How much water should potted hostas get, & should I remove old leaves?

4 years ago

When I water my fabric grow bag hostas, I see it only takes seconds for the water to come pouring out the lower part of the sides and bottom--so I feel I need to water them like every other day or so. If the soil feels dry, shouldn't I water them?

Also, I see that any dead leaves from last summer have partially rotted and are easy to gather up off the soil in the pots. I figured I should remove it now that spring is here and I don't want it to attract pests. Is that the correct practice?

Each succeeding day, I see additional hostas are pop-pop-popping now. Now I see pips from Royal Tiara, Paradise Island, Appletini, Royal Tiara, Coconut Custard, Country Mouse, Paisley Print, Rainbow's End, Rainforest Sunrise, and maybe a couple more (it was getting dark when I got home today).

Thanks.

Stay healthy, everyone.

Featured Answer

bkay2000

4 years ago

Generally speaking, don't water them until they are up and growing. That's one of the big problems in growing in pots - rot in the spring. (We're in a rainy spell right now, so I'm moving my pots to the porch today to keep them drier.) Until they are up and growing, they don't need much water - just enough to keep the roots from drying up. I would guess once every four to six weeks or so.

Stick your finger into the potting soil and see if it is dry or wet. As ken said, you can also tell by how heavy it is whether it's dry or wet.

Basically, I don't think you can over-water them in the summer. You might waste water, but if you have well drained soil, it won't hurt anything. I think you have to be careful in the first few weeks of early spring, particularly with small or young plants or particularly large pots.

bkay

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Comments (8)

Josh Spece
4 years ago
If the plants are dormant, I would not water much.
hc mcdole
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I don't water outdoor plants in winter, even if they are in pots. I water maybe once a week in summer if they need it.

Some hostas early April last year.

3 Golden Tiara in the same pot since 2011

Humpback Whale

some blues in their original garden pots but cached in clay pots to keep them upright during stormy weather.

June in the same pot since 2012
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steve duggins(Z6a) - Central Ohio
4 years ago
It sounds like the water may not be getting into the root zone and if they are starting to pop they will want some water. You may want to pop one out to see the soil condition around the roots. If it is not bone dry, you are probably fine. If it has become resistant to moistening (hydrphobic), you will need to do something more than just pouring water around the root ball. Perhaps creating a way for the water to pool on top so it soaks in instead of running out or putting the whole bag in a tray for an hour so the soil begins to soak up the water. If that is not the case, you need to figure out why the soil is drying out so rapidly. I don't think it should be getting dry that quickly.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years ago
first.. remove dead leaves ... if they were in the ground.. i would suggest that is where early slugs are hiding ...

second ... you should be able to tell from the weight of the bag... how much water is in there ... if you had a grow bag of dry media ... im just making up numbers.. maybe it would weigh one pound ... if you can barely lift a bag .. and it feels like ten pounds.. well ... you have 9 pounds of water in there... just a little more than a gallon.. if that old 7 pound thing is correct ...

what you should do over the summer.. is water a bag ... mark the date.. and not water it again.. until you see the plant wilting a bit ... then see how many days to took to dry ... and then water accordingly ...

i think you ought to cut way back.. until you figure out some facts to work with ... until the high heat of summer hits.. i cant really think they need water every day .. especially when they havent spread out their water losing leaves to the atmosphere ... and keep track of spring rain amounts... to use in your equation ...

my bottom line.. as usual ... try not to kill them with too much love.. and watering every day in march.. might just be that ...

ken
Esther-B, Zone 7a thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
Esther-B, Zone 7a
Original Author
4 years ago
Like I previously posted, these guys are going crazy pipping. Some of the pips are already 1" high or more, and Coconut Custard is already leafing out. I mixed 1/3 coir in with my potting soil when I potted the hostas and heuchies, so I am quite surprised that so much of the water is running out the sides and bottom in a few seconds. I pour enough water in each pot so that there is a temporary (seconds) layer of 1/4" - 1//2" on top, before it soaks in.

Now I'm wondering also--should I MULCH the pots to help the soil not dry out so quickly? Before I moved--KEN--I poured liberal quantities of vinegar or ammonia solution into each pot to kill any slugs or eggs. I haven't seen any evidence yet of any insect pests. So far, all the pips look beautiful.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years ago
so I am quite surprised that so much of the water is running out the sides and bottom in a few seconds.

==>>> that means the soil is sodden .. holding as much water as it can ... so why do you need more??/

my slug example was to point out.. why you would clean out old foliage ... not to suggest you had slugs ..

seems like we all suggested backing off more water ... AND IT SOUNDS ... like you are making excuses to keep watering ... and of course.. that is one of the downsides with the typewritten reply ..

i think you should start thinking about how you are going to maintain moisture consistently thru a fabric bag.. when the high heat of summer starts drying the media thru the sides of the bags .... you might want to start collecting pots you can slip the bag and all into to retard such ...

looking back over the whole project ... i am simply thrilled by how well you have succeeded ... congrats ... you might now be qualified to be out resident 'im moving and want to take my plants with me' expert ...

ken
Esther-B, Zone 7a thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
Esther-B, Zone 7a
Original Author
4 years ago
KEN, I have also considered what's to be done with the summer heat. I think a solution would be to take white shopping bags turned inside out (why should I give free advertising?), puncture them liberally at the bottom, and slip the grow bags into those. The hostas on the bottom shelves will be a bit cramped for headroom, do you think I should swap those with the little hostas on the top shelf? Can't do it in every case, just the two 3-shelf wire shelving units. The big 4 shelf wire shelving unit, there are no little pots to move to the bottom shelf. I am somewhat concerned that such an arrangement might prove physically unstable--what do you think?