the fact that the plants are sinking into the pots.. might mean the the media is wearing out ...

or........ that you didnt pot them well the first time.. lol ...

potting media wears out over time.. you might want to think about renewing such ...

or not.. i dont care ...

ken

Ken-

Yes.....I do add or replace media on occasion. I use a mix with a lot of chunky wood pieces etc. which does break down into finer material with time.

Glad that you have had success overwintering your pots. It's so exciting to see them