What's your zone? My Aunt grows hosta in the ground just north of Austin (8b). They've done trials in Tyler (7b) and the Dallas Arboretum (8a) has done trials. It is true that some will do better than others. It is quite apparent at the Arboretum. (Most of us Southerners grow hosta in pots. They are more forgiving.)

I posted the trial results at http://perennialnursery.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=60370&sid=48b99e52f0ebbdf15fbbfcdef0593ee2 last week for another person.

If you want more advice than that, let us know. Don't forget to tell us where you are in LA. It will make a difference.

bk

its a medium/small oak tree in the front yard.. sun is i guess filtered from 8-11 and about 4-6... here are pictures of us working on it right when we moved in.. we are removing all the flowers except the azalea bushes in the back... i just need something to cover space and if it stays green most of the year is a plus.... they made the layout way larger than was needed

and maybe hostas just to fill in the spots? or if you have any recommendations please share..... the amount of sun the area gets is what is stumping me

zone 8b - 9a... baton rouge, la

thanks for that list!! and as for the slow growth of hostas, a bunch of people on hosta forums were recommending landofthegiantshostafarm.com to buy older hostas? I love gardening and my plants... but im still a beginner and under tree gardens are way more difficult to me!

You are missing 'June' from your list of potentials...THE most popular hosta and very easy to grow. :-)

That is a nice-sized garden...hostas will need room to grow. I wouldn't treat them as fillers but as the main attraction...which they will be. Planting a couple of companion perennials amongst them will add texture to the overall effect. Love the heart shape the current plants provide in first pic. It's the first thing that popped in my mind. :-) So Pretty.

Jo

I hate to say this bcurry, but you may have some problems in Baton Rouge with hosta in the ground. We have one of our posters who is in a similar climate - she's in Mobile. She put some in the ground, but grows most all in pots. I would definitely not spend a lot of money without giving it a less expensive hosta trial with some that were successful in Tyler.

Mocc is the lady in Mobile. She's in the middle of a remodel, so is not posting as often as she used to. Maybe she will see this and give you some advice. I'm in 8a and don't do hosta in the ground.

Ken made some suggestions to the lady in Utah who wanted some hosta that would do well in the sun. I would read and think about his suggestions for your situation.

bk

Hi B,

I am a novice at hosta & not much help. However I am not far away from you. My few hosta are in the ground, in dappled shade, except for 1 that I have in a pot to give it more sun.

I am in Alexandria, LA, much colder than you. We had several nights of 15F this past winter. The previous winter we had 3 nights of 15F in a row with 2 days inbetween that weren’t above freezing. Quite unusual for us of course. A neighbor gave me a rooted division of her old hosta, Abiqua Ambrosia, about 5 years ago & I have 12 shoots or pips that have just emerged. My hosta totally disappear in the winter & I have to mark them carefully to know where they are. Abiqua Ambrosia has done fine in both mild & cold winters. It’s old & not available at stores. I bought Stained Glass at Lowe’s 2 years ago for $2 reduced from $5 because of freeze damage – for some strange reason Lowe’s was selling hosta, that die back in the winter, in the late fall, weird! I’ve propagated Stained Glass & have 3 plants now for the $2. Stained Glass is very popular and available. Popular also with slugs & snails.

Mocassin Landing in Alabama is a real expert & she can give you great advice. Discuss specific plants with her. I bought June mailorder but it is growing very slowly where I have it & I want to try it in more light – it also propagates easily & I have several June now.

There is a virus that affects hosta so I would only buy from the respected mailorder places that forum members are recommending to you. I would look for hosta that have very thick leaves & are listed as slug resistant. In a wet climate slugs & snails are a serious problem for hosta. Good luck & keep us posted on your progress!

H. Abiqua Ambrosia one summer, an older hosta that is not usually available commercially - note the shade.

H. June & 2 propagations just emerging on 4/25/14.

From your description that's going to be some serious sun intensity come late June, July, August and half of Sept. I'm having a hard time picturing even potted hosta doing well in your area under those direct sun conditions. The other thing, as Ken mentioned, is the winter dormancy period that is so important. In my zone that is actually a much bigger concern to me than the growing season.

I have one hosta in the ground, an Abiqua Drinking Gourd. I've had it for 3 years in dappled sun and it comes back and looks halfway decent each year. Certainly not impressive. I also have one in a pot. It's night and day difference.

