beside it out of its pot as per idiothe's suggestion.

There is another option that involves using a sleeve of some sort. If you find convenient pots that nest take one and cut most of the bottom out of it. Then plant your hosta in the other. Dig your hole and set the sleeve in the hole and then the potted hosta into the sleeve. This can be done to allow good drainage which might minimize the chance of crown rot.

I'd planted Liberty, Diana Remembered and Cherry Berry using this method last fall and couldn't get to them to put them into the ground until last month. I've got them planted now and they really have taken off. It seems to me that this years odd weather really put the system to test. I mean - really - 88 degrees in March, below freezing temps twice in April after all were unfurled, then drought conditions, and now as of yesterday 8 days this month to date setting a new record for high temps (98 to 104F)and 0 rain. Only a flood that froze could have made it worse. The potted hostas in the ground in sleeves did just fine.

It gives me sonething to think about. But I can't ignore not everyones dirt is equal. Mine has almost optimum drainage, not too clayee (I just made up that word: very high tech) with a lot of coal fines rather than sand. It might not work as well in clayee soil.

I like that word: if soil with a lot of sand is sandy, why shouldn't soil with a lot of clay be clayee?

Les

Les, what part of Illinois are you in?

Paula - beautiful! Where did you get a pot made out of volcanic rock?

Deanna

I found it online through Kijiji (I don't know if you have Kijiji in the States but it is a regional eBay). There is a fellow about half an hour from my house and he has begun to distribute them. They weren't cheap, though $20 each, but I thought they were wonderful.

North central roughly-about 15 miles south of Joliet on the Kankakee River just east of I-55. If you drive down I-55 you will cross the Des Plaines River and then see the flooded coal strip-mines and mounds of dirt just after you cross the Kankakee River. It rained like crazy all around me last night but not enough to even measure on my Accurite weather station.

But am I making great compost for next year with all the dieing plants. No grass clippings though. I haven't had to mow in over a month. LOL

Les