Oh my goodness , Beth, I hope the hostas tough it out for you, so disappointing.

Sherry

what a shame..they wouldn't have been paid in full if they trampled my hostas..hostas are tough..I hope they recover fast..

What a bunch of yahoos. If you haven't paid them, leave out a substantial part of their payment and present them with a bill for the replacement of the hostas.

UUUGH!!! So sorry to see that. Pure carelessness.

So sorry... what a frustration!

Maybe one of the “old hands” like Ken could chime in about this.... I’m thinking maybe the plants will put up some new leaves this season, though they may not look great... then recover just fine next year. I hope!?

the brit books talk about 'healing in' perennials .... your tree dudes did it for you ...

they will not die ...

they may be bigger next year ...

and in a couple weeks.. when they leaf out.. perhaps you can forget about it all ... maybe all you will need to do.. is tear out a couple ugly leaves ...

when it all boils down ... its not half as bad as a heavy frost or deep freeze ...

my biggest concern.. would have been them dragging the cuttings.. and ripping out ID tags ....

i know you are p.o.'d .... but in all reality.. its nbd ... relax .. get over it ... lifes too short ....

in my experience .. tree dudes ... enjoy nature ... and respect a great garden .... and will usually bend over backward .... to earn your check .... but they need guidance to make you happy ... back in the day.. i had a half dozen of them.. who brought me wood chips all summer long .... they enabled me ... lol ...

ken

ps: for others to avoid this ...... it should have been clearly discussed.. prior to the work.. if it wasnt .... there is no reason they should not have been paid .... you could have either used some landscape paint.. [like miss dig marks things] and circled them.. so they could TRY to avoid them.. or used landscape flags.. for the same reason ....

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=landscaping+marking+spray+paint&t=ffcm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=landscape+marking+flags&t=ffcm&iax=images&ia=images

They should be fine by midseason (mine are fully leafed out, so equivalent to mid-season) . My new dog ate all the pips on the early risers before I noticed it. The first leaves up will look like something chewed the ends off. The later leaves will not be affected. Yes, if you look for it, you can see it, but it won't be noticeable to anyone who is not a hostaphile.

Unfortunately, they are not always perfect looking. There's hail, pets, stupid tree trimmers, loss of shade and insects. I've had possums sleep in mine, squirrels dig them up and knock them over when the dogs chased them (not to mention what the dogs did when they caught the possum). Your hosta will be fine. You will barely notice it later in the season.

I'll see if I can get some photos of my Irish Luck and So Sweet later in the day. It's raining right now.

bk

They aren't landscapers. They work with heavy dangerous machinery doing dangerous overhead work. Their primary concern is safety - theirs. They don't make much money for the hard labor they do and at the end of the day they'll crack a beer and say "whew, made it through another day". Expecting them to tiptoe around barely visible emerging spring growth without any forewarning or precautions was absurd.

my neighbor had a large tree removed and the tree trimmers did an excellent job..I was happy because I had recommended them (she asked me for a recommendation)..she's a huge plant lover..owned the house for 41 years..her home has been on hosta tours..so you can imagine the garden..the tree trimmers were careful and she was happy..I think they're skilled and respected her home and landscaping..not every crew is as thoughtful..

Thank you all for your encouragement. I have calmed down now and am ready to redo parts of the garden if need be. The tree trimmer is coming over Monday to look at the damage.