Looks soooo nice. Why do you have to remove the media though? Just to un-compact it?

huh, I am questioning it too? Was it rootbound?

Teuth and Lindalana, generally hosta need repotting every two years or so depending on their size. If the water tends to sit on the top of the media too long, or if it doesn't seem like the pot is absorbing the water, then you are bound to get root rot or crown rot. As the potting media ages, it changes. It may become more acidic or the proportion of peat, bark and perlite changes. Also, you may water and find the water is just running down the side of pot and not really wetting all of the media. Sometimes too, if you do an eye count in the spring, you may notice a decline in growth. That generally means a repotting is due.

Thank you Sandyslopes! All the work would be worth it if I saw an increase in eyes next year. I sure hope so!

media is a water management system ... allowing water to run THROUGH such.. and not pool and run down the edges ...

it is best.. when you have the same media in all your pots.. as it makes watering more predictable ....

finally .. media simply wears out .. and you will note this when you note the pot seems to be less full [compaction] ... water pooling and not running thru ... and/or you find out.. the center is bone dry ...

ken

"it is best.. when you have the same media in all your pots" I am learning about that too! I have used chicken grit in a few of my pots as an experiment. I have put a red mark on my hosta label. I've got to remember that even though the pot may seem heavy with water, it's just the grit's weight, and in fact, the pot may be dry.

Thanks! Why would you repot in same sized pot?

Well, the pot seemed sufficient for the amount of roots. Considering that it is near fall, we don't want to have a lot of media in the pot since the hosta will not be growing many more roots. In a larger pot, the roots will be wet for too long and rot. I have definitely learned that if you can't decide between a smaller pot and a larger one, go for the smaller one. The hosta will fare much better, and you will reduce the chances of root and crown rot.

newhostalady..you are not the only one potting up hostas now..just bought 4 new pots to fill..

Glad to hear I have company!

I am at it again!

Joy Ride. Purchased in 2016.

The pot was completely filled with roots! I think this one needs to have a few thin roots removed because it is too dense. And perhaps a bit larger pot to accommodate all those roots!

It is now sitting in a pot of water waiting for its new home.

I love these repotting pics :D

How do you get the roots clean?

Thanks Teuth! I just spray them with a hose. But when the roots are so close together and thin, it takes a lot of water to get the media off.

Nice work! I also use the hose but put the hosta in one of my rain barrels on top of a bucket crowned with a stone plate, so I can use the water for the garden again. And the leftovers of soil I put on the compost heap. But I must admit that I'm not doing it as perfect as you do...they look so clean!

I'm not repotting in fall, but potting is no problem :-) Did it often this week...

Karin

Thanks for posting! Learn something new all the time. I went ahead and am repotting my one large container hosta Empress Wu... I really do not have place for it to plant thus poor thing stuck in the container... I do not think giant hosta does well in them

I repotted some today, inspired by this thread! No pics though...it was an extremely messy, muddy process. How is everything so clean here?!

Sorry I didn't realize I had missed some posts! Karin, your new hostas are looking so good! Lot of roots makes for a happy plant and a happy owner!

Teuth, your hostas will thank you for it!

Lindalana, glad you are learning some new things. Empress Wu in a pot will be challenging but perhaps you will have a garden spot for it in a year or two? Anyways, Empress Wu will tell you whether she is happy or not and then you can decide what you want to do.

I don't find it too messy or muddy. I usually spray the hosta on the grass. I figure the grass will be happy to have some newer media to freshen it up!

Just today I repotted my First Frost. I love that plant! I saw some crown rot, but I couldn't really get in to cut it out as well as I would have liked without dividing. So I cut some out and scraped the rest. Then I sprayed bleach on that area. It would have been better to bleach all the roots, but I am running out of bleach. I used a bin to lay my hosta on as I sprayed it.

Also looks like First Frost was planted a bit too deep since the bottom of the shoots are white. I didn't get a picture of FF after repotting because it got too dark. But this is a picture of it in July. It has a sport---one shoot---that was there also last year.

Took a photo this morning:

With the return of the sport for the second year now, I am curious - what was the deciding factor in not separating it and repotting separately? Your FF sure looks great still!

I thought it was a bit late in the season to separate the sport and pot it up or put it in the ground. I thought it had a better chance for survival if it remained attached to FF. I also thought that if it was there for two years, it will be there again. And if not, then perhaps it would have been too weak a sport anyways.

Also, I read an article by Bob Solberg where he suggests NOT removing the sport nor disturbing it. He suggests removing the mother plant. So if that sport remains there, I will separate part of FF from it next time I repot (in the spring).

Good luck with removing the mother plant - the sport appears to be growing on the outside edge... I would certainly agree with Mr. Solberg but that would depend on how spectacular a sport ....to be worthy of upstaging its mother, lol.;-)

It will be interesting to see its progress next spring! Please update us then?.

I like the look as it is now :-) I've seen a lot of yellow sports on FF and if mine grows one some day I will leave it where it is. The size blends in nicely and the additional color highlights the mother.

Will be interesting what you decide to do...

I see what you mean Karin. The size and color of the sport does blend in well together with FF. I think the sport looks interesting, but somehow I can't see it continuing to grow with those yellow leaves and a bit of blue. But I could be wrong!

you probably did..but did you notice 2 leaves left side above the sports have wider margins?..

No I didn't notice that! You have a good eye nicholsworth55!