wow... how deep are the leaves? sounds pretty deep... many many peeps on here with hundreds of hosta varieties and 1k+ plantings over acres of land... many do not worry about 100 percent leaf removal...
though... I would say from the sound of it... your leaves are pretty piled up... two negative things about leaves I will mention... one is a hiding place for critters.. mainly slugs... but voles as well like the warm soil underneath beds of leaves... number two is the fungus... cured and shredded leaf mulch is good to apply... BUT fresh dropped leaves left on beds to begin its decomposition may cause you a fungus or petiole softening/rotting problem...
its basically up to you... I don't worry much about leaf removal as much in the fall though... in spring I'll clear the beds of debris sometime in April(zone 6), then start treating immediately with a fungicide, I'll do my rearranging and dividing, do my ammending and cultivating... then soon reapply some new mulch... I'll then continue with fungicide, slug bait, insecticide and fertilize as needed throughout the year..
actually since you have fall plantings...a good bed of leaves might be beneficial for them this winter... since their roots are not bound into the ground like say spring plantings... they will be more vulnerable to winter heaving...this is where the freezing and thawing of the grounds forces the roots up out of the ground... pretty much putting them inline for termination...
when dealing with gardening.. you are dealing with nature... and a hundred if, ands, buts and variables...
I hope this has been enlightening...
John

I will be removing mine.... I've had nematodes this year and I've read that it's better to remove them in that case.

If you suspect vole activity in your yard, it's best to remove the leaves.

Generally, it's suggested to not mulch in a perennial until after the ground has frozen. The idea is to keep 'em cold, NOT keep 'em warm.

If you leaves are mostly maple leaves, they can form a rather impenetrable matte, so it's suggested to blow them off. You can mulch 'em up and then re-apply if you want, but it's not generally a good idea to leave whole leaves on the garden.

Thanks, John! By "cured", do you mean leaf mulch that has been composting awhile? I do have a pile that I shredded last year. I could rake off the leaves and loosely pile the leaf mulch on, then allow the leaves to continue. They were about 3-4" under the leaves in one spot, kinda tucked away and easy for them to blow to a rest stop there.

I'm sure it is voles, if nothing else, because when I dug up my caladium bulbs today, they had also been nibbled on! GRRR! Dang critters!!

Thanks again for your help!!
Karen

If you have the time, and no compost pile for the leaves, you can remove them until the ground freezes and then put some back. By the time the ground freezes most of the critters will have found their winter hideaways and tend to stay put.

tj

Yeah... when I said cured... I just meant not green...or atleast not freshly fallen...
You'll see lots of opinions and possibilities on this forum... right beside many facts... don't let it all get you stressed...
Hostas are one of the easiest perennials to grow... you don't have to grow yours the biggest or the prettiest... pictures are taken once...you'll never see what peeps plants look like the rest of the time lol....Make gardening a relaxing hobby...
Happy Gardening
John

Thanks, Melissa (I I didn't see your reply when I posted)and TJ--looks like I need to get out and remove some leaves today. I'm sure I have voles, but I haven't done anything about it...from what I read, there is no easy answer! Mostly, my leaves are sassafras in that area where CW is--I don't know if they have the same properties maple leaves have, but I'll remove them anyway. And I'll wait until the ground is frozen to cover them back up.

And, John, you are SO right about the different opinions here--that's what makes this forum so fun to read! I've spent literally hours reading old posts (I think I'm up to page 23 so far....) looking at the beautiful pictures and trying to learn how to protect my growing investment. I probably won't turn into a true hosta expert with vast knowledge about nematodes, HVX, etc., but I enjoy the different personalities and quirks of the folks who are truly passionate about their hostas! (And I'm learning "who" to tread lightly around! ;))
Thanks again!
Karen

Around my hostas I had to fight slugs, might have some nematodes, fought off voles and mice, so I want to stay safe and will remove all debris. With other perennials I never bothered to remove all tree leaves, but always removed all perennial stems and leaves, but hostas seem to have many more enemies so I will have a clean surface soon. Plus spring is usually hectic and soft new growth might get damaged by my rake, so I do it now, and do some touchup in spring.
Bernd

Good thinking, Bernd! You know, people always say, "leave your growth for winter interest", but I personally don't find it that interesting! It's much harder to deal with that matted down, dried up old stuff in the spring than to just take care of it in the fall!
Karen

I live,literally in the woods,and I never do anything til' the spring. There are waay too many leaves to rake out of my hosta gardens. To date,no hostas have ever been lost due to rot. I have Oak,Poplar, Dogwood,and one Red Maple leaves to contend with. I just rake out my paths,and take some leaves out of the hosta beds,as I see fit. It seems to work for me. Phil

Thank you, Phil! While I always have good intentions to fully prepare my landscape for winter, sometimes the weather, my schedule and my motivation don't always come into alignment! It's good to know that doing nothing until spring works for you. We are having a wonderful few days of Indian summer, and have yet to have a killing frost, so I haven't cleaned up my beds yet. I'm still enjoying a few hostas that are still hanging on, and don't have the heart to cut them down just yet.

Actually, though, it's not rot that I'm concerned with, it's critters munching away at the hosta leaves. I keep uncovering Chartreuse Wiggles, but every night the wind blows more leaves back on her. Her leaves are just about decimated now...maybe I should have put something over her to keep that from happening. The voles (or whatever they are) don't seem to be fancying any of the other plants, for some reason.

Anyway, hopefully she will make it through the winter. If not, I'll probably replace her in the spring so she can get a better start before she has to do battle in the fall.
Thanks again!
Karen

I always left leaves as insulation around my perennials and my standard 15-20 year old hostas, did not have any problems. Now I planted 100 more modern varieties, and they seem to be tastier to all critters. With my original 35 varieties I never noticed nematodes, slugs and voles, but now I got them. I am still 2 days away from having Tabula Rasa, got interrupted by 1 inch of wet snow.

