Ken would tell you to throw it on the driveway and teach it a lesson. Then he would probably say to pull it out of the pot, examine the roots and that will tell the story. Did I do okay, Ken? :-)

I agree that you need to take the hosta out of the pot and see what you find. It won't do any harm to have a look.

I agree with the others, check the roots. Did you water it enough this winter? I've had mine in containers for many years also, I gave mine a drink every 6 weeks and they are doing great.

I also agree with the others. The only time I've lost potted hosta over the winter is when they got too dry. ( However, I've lost them to crown rot when they stayed too wet in the spring.)

bkay

I have 5 hostas in pots..these pics were taken April 19..

close popmama.... lol.. i wouldnt throw the pot on the driveway ... lol ...so i would dig it up.. and FIND OUT WHATS GOING ON first ... then consider throwing the plant on the driveway ... lol ...

the most important thing in a pot.. is the media ... media wears out ... and perhaps after 3 years.. this media wore out.. media is a water management system.. and when it wears out.. you have watering problems ... and that can lead to the plant rotting ...

but you wont find out.. until you dig it out.. and look ...

and since you will have it out ... may as well change out the media ...

plz let us know .. what you find ...

ken

Thank you. I will dig him up and see what's going on. Last spring I repotted in new soil. Ill let you know what I find

Well I dug it up and its crown rotted. So disappointed. I'm guessing it got too wet during spring?

Sorry to hear the bad news. Maybe the pot was too big for the hosta? Maybe the media didn't drain well?

Did you put it up wet? I wouldn't think it would have rotted this soon in your zone from being too wet this spring. There's also a possibility it had a "root rot" disease. I mention that because I've dealt with that before. The ones I've had that rotted, besides the ones that had rhizoctonia root rot, were young and I over watered them in the spring. They just wouldn't dry out. The pots were probably too large for the hosta, too. Also, I had put rocks on top to keep the squirrels from digging them up. They acted as a mulch that kept the soil wet. The combination of a too big pot, the rocks and cooler weather cost me several that year.

Potted hosta really prefer to be somewhat pot bound. Don't move them up to a larger pot until the one they are in is full of roots. You have to water them more often, but that's just the way it is. They also prefer a light potting soil. Never use a moisture control potting soil. It works fine in the summer, but it will rot your hosta in the winter. The hosta need to be fairly dry during the winter. They need just enough water to keep form desiccating the roots. (I've made every mistake there is, including letting them get too dry in the winter.)

I'm speculating, but if we're talking about a storeroom that has little air circulation, maybe it went in to the storeroom too wet and never dried out.

If you understand where hosta grow natively, it helps. They're native in the Far East, Korea, China and Japan. They generally grow in lava sand and in monsoon areas. So they get deluged almost daily and drain that water immediately. When the monsoons stop, they go dormant and stay that way until the next year.

Whatever the reason, I suggest you go buy a new one. If you're in zone 6, you should have lots of opportunities to buy great hosta. Potted hosta are beautiful and well worth the trouble.

bk

I think the pot was too big. Well lesson learned. Could I place two hosta plants in he large container?

I miss typed. I meant to say root rot not crown rot. I'm not sure what I was thinking lol . Sorry about that. The roots were brown and mushy.

Root rot can happen, for sure. Overwintering hosta can be a bit tricky. You can absolutely put two hosta together, or more! Just depends on your pot size. It would help if we knew what size of pot you are planting in.

Depending on the size of the hosta, yes you could. I once bought three of one hosta accidentally and put them all in one pot. I had instant impact.

Oh, by the way, don't use the old potting soil. I likely has the rot fungus in it.

Whatever you choose, don't go up very much in your pot size. If it comes in a 6" pot, put in an 8" pot (if the one it's in is full of roots). If you have a big pot to fill, choose a large hosta and maybe buy two or three. Keep in mind you want to almost fill your pot with the rootball/s that exists now.

Good luck and show up pictures when you get your hosta pot.

