Toasted in the sun

gardenfanatic2003

8 years ago

My hostas are under a couple of 60 year old oak trees. A couple weeks ago I had them trimmed - they were long overdue and had lots of dead branches falling out of them, one of which cracked the windshield on my car. Anyway, the trimming apparently opened up more sunlight than I had anticipated and many of my hostas were sunburnt and crispy-fried within a couple of days. Will the hostas acclimate to getting more sun or do I need to think about some rearranging?

Deanna

Featured Answer

sandyslopes z6 n. UT

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

They didn't like that sudden sunshine at all. I go through this with a big tree in my yard that breaks too often.

I bet most of them will acclimate, but it will take seeing them next year or
longer to decide. Meanwhile, they'll all put on more size because they're getting more sun, ....although some might get the uglies earlier in the season. Then you can decide if any burn so much you want to move them. By then your tree will fill in a little more again, they'll be used to a little more sun, and all will be well.

That's the patient way to do it. Otherwise, you might want to research which
hostas take more sun and which don't and start moving.

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Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
burnt is burnt..those will not recover ...

new leaves will come up accustomed to new conditions ...

but whether that will be too much sun.. will be left to the fates ...

without a pic.. i find it had to believe ... that they trimmed so much dead stuff out of an oak... that you would have to start moving them..

but you wont know until this time next year ...

basically what sandy said... i just did it my way ...

ken
gardenfanatic2003 thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
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beverlymnz4
8 years ago
I think they will be fine - but not until next year. My oak leafs out late so the hosta under them can take a little sun, but not suddenly in July. However, you may have to water that area more often in the future.
gardenfanatic2003 thanked beverlymnz4
Terry Haselden (7b, SC)
8 years ago
Like Ken, I am a little surprised that they did so much trimming that the hostas were seriously affected. If they just removed a few limbs, everything should be fine. But, I hope they did not cut the ends off of all of the branches. This is fairly common around here. The next year about all you have is a bunch of water sprouts. Two to three years out the tree dies.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
it would be like taking a houseplant from the darkish inside ... and putting it out in sun ... its a hardening off issue ....

new leaves that emerge afterwards.. will probably be sun tolerant.. given enough water ....

i would just observe until this time next year ... and then start thinking about moving them ... if the problem continues ...[maybe because i am lazy.. lol...]

ken
gardenfanatic2003
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
They cleaned out 15 years worth of dead branches as well as removing two live branches that were hanging over the roof.

Deanna