first.. always bare root your plants.. and plant them in native soil ... it helps avoid all kinds of watering problems ... you need only one method to figure out.. for your soil ....

the media in a pot.. is a water management system .. and apparently the growers you are getting plants from ... find that this media works for their watering system ...

and as you are learning.. you dont have that system ... so its not working for you ...

ken

bark might also be cheaper than media ....

Pine bark also seems to be a friendly media for root development. Perhaps it's because the roots tend to "chase" the water. I don't really know. But, pine bark and a little sand work well for starting new hostas.

I agree about the transplant shock. The hosta that I have purchased this way really struggled for the first two years. Wish I had managed them differently. My conifers arrived that way this year - and in April, I couldn't plant them for a month and a half. In the future I will repot all my purchases immediately when they arrive so that they will be healthy when I plant them.

I think bark is lighter then potting medium for shipping as well.

Thanks everyone. So much knowledge here.

Ken and David, I should have reallized it was for grower's benefit, not the plants. That explains it. Guess I can't blame them.

Terry that works if you have constant water, but if not roots would dry out quickly.

Beverly, I agree. I usually repot all hostas using my native soil with some leaf compost and aged cow manure and let them grow in isolation for a while. This allows me to easily check on progress and not bring in disease if hosta was not from known nursery. When I plant, I don't see any shock. That's why I was so surprised in my post a few weeks ago.