Holy cow! This new update is a pain, isn’t it!

If it were mine, I would cover the toes. It appears to me that the previous height was pretty good. Forgive me if there was a previous convo and I'm not aware, but will it live in the pot? When I planted mine in the ground I really tamped the surrounding soil down so there wouldn't be as much settling (prior to digging hole) after it was planted. I buy good, fluffy, triple blend or better soil and work it in with my native soil - so if I don't firm it down, it sucks the plant down in no time while it settles in.

GE has a reputation for preferring shallow planting. My experience has been good, and I have been raising the plant up as much as possible so the top roots are just below the soil level.

I have never tried it in a pot. What I have noticed is that, unlike other varieties, it is extremely rare to see a large GE for sale at a garden centre - this may be an indication that GE doesn't like to be in a pot. The only time I saw a larger GE for sale I purchased it, and I can tell you that there is a very big difference in vigor between that plant and the GE I already had.

I planted GE last year...planted high and in all morning sun. Gave it lots of water and told it I loved it. Very beautiful (and growing) all summer and then.... a no show in the spring. Sigh,

mae - that's a bummer!

I knew this plant to be a diva... but I just wanted to try it anyway. I could plant in the ground. I guess I was thinking that a number of forum members had great success growing it in pots - newhostalady comes to mind, and I know there are some others....

If I plant in-ground, I'll have to think about a spot where it would get some sun, and not end up in shade within a few years.... I have plantaginea in a spot where it actually has morning shade, but then full afternoon sun all afternoon/evening - I don't think that is what GE wants (plantaginea seems pretty happy though).

GE does not thrive in a pot. A mature GE will have roots extending out 24-30 inches in every directions, some running close to the surface, some growing downward. Even a young GE may have roots 9-12 inches long.

When you see a large mature hosta in a garden center or nursery, it has usually been started in a greenhouse very early, and heavily fertilized, often as much as once a week. This allows for wonderful foliage growth, but the roots rarely keep up. If you plant one of these in the ground, it will typically either sit and do nothing for a year or two while the roots catch up with the rest of the plant, or it will come back the next year much smaller in size, and take several years to reach it's mature size again.

I would consider the plant in the photos to be ever so slightly too high, and would cover the roots. I would also either put a stake in the pot, and use yarn to tie it around the plant (a figure 8 is what you want), or put a tomato cage over it. One good gust of wind and that GE might fall over and be damaged. Once it's very well rooted, that isn't often a problem, but with newly planted hostas, wind shear can do considerable damage.

Denis, that's beautiful!

Well, I'll study on it this weekend and see if I can find a spot that might be right for it in the garden. In the meantime I set it into a larger, heavy ceramic pot so I don't think it will blow over now.

Windymess, when I decided to give pots a try, I recall it was recommended that potted hostas should be planted in pots just big enough to accommodate their roots...that they like a snug fit but are not swimming in an abundance of potting mix (that might take time to drain sufficiently when watered).

I'd be interested to hear feedback as I thought the pot in above photo seemed the perfect size and could accommodate a bamboo stake for support if need be.

I agree with others that your plant is planted a bit high. I wouldn't leave the roots exposed.

ConnieMay, I think one reason we don't see a large GE for sale is because it is a slow grower. How would a nursery make any money if it grew plants for several years? (Unless they are fertilizing the heck out of them as dhaven commented.)

Windymess, I am glad you are trying to grow GE. You'll never know if you can do it, if you don't try. Besides it's a beauty when it does grow.

You're correct---I am one of the ones growing GE in a pot. Mine has been in a pot for about six years. It's put away for the winter in my unheated, but attached garage. (Then no water until substantial growth has appeared.) So I don't agree with dhaven that it doesn't grow in a pot! I think a pot is an ideal place for it to grow. The media can be modified; sun exposure can be experimented with and a watering schedule implemented.

My pictures are not generally organized until after the season. But I have tried to find one to show you. (And my camera broke and I need to figure out a replacement!)

Beautiful GE mountainyman! Don't you love it!?

Thanks all! I have added media to cover the roots. I'll keep thinking/experimenting with locations. On a day off work I'll try to observe, hour-by-hour, how much direct sun there is in a couple of possible locations (either for a pot or in-ground), and try to figure out a good spot for it. I don't want it to fry... and believe me I KNOW how to fry a hosta, I've got more sun than I know what to do with right now!

I should clarify my earlier comments. GE will grow in a pot, and as we see, can even do well and be very attractive. But GE planted in the ground and given proper conditions and care can grow to over 30 inches tall (my tallest is 34 inches), and form a 6-7 foot wide clump.

Rather than saying GE won't thrive in a pot, I should have said that it will not reach it's full potential in a pot.

Congratulations to all who have grown such beautiful specimens of GE in pots, it is a major accomplishment.

Your GE sounds impressive dhaven. I agree that GE probably would not reach its full potential in a pot. Glad you came back to mention that.

My GE is currently 3 feet wide. I can't imagine what it would look like if it were double the size! I'm just thankful I have one!

Wow, that Hosta looks like it gets really tall, is that right, or is it just how the pics make it look? I would love a hosta that has really long stalks below the leaves.

poaky1- this is a division from a mature, field-grown plant. I ordered it from Northern Grown Perennials. It does stand very straight and strong and did not droop at all after I received it and potted it up. Some of the others I purchased are still taped and/or staked because they were a little flaccid after being shipped (I still can’t type/say/think/read/hear that word - or the word ‘turgid’ - without laughing and remembering that whole truly hysterical thread in which Ken explained about erect petioles). But I digress....

This particular plant seems perky, but then it came from Wisconsin, which would probably be a preferred climate to my home in Kansas City... so time will tell....

dhaven- I did put a stake in the pot as you suggested and set the plastic pot within a heavy ceramic one - for wind protection because, again, it’s Kansas.