I think its a 16 inch pot. Yesterday I emptied the soil and tossed it. Then cleaned the pot with bleach water and rinsed. I think 3 plants could fit in the pot with about 2 inches around the sides.

I noticed when I emptied the pot, the soil at the bottom seemed super moist and compacted. I've read some people place draining stones on the bottom? Is this something I should do?

No, that is an old wives tale.

What I do is put the pots on "pot feet" under them. I think it helps them drain, deters slugs and looks nice. Babka uses sticks under hers to keep from staining her deck. Add perlite if your soils seems too dense. Expanded shale is great for the same purpose, but it's heavy. I have the habit of barely lifting the pot to see if it's light, which signals to me to water it. The pots with expanded shale in them are always heavy, so I have to stick my finger in those.

Make sure you have adequate drain holes and do not leave the pots in saucers. Those pots with built in bottoms are a haven for slugs, as well as making soil soggy. If you have those, you can pop those off and add pot feet. No one can see that the built in tray is missing. (I told you I've made every mistake there is.)

Amazon has tons of items that do the same thing as pot feet. I have a ton of them, as I bought a bunch on season end close-out at Walmart several years ago.

bkay

Very helpful. Thank you guys. Ill post some pics once I buy more hostas and begin again

I think the pot was too big. Well lesson learned. Could I place two hosta plants in he large container?

==>>> one option .... is pot in pot ... then when you need to remove one.. you can easily do it.. since its in its own smaller pot ...

it solves a bunch of your issues ... [well??.... hosta issues.. lol]

some peeps put rocks in the bottom of pots.. just to add weight so they dont tip over in wind ... but your media should be your water management system... and you shouldnt need rocks in the bottom for water management...

the rocks for drainage is very old school.. and perhaps it meant something.. when you had to use garden SOIL ... but with todays bagged medias ... it adds nothing but weight ...

ken

I like Ken's idea of a pot in a pot. In fact, I have done it myself! I have a very large container pot. On the bottom I put some closed water bottles or other plastic containers/bottles (because the container is so big!). Then I put some soil in it and end up with a smaller pot in the middle. When I put the empty pot in the middle, there still is about four inches between the two pots. Then I plant annuals in this 4 inches around. The elephant ear bulb (I plant in the middle) like temperatures to be warm. So when it is warm enough, I then take the pot in the middle out and replace it with a similar pot that has my elephant ear bulb in it. I can take a picture of this when I do it this week if you like. So you can put some well draining media in your pot and then place two or three smaller pots in it so you can just see the tops of the pots protruding. Make sure the pots have good drainage holes in them. Make additional holes if you have to. The pot in a pot method will make sure the hosta is not in a pot that is too big.

Yes, definitely show pictures. I can see how this would be very helpful for showcasing container plants. You would be able to change out the plants by season easily.

Faye and ken, I don't understand how a pot in a pot will solve the problem of the pot being too large for a hosta. One of the reasons that you don't put a hosta in a too big pot is that it can't use the water fast enough so it stays too wet for too long. Unless you fill the extra space with other plants or empty water bottles, how does that help your hosta?

bk

would it be because the hosta's confined in a smaller pot and unaffected by the soil in the largest pot?..

My question is: how do you water only the inside container? Faye is using the whole pot for some kind(s) of plant(s). In her application, she's separating them because she wants to replace what's in the center of the pot during the season. It makes perfect sense.

What I'm asking is how that helps Alysha with her hosta. Yes, hosta like to be crowded in a pot. Crowded or not isn't what makes them rot, however. It's staying too wet. If you put a little pot of dirt inside a big pot of dirt, how does that help control the moisture in the pot?

Small plants in a big pot stay wet. Hosta like to get air to their roots. If it stays wet, they get no air.

Maybe I'm mistaken, but the small pot in the big pot as a substitute for filling the pot with plants doesn't make sense to me.

bk

"How do you water only the inside container?" Elephant ears LOVE water and I give them plenty or they wilt. So in the picture you can see that my inner pot is just as high as my outer pot. Also, my potting soil level is higher in the centre pot and lower for the outer soil. So I just water the inner pot (by pitcher or hose) almost daily and water the rest of the pot when it needs it.