I saw a lot of Plantaginea when I was in Savannah last year. They call it the old August lily. I'd start with that.

Kathy

Someone who lives in SE Texas recently posted that they had a Sum and Substance growing for several years in a lot of sun.

I think she was from around Lufkin somewhere.

You were unsure about shade. When were the photos taken? What time of day and what time of year? Maybe someone can help you figure out the sun/shade thing.

bk

an oak.. superb ...

i will leave the enabling to the rest of the droolers .. lol ..

if you have any local gardens... see if they have hosta ...

and just about any town.. usually has a garden club ... average age.. 100 .. lol ... but if you can find it.. you could find a wealth of LOCAL info ...and.. if you join.. you will get to tour some local gardens.. and get all kinds of LOCAL ideas ...

ken

People have been asking you about light which could be too intense. If so, you could mark out where the shadow of the tree falls during the hottest, sunniest part of the day & plant 1 low-cost hosta in the shade there - a hosta that is either a suggestion from this forum when you get the light figured out or from a local gardener group such as your local Master Gardeners.

Everybody in the south has a shady patio area where they sit outside. If the trial hosta gets too much sun, you could move it to your patio area & grow in a pot. Move the pot around until you get the light just right, then you could plant it in the ground if you wished or leave it in the pot. Just be sure to get the trial hosta from a very reputable source so it doesn't have the hosta virus. Again, thick leaves & "slug resistant" are important in a wet climate. My slugs love Stained Glass.

I'd listen to the experts in this forum more than anyone else but there's also Dan Gill, the LSU AgCenter horticulture expert who writes a column in the Times-Picayune (forum friends, that's in New Orleans):

"Send e-mail to dgill@agcenter.lsu.edu"

See section on dividing hostas that have gotten too large (unnamed!) under subheading "Dan Gill's Mailbox" on the following link:

http://www.nola.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2010/08/choose_landscape_plants_that_a.html

Hammond study on hostas for our climate mentioned by Dan Gill, see second to last paragraph on the link below:

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/news_archive/2013/august/headline_news/New-landscape-plants-perform-well-in-shade-garden-trials-.htm

Or as Ken suggests, a local garden club member could help you. Might come by your house & look at the light with you on a weekend.

Thank yall so much ! Yall have been great! I'm def going to track the sun this weekend!

And will check with local hosta society! They were recently at the Lsu garden show

I think I will experiment with Sum & substance and then check out all the members that yall suggested ...

We have finally made a year in the house and are redoing all of the beds but I couldn't help myself last year and bought some plants for under the tree ... And I just couldn't get the sun/shade thing right and basically all plants disintegrated ! And I think the watering was an issue bc the tree soaks up every little drop and dragging a hose pipe from the back in my scrubs in 100 degree weather got old fast. But this year we have a water system set up !

So I'll trial with the sum and substance or one of the thick leafed non-blue hosta and see how it does!!

And the soil here is horrible here... It's clay!

Trying to make the best of it

I'd be willing to bet most anything that Baton Rouge has a garden club. It's one of the most "southern" cities in the south. (Think Ladies who lunch) I love that city. It's really pretty with all of the New Orleans Charm without the New Orleans problems. The people in Baton Rouge are friendly and welcoming and offer the epitome of Southern hospitality.

Can you tell what I think of Baton Rouge? When I was fresh into the "career woman" path (in the '70's), Louisiana was part of my territory. I would always work in New Orleans and drive the 60 miles to Baton Rouge to eat dinner and spend the night. (Gasoline was not as expensive back then and the rental company didn't charge for mileage.) Baton Rouge is the capital and has a university, so it's kind of like Austin, but not crazy like Austin. However, New Orleans is where business gets done.

Thanks, River for posting that. I'm going to copy it to Hallson's site, if you don't mind. Chris seemed pleased that I copied the North Texas trial results, so I'm guessing he'll be happy to have these.

Bkay gives good advice. You could also check with the LSU Extension Services who help gardeners with all kinds of questions. Just click on your parish at the link.

LSU Extension

tj

BK, sure, copy away! I was pleasantly surprised to find the info.

