welcome to the forums ....

why wont grass grow there .. and what makes you think.. if it wont.. that hosta will???

the usual suspect is hyper aggressive trees .. maple.. that suck all the water out of the soil.. maple. ... to the point that even the most invasive weed on the face of the earth.. grass.. cant live under them .. maple ...

btw.. are you working under maple?? ... lol ...

how big are the plants you planted last year ... for decades.. dad used to shovel prune a hosta... sharpen a shovel.. and just down thru a LARGE ESTABLISHED clump ... and just dig out half.. and plant it elsewhere ... so what you saw/heard is possible ...

but i dont think i would be doing that with smaller.. less than mature plants ... you just dont know where you are slicing.. and might just slice all the roots off the crown ... ???

here is a helpful link.. if you havent found it already: http://www.hostalibrary.org/

not in the box.. on the left.. is a link to dividing .... read up.. check the terms for search purposes ... and go from there ... there is also a glossary to learn more terms ...

ken

ps: what 100 hosta did you buy ... the workhorses take a lot more abuse.. than the foo foo ones ... some mature in a year or two ... other it might take.. 5 to 7 years ... you would not want to be cutting up the long term ones.. too fast ... imo ...

Are you talking about Rossizing? attributed to Henry Ross of Gardenview Horticultural Park in Strongsville, Ohio

Link Slice & dice Hostas

Some people even stomp hosta eyes to get more eyes. I've never tried either.

Here is a video.

Watch "Rossizing Hostas – This Week in the Garden" on YouTube - https://youtu.be/CZi3Z0AEPqE

I don't think this is what you were asking, but just fyi.

I do split hostas without diggiing whole plant. Can be done from small eyes to fully leafed out. I examine base and look for an eye or two that have enough space between to get a big knife on each side. I have a big serrated knife and cut out a pie shaped wedge wider at outside of hosta. Make sure the point of the pie is about 1/2 way into the clump or enough that you probably get a bit of crown. Push knife horizontally through top then maybe vertically to losten soil, roots. Dig trowl or shovel at outside edge and pop out Hosta pie piece. Then pot it up or if enough roots plant in ground. Most times don't break a leaf and mother plant doesn't notice.

Yep, like Pandora, I split without digging the whole plant. It's often a case of necessity. There are areas where some of my hostas grew very large and there is absolutely no way to dig the entire plant.

A sharp spade does the trick. Take off as many eyes as you like. Three to Five eyes will give you a nice looking plant, but technically it only takes one eye to make a plant. Go for it.

-Babka

Thanks for the links and info. Some of the hostas I planted last year were bought seriously root bound. One notable pot got me 17 individual plants with at least one eye. There actually was more roots than soil in the pots. What a tough plant. So, I have plenty of smaller plants to give it a try. Another nice thing was that many of the hostas were newer varieties and/or not seen at the local box stores. While it will take more work and it won't give me large plants right away, I might see more plants in a few years. I am thinking I can pull off a very large bed if I have enough variety.

I use this “bulb planter” tool (bottom in pic) to separate eyes from the parent; it‘s very sharp, and with the long handle and narrow tip, it’s easier to control than a knife or spade. Highly recommend this or something similar.

dollar store butcher knife ... cleaver.. and/or serrated bread knife are just the right price ...

what about why the grass wont grow there??? .. dont you want to discuss why???

ken

Thanks for all the replies. A large fine serrated knife is what I used to split/sawing the root bound hostas. Anything less wouldn't have cut it. The grass doesn't grow mostly because I don't get enough sun. Honestly, I could be more dedicated to liming, fertilizing and soil testing, but at some point it's not worth the time and money. The area is adjacent to a large wooded plot and also gets a fair amount of early morning mottled sun i.e. perfect for hostas. I'm fortunate enough to have a bulk supplier for sand and mushroom manure that allows me to load a fraction of a yard into a baby pool in the back of my hatchback. I rototilled the entire area. Weeks later every shovel had two or more worms which was encouraging. I wish I would of also incorporated more Turface and Agway pine bark. Only recently discover the Gritty mix and have a large sedum cuttings bed started in the only sunny slope I have. I digress, cost is consideration but I'm growing out hundreds of dollars of hostas. I also translated many single cuts of pachysandra in the same area and I don't know if I lost a single one. So, I feel I'm doing something right even if it is been quite a bit of work. I have a perforated pipe from a flat roof running through the middle of the bed. Water running off a slope might also contribute to my difficulties growing grass. My plan is to continue to expand the bed into the grass/mossy area. The goals are still four or five years out.