"If you put a little pot of dirt inside a big pot of dirt, how does that help control the moisture in the pot?" The moisture from the little pot drains out into the bigger pot allowing for drainage in the little pot. It would work that way even if the pot were planted in the garden. I suggested mini bark as the filler for Alysha's larger container---which would provide even better drainage I think.

Alysha's pot is a 16 inch. That a big pot---too big for most hosta. I have four pots that size with one hosta in them. They are 7+ years old.

I also have put small hosta and other perennials in small spinout bags. Then I put them into a larger container. I have no problems regarding drainage or moisture. In the fall I dismantle my potted arrangement and plant into the ground for overwintering.

I'm not sure whether I have answered your questions bkay.

I bought "two" blue ivory hosta plants for the big pot. I say "two" because each one had three plants. They fit pretty snugly into the container. About 2 inches around the sides. Before this, I discarded the old soil and washed the container with bleach water and rinsed well then let it dry.

Nice choice. Notice how you have solid leaves and reverse leaves? It's "sporting".

bk

What is "sporting"? Supposedly the blue ivories have lavender flowers. We'll see

So a pot can be too big ? What happens when you plant them directly into the ground. They live there so not sure why the pot would be too big. I have had a few in pots over the winter and bring them closer to the house , tip the pots and they survive. Just planted a bunch of ones that came up in paths from seeds just cause I have so many pretty glass pots . I may be sorry as they would probably break the pots when they freeze but may drag them up to our shed . I was going to put a pot in the pots but got in a hurry as I actually got help yesterday from my husband and he is not a gardener

Hosta tend to mutate or "sport", as they are just unstable. Blue Ivory is a "sport" or a mutation of Halcyon. That blue leaf looks like Halcyon. In that case, the Blue Ivory is reverting to it's original form, Halcyon. Just watch that blue one. Sometimes, they will take over the whole plant. A lot of people will cut that blue one off. That is not something I've dealt with, so maybe someone else can give better advice.

Anyway, you can see many of the named hosta at http://hostalibrary.org. On the top of each individual page for a named hosta will be a link to myhostas.be which give a lot of information about each hosta.

That's a good looking pot of hosta.

bk

I noticed on the sporting plant there are more new solid leaves coming out. I think its kinda pretty.

Alysha83- Do you mean 3 "plants" or 3 eyes (sprouts/stems) on the same crown of one plant? Think of a tuber with 3 sprouts sticking out of it, or 3 separate unconnected plants? Which do you have? As Bkay said above, The solid will take over , unless you cut them apart.

-Babka

It could be 3 eyes on same crown. They're just large. I can see if I can get some detailed pictures. I bought 2 large containers of hosta for the large pot. Will the solid leaves take over the other crown?

If you bought two containers, then you likely have two plants. No, the solid leaves will not take over the other plant. It is likely to take over the one it's part of, though. I can only tell you what I've read. I've never dealt with it, personally. it would be great if you could keep the one with the blue edges. As far as I know there is not a sport of Halcyon that has blue edges and a white center.

Halcyon is a beautiful plant. It is hardy and has few problems, as far as I know. I'm in Texas and grow in pots, so mine get the worst environment where hosta can survive . My Halcyon survived a dread disease and two years of neglect and recovered to be a beautiful plant.

I can't tell you what will work for you. If you do nothing, you are likely to have a pot with a blue side and a white and blue side. If you like that, then do nothing. They are not likely to intermingle, at least I've never heard of it. If you want to keep the whole pot blue and white, then you can take back the one with the blue part and tell them you want one that is not reverting. Or, you can post a new thread* and see if you can get someone to explain how to remove the blue part. Personally, if I didn't want the blue side, I'd pull that one up and take it back to the nursery where I bought it. Most hostaphiles would try to save the blue edged part as it's unusual. It won't necessarily come back next year. The blue side will most likely come back next year.

bkay

*People are not likely to notice your "dissecting" question at the bottom of this thread about container growing, so I suggest a new thread.