go quart or bigger per budget ...

it will take a plug up to 3 years to fill the quart ... this is a wholesale plant that needs to be grown out for retail sale ....

ken

also .. compare vendors here .... price alone should not be definitive ....

ken

I would avoid plugs as you will have some losses with those. What I usually get is a quart when I mail order and I'm satisfied with that. The gallon depends. If those plants are field grown then yes. If they are otherwise growing in a pot for years, when you plant them the roots will die off and the plant will grow new roots which will set them back, so no better than a smaller plant IMO. I learned about this root thing in Madison last year from LOG owner Jeff Miller. This is consistent with a larger gallon size from Plants Delight that shrank the first year and it was three years before it got back to that size again for me.

That is interesting information Beverly. That explains why, if I have a hosta in a pot for a couple of years that has been struggling----and then it is planted in the ground---it can actually get smaller before it begins to regain its strength. Makes sense!

Most of what I order on line comes bare root and fits trade gallon pot. Some have more and can be split. Unless it is new release and I gotta have it i would not go for small size.

the more i think about it.. i dont know why you would pay to ship a one gallon pot ... ken

it also crosses my mind.. that these arent really hosta specific rules ... all thoughts apply to perennials also

The reason I ask, is I would like to buy quart size, but can’t always find that size offered. Now I ordered several of the mouse ears series from Land of the Giants. They were $20 each, but I have no idea what size they are. Perhaps some of you who have ordered from LOG would know. I am hoping quart size is what I would receive.

Send an email or call LOG. They can tell you what size you will get. Ask for a photo with a ruler, and I'm sure they will oblige. LOG is a good hosta company.

Ken- Many hosta sellers don't send hostas in pots. Fer sher to CA, due to ag inspections. Just the hosta roots, which weigh very little. That darned soil is heavy.

-Babka

Just be sure to order from a reputable vendor to avoid virus infected plants.