Ken you remind me I could keep track of what I have better. At times I would place the plastic label with the hosta but they inevitably get blown away or lost. I had some hostas that I only partially split and is quite amazing to see how dense the crown is and the amount of roots. The first two photos are Blue Mouse before and after being split up. The second set I think are Drinking Gourd which was shovel cut in half last fall. Its more untangling than splitting.

Pandora, I was thinking about your post earlier today and this "Some people even stomp hosta eyes to get more eyes." My son inadvertently did this to First Frost today. Stomped right into the center of it while moving something in the yard for me. I watched it happen like it was in slow motion and I kept thinking, "surely his foot isn't going to go there? Why would he put it there?" But he did. Sigh. I'm sure it will be fine, but it was a heartbreak to watch.

I tried Rossizing with a few but mostly I did the "Cut and Scoot" I cut down a natural area of division and then scooted the hosta to the side an inch or so. All without removing them from the ground. I figure this would disturb the roots less and open up an area for more growth. I'm also planning on following up with a spade, in the fall, along that cut with a more conventional division. I've been careful to wipe down the blade with alcohol between cuts. I hope I'm not being to aggressive with amount of divisions I'm doing and/or introducing a disease. The goal again is getting a large number of hostas. Time will tell. The tool of choice.

Popmama It's amazing how a crisis goes in slowmo. Yikes, it would be distressing and why I could never do it on purpose. Report back if you think it ends up with more eyes than expected.

One time DH wanted to till part of flower bed. I carefully marked with stakes and twine my very first Heuchera (gift from friend's garden 2 years before). I came around the corner to see plant pieces flying. DH said he split it for me. Not a real happy day.

Hosta Collector Alrighty then. Look at you go with new knowledge and new tool. Glad we could help you get addicted to the fascination of hostas.

Since you are aware of keeping tools clean, that is the first step.

You might also keep an eye for Master Gardeners plant sales in yoir area. They usually have hostas and they will be inexpensive. Then as they grow, you can spend 20 years gradually replacing dupes/no-ids with new names or putting smaller hostas back with their corresponding sibling to make bigger plants again. Kinda like putting Humpty Dumpty back together again.

EnablersRUs

Thanks for the tips. I looked up the Master Gardeners plant sales and I was at a Penn State Extension event last year because my local mushroom pickers club had a booth. I pretty sure this is the same event you mentioned.

Allegheny County
Saturday, April 27 - 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shady Side Academy/ 423 Fox Chapel Road/ Pittsburgh, PA 15238
The Marketplace features vendors, including the Master Gardeners of Allegheny County.

Concurrent with the Garden and Landscape Symposium.

Saturday, May 11 - 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Lauri Ann West Community Center/1220 Powers Run Road/Pittsburgh, PA 15238
Part of Gardenfest, an event featuring many local garden clubs and artists.
For more information, call: 412-263-1000

Yep, sounds like you found it. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that hostas can have 2 health issues HVX and nematodes. Most reputable nurseries check for these often, but it's always good to be aware of the symptoms. There is also Western PA daffodil and hosta society http://www.dhswp.com/  if you have any interest in joining. That society is in the Great Lakes region of the American Hosta society. I am in clubs in that region. Lots of knowledge shared, activities, good food and beautiful gardens.

Here's a shamless plug too Cleveland is hosting 2019 Tailgate

NorthCoastHostaTailgate2019