more later ...

they are not bulbs ....you would plant them in pots ... with the roots fully extended down into the pot.. with the eyes basically at soil level ...

what you get would depend on what you pay.. and the seller sends .. it can vary all over the place ... we have had many discussions on our favored sellers ...

many nurseries received bare root stock 3 or 4 months before spring sale.. and simply potted them up. and forced them early for sale at local nurseries ... that is probably what you see locally this time of year ...

ken

You can plant them in the ground if that is their ultimate destination. Just leave room for their eventual size.

btw .. hosta can take 3 to 5 to 7 years to mature ...

and in my experience.. big daddy was one of the slowest .. [and i am sure.. having said that.. someone will chime i.. its the fastest plant they ever grew.. lol]

the plant in your first link is at least 3 to 4 years old .. and even more.. if they started with the tiny divisions they show there.. it might even be older .... and we really dont know if those represent this actual hosta.. they all look the same dormant ...

if you want a bigger plant faster.. you would order and pay for a bigger plant .. and have it mail ordered to your house.. bare root ..

ken

yes.. plant them directly into the garden .. presuming you arent so far north. that the soil is still cold ...

they can be grown successfully in pots ... but dont mess with pots if you dont have to .. thats a different hobby ...

ken

Oh thank you so much folks! I think I get it.

bkay: and I thought I was getting such a good deal, three hostas for such a small price. so i should put the three eyes at the three points of a triangle right? and about 1 or 2 inches apart or 18 to 20 inches apart if you want it to grow out and look like a lush big plant eventully?

ken: I only asked about potting because the area I want these to go is not quite ready yet but will be soon. Meanwhile they can do their thing in a pot..I gather potting them for a short while is not going to hurt. Good to know they want to be a little pot bound.

Thank you again!

What you get might depend on how reliable your source is. Several years ago I bought 6 bare root Twilight, planning to donate them to the local plant sale. They turned out to be white edged 6 foot monsters and stayed in the garden for years until I needed room. I'm pretty sure they're Fortunei Albomarginata, but they got donated as NO ID.

On the other hand, I've had good luck with ferns and bleeding heart.

You might want to consider the mature size when you plant. Both these varieties of hosta will mature around 5-6 feet across, and 28-36 inches tall. You should plant accordingly, allowing a lot of space between each plant. If you plant these together in on small area, you should plan to move two of each three before they mature. Digging out a very large mature hosta is quite a job, so you might want to find separate spots for each plant.

Thank you madPlanter and dhaven for your thoughtful comments!

madplanter: the bleeding heart and ferns i ordered also say 3 count per bag. Am I supposed to plant these close together to have a decent sized plant or each bare root piece can be planted separately to become an individual plant?

https://www.longfield-gardens.com/plantname/Dicentra-Spectabilis

The picture of the bleeding heart at the borders edge looks very appealing. Would you say that plant is from one or several bare root? Thanks<3

dhaven: I was thinking what you are saying...I think I will go ahead and put the big hostas one per spot...one can always add too.thanks

katy, just a heads-up about the bleeding hearts, which I adore -- they can get enormous eventually, and quite quickly (after a year or two). My pink one as shown in the photo has been here for more than 20 years and spread to be a cubic foot in volume, or more - 3ft x 3ft x 3ft. Wish my white one was as vigorous...

Yes, it does - and yours will - leave a large vacant spot in the garden when it finally goes dormant, altho mine does not do that until August here in Central Massachusetts. (At that point, I buy autumn pots of chrysanthemums and just plop them over the bare space)

So if I were you, I'd plant the three bleeding hearts separately and not too close to the edge of the garden. Put annuals around it to fill in, if you want.

Oh, and my bleeding hearts manage to survive in full sun from 10 am - 2 pm just fine. Don't know why, but IMO they will take more sun than often is advised. I do water them when I remember!

Agree with roxanna, bleeding hearts get large very quickly. I planted a few small divisions in pure compost 2 years ago, and had to move them that fall. Oddly enough, my pink bleeding heart plants don't do the August disappearing act, they stay until the first frost. The white ones do go dormant by late September.

Bleeding hearts can take full sun if they are watered adequately, and will also do okay in almost full shade. The gold leafed varieties do tend to burn in full sun, and as a general rule the white flowering varieties prefer light shade. They go very nicely with hostas, astilbes, and ferns.

They do take up space. I try to plant something ( like a big hosta (-; ) nearby. By the time it gets nice and leafed out, the bleeding heart is fading anyhow. For example, my biggest BH is planted at the back of the border behind Abiqua Drinking Gourd. ADG is pretty small right now and the bleeding heart is the star of the show. In two months, ADG will almostly completely hide it.

Love Gold Heart bleeding heart for it's gold color, and am hunting for White Heart, too. I'd post a photo, but it has a lot of frost damage. A week of temps in the low 20's damaged a lot of stuff this year, not Gold Heart's fault. It's as hardy as any other BH.

Thanks so much forum friends...takes most of my confusion out!

roxanna: so good to know that they grow big so quickly...!! This is going to be lovely. I was thinking of my shadier areas but I will give some thought to sunnier areas knowing BH can handle fair amount of sun. thank you!!

dhaven: i am glad to know your regular BHs dont go dormant way early. Is it a function of being watered well you think?? I "heard" that if these BH are well watered they dont disappear so quick.

And thank you absolutely for reminding me of the golden bleeding heart. there are some online vendors that still have it in stock and i am certainly going to get at least one.

if I plant them in the first two weeks of may in my Zone 7a will they still bloom for me this season??

MadPlanter: I just saw a picture of hosta ADG. It is so unusual and beautiful. I hope you get a chance to post a photo of it growing in your garden. I would love to see it again and how big its getting. Thanks <3

Hi friends! All the planted bare root hostas and one of the ostrich ferns are showing green shoots. But none of the Bleeding Hearts show any sigh of waking up or life. I dont feel impatient, just a tad concened. Did I start the BHs too late in the season? And they got confused? Died?

I planted half a dozen bleeding heart starts this spring, and only 1 is showing any signs of life. The rest will emerge eventually. Same with the astilbes I planted this spring, 1 showing, the other 29 not showing. It's been colder than normal here, and dry as well, but once it warms up and we get enough rain, things will start to pop.

Thank you dhaven. Yeah I think things will start to happen quickly now. the bleeding heart will probably come out soon.

I purchased bleeding hearts and two types of ferns from Longfield Gardens. I just potted them up for now and they are coming up nicely. I'm thinking that once they grow to a decent size and I'll plant them out in the garden.

There is a newer gold bleeding heart with white flowers, White Gold. You might still be able to find one this season, my closest nursery is In The Country in Independence IA, and they had nice sized plants for $10, but is sold out already. Next year I'll have to order early, and they do ship. Lots of nice hostas there are well.

It will be fun having the white golden BH! Does this one get big lie the regular BH?