B, I forgot that the shadow of the tree might change as the summer progresses & the sun seems higher in the sky. You could ask a neighbor on your side of the street how the shadow might change by the dog days of summer - a serious gardener will already be dealing with the changing shadow in the summer.

Oil City, La on Caddo Lake - Faces morning sun not shaded until noon- we are located 35 miles north of Shreveport - I have many Hosta plants in containers & ground ! They are maintenance free ! Come back double in size each spring ...

Welcome to the hosta forum. Stick around and show us your others.

bk

This is a few more that have done well in my shaded gardens in La. On Caddo Làke - I would highly recommend them to first timers, it's such an encouragement to have them pop back up year after year... They are trouble free !

Few more... These are the only varieties I can find at the nurseries in our area, so I don't know how others would do in NW La. (Wondering what online place is reputable to order other varieties from ?)
The last pic is "in ground" all others are containers, which seem to thrive more so than the in ground plants - I have sandy soil being right on the lakeside... Could be the reason ...

Fabulous! How old are most of your plants? There are several places that are good for online ordering. I have ordered each of the last two years from Hallson Gardens, which is a very popular site. I also was very pleased with an order I got this spring from New Hampshire Hostas.

Great photos. We can identify some if you would like us to try. I see what I think is Francee and two I think are u. albomarginata. Others might be able to name others. If you want us to try that, start a new post with ID or NOID in the subject line. Give us a big photo of your hosta and only put two per post. (It gets confusing when there are more than two varieties in a post.)


I, too, have had good luck with Hallson's. I also like Land of the Giants and Green Mountain. I've always heard great things about Naylor Creek.

Here's a link to a thread we did a couple of years ago, entitled "where to buy hosta". Pay attention to the places that are recommended by more than two people.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1963531/where-to-buy-hosta?n=51

bk

Thanks Santamiller, the larger are at least 5yrs, the smaller are in their second Spring season. I'll try the Vendor sites you recommended, thanks !
Note: I have never divided any of my plants- but it's now time to do that next spring when I see the crowns appear on the 5 yr olds... I just love the "fullness" and hated to do it- but I would think its a "necessary" task given the fact they are in containers and need growing space.

Thanks BK, I actually am ok at this point not knowing ID - I guess because they are not experiencing any issues.
But would like to know if it's a must to divide back to one crown or partial of a crown... I have seen many posts on how to divide and what size to divide to... But, I just love the fullness and want to keep as much as possible in each pot. Any experience on that issue ? I just work in my gardens for "therapy" so to speak, I have many plants I tend to and do not know the name of, so clearly I am not at the same level as most Serious Gardeners !
I just mostly pay attention to sun/shade & water requirement labels when plant shopping and have had pretty good luck.

There is no need to divide them. Most of us "potheads" just move them to a bigger pot. Also, hosta like to be crowded in their pots. Most of us divide them when the pots get too big to handle and that varies by person. We move them up when they start to regress in size or you can't keep them watered.

I've noticed with one of my oldest that it's lost it's great shape. It's no longer mounding, but is wider than it is tall which is not as pleasing to MY eye. I'll see if I can get a photo of it today and compare it to when I thought it was perfect.

bk

Thanks for the info BK, glad to know its not a must but a choice based on appearance. I might be asking a silly question here, I assume when it does come time to divide, I could just separate the entire crowns and repot each one as opposed to "splitting/cutting each crown into quarters ? That would assure me a fuller 1st year plant... Correct, starting with a full crown ?
Would love to see your photo, what area are you located in ?

Also BK, what did you mean by "move them up" ?

Is it your treasured So Sweet that you refer to, BKay? Tambiunderwood, if you go to the Hosta Library, you will find a stunning photo..yes, it's Bkay's!

There is no hard and fast rule for dividing except to do what pleases you! If you still want a reasonably full hosta, just chop it in half...or in quarters, which will give all sections a "mound" shape. Sometimes I pull off a couple of leaves to give it a more pleasing shape if the cut is too sharp on two halves.

Thanks Josephines for the info ! I did go to the library & it's beautiful, it's so full, I appreciate all of the help !

This is definitely not a "school picture", but a quickie done this afternoon.This is the same hosta in the same pot three years later, a little earlier in the season.
2012

bk

BK, they are beautiful, thanks for sharing !
I'm going to just up-pot the big ones next season
And see how that goes without dividing !
Thanks to all