I am in zone 5a and all tree leaves are down and hostas are spent. So when I raked the tree leaves out of the hostas and adjoining other plants, there were a few mouse/vole holes, which I thought I had eliminated. They probably will like to add my pellets to their food storage for winter- good luck to those.
Bernd

Bernd, we still have tons of leaves left on the trees, and most of my hostas are still green--very unusual for this time of year. I have known I have moles, but just recently discovered I also have voles (I guess they come out this time of year?). Our property had alot of standard hostas when we moved here, and I'm filling in with other varieties as I can afford it. Haven't noticed nematodes, but I have had slugs.

By the way, I had to look up the term, Tabula Rasa, and I'm still confused. Wikipedia says it could mean "blank slate"--is that what you are saying? That you are 2 days away from having it all cleaned up? Sorry to be a doofus here, but hey, I'm a country girl at heart, and we don't talk like that in the sticks! úÃÂú
Thanks!
Karen

Yes, it will be all clean, looking like a new beginning, which spring is in my mind, all perennials cut down, all leaves gone, and I plan to touch it up with topsoil and small-bark mulch where needed.

We here in zone 5a had no frost until the middle of October, then a few nights of 31,30 F which turned most hostas yellow. Then 10 days ago we had one night at 27 F which did most hostas in, but Touch of Class and June still were green.
Bernd

I got out and cleaned up most of the leaves in my garden this week. I'm amazed how much there actually was. Today is the last of a string of nice days, so I'm hoping while kiddos are napping, I can get out to cut the rest off (couldn't just pull 'em off with my hands) and get 'em into the lawn waste container.

Hubby mowed the lawn for the last time and there's just one small pile of leaves to mulch up for the garden.

I still have to do the sun garden foliage though and for me, that's not too enjoyable... more prickly stuff in there!

Thanks for clearing up the word mystery, Bernd! We've had temps below 30ú all around us, but it's been so dry that we've not had a speck of frost on the ground or cars yet. I still have impatiens and houseplants looking good out there!

Melissa, this is probably our last nice day too--supposed to start raining tomorrow and won't be good outside-working weather. Did you cut yours off while still green? I'm hesitant to do that, since most of mine are still green. I've read as long as they are green they are still feeding the roots. I'd like to go ahead and do it, since I don't relish being out in the cold later on, but I don't want to rush things. I'm sure we'll have another nice day or two yet. When we bought our house 4 years ago, we moved in the Monday after Thanksgiving, and had lunch outside on the picnic table in short sleeves!

Must be nice to have at least ONE sun garden! I love my shade, and am not willing to cut down a tree, but I would enjoy growing some things that flourish in the sun. Oh well...who needs sun when you can just keep adding hostas?!
Karen

Karen....
No, I didn't cut anything while still green. 95% of mine were brown by the time I returned from a vacation on Oct 24. The remaining few (Halcyon lineage) went brown shortly thereafter. Most of the hostas were brown enough that a knife wasn't necessary... it's only those last few that required cutting.

I think, if yours are still green, you should leave them (no pun intended). As long as it's green, it's sending energy to the root system. I'm sure there will be another warm day or two for you down in Missouri!

Last year, our snow flew early and stayed. So, my hosta foliage (and tree leaves) overwintered in the beds. I wonder now if leaving that hosta foliage on the plants possibly helped contribute to a perfect storm for nematodes this year. At any rate, I'm not taking chances! Plus, come spring, I don't like the look of leaves laying on my mulch.

My sun garden (below) isn't huge, by any means. I want to rework it this spring as I feel like the plant heights are no longer working well together. When I first started it, the artemesia 'silver mound' was in the front of the garden; now, it's pretty far back. Hubby also wants the sundial (his wedding gift from me) moved forward so it's more readable. And the hostas in there

My front garden (see my thread on soil testing) is mostly full sun too, but I tend to be conservative in my front garden. I just started it this year and so far, the plants like it.

2009:

2010:

We've been raking leaves off the paths, driveways and patios for weeks now, and shredding those, mowing the ones on the lawns, but those that fall in the beds stay there. Then trees have not nearly lost their leaves yet, tho, as I look out thru the woods garden, all I see is green and yellow. We may have weeks to go yet, unless the promised rain tomorrow knocks the rest off. We have not had a drop in over a month, and then only about a half inch in the two months proceeding. Really dry, still dragging hoses here and there. Sure glad it isn't hot.

Beautiful garden, Melissa! Thanks for sharing your pics!! ITA about leaving the foliage over winter...I don't like the look, and I just think it's harder in the spring when you are possibly having to work around little sprouts coming up. Kinda like coming home from vacation to a dirty house or something....I'd rather take care of it before I leave.

Same here, mosswitch--we also have weeks until the trees are bare. Unless we get a really strong wind. We are also scheduled to have rain starting tomorrow, but I don't know how much that will contribute to the downing of them. That's the beauty of Missouri--you never really know what to expect around here, and if you don't like it, don't worry--it'll change quickly!
Karen

Thanks Karen! I totally agree about spring cleanup! It's bad enough just to fluff mulch, but doing it with leaves that were matted down with 3 feet of snow for 3 months is even worse. NEVER AGAIN, if I can help it.

Mosswitch... it's SO dry here too. The last precip I recall getting was the day we returned from vacation 10/24. Our sprinkler system was blown out a week before, so I've not been able to use the spigot out in my garden since then cuz it's hooked up thru our sprinkler system. One of our conifers really needs water, so I'm hoping the rain forecasted for today gives them a good soak, or I may have to resort to a garden hose!