Looks like the crown was planted too deep causing the plant too send up elongated shoots to the surface of the soil. In an attempt to survive, these shoots sent out roots at the joints in these stems trying to get to the surface moisture. They could have also been in heavy competition from tree roots or possibly both. I would pot these starts up for the rest of the season so they can develop a healthy root system and crown, then replant them, if not this Fall, next Spring. I would also move them to a location that is not so shady. Hostas are shade tolerant. They actually enjoy a lot more light and sun than "heavy shade".

I would be happy to pot it as garyz6ohio suggests. But I don't know how to winter a hosta. My basement,my garage? I am zone 5, SE WI not far from Lake Michigan, USA. Suggestions welcome.

Once it goes dormant, stick it in an unheated garage, or against the north side of your house on its side. The plan is to keep it below 40 degrees for 6 weeks at least. Not a hard thing to do in WI. NOT your basement. People living in your area (as I no longer do) can respond better than I can). You are not the first to winter a potted hosta in WI.

-Babka

I think your plants are just having a hard time surviving in the heavy shade (like Gary says). If you put them in a pot in a brighter spot (with potting media), you just may well be very surprised to see the difference in the hosta next year.

Picture #1, first hosta: you can clearly see how much white there is on the stalk above the crown. That shows us the hosta was planted too deep.

For overwintering, you can do as Babka suggests or dig the whole pot into the ground. Make sure the top of the pot is underground so it cannot collect water. In spring remove the pot.

Looks like Allen P. McConnell, which is not known for heavy flowering and propagates itself through spreading, as you see here. Still, it won't do much in heavy shade. With partial sun, though, it makes a great groundcover.

Do as Babka suggested or you can heel it in. Bury it at a slight angle just up to the rim of the pot. That way water/snow/ice does not collect on the surface and then you have no freeze/thaw issues.

I don't quite get the idea of planting the pot in the ground as severally of you have suggested. I get putting it in the ground in a pot, but don't understand what has been said about keeping water off of it. If it outside it will get rain and of course snow.

The plant wants to be just moist going into winter. If rain/snow/ice collects in the pot it could rot as you get freeze/thaw cycles throughout winter.

newhostalady Houzz is really acting up. Your post was not visible when I posted. Just now I had to rewrite this because it disappeared.

peren.all, I wondered if you had seen my post. Thanks for clarifying. I recently lost a new thread when it didn't "submit." So I know the frustration! (I have written to Houzz about what happened to me.)

djacob68, a few years ago was my first time burying pots in the garden. I ran into a bit of trouble. If you want to read the link, you might find it interesting.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/1959281/my-buried-hosta-pots#n=13

This may seem like a stupid question, but I have some other hostas that have yet to flower. At first I thought it was because it was young or new to the yard. Now I am worried I have several others too deep. How do you know? If it doesn't flower are there other reasons? I don't use chemicals of any kind on my yard so I am not sure how to "enrich." Like I said in another post, I need "hostas for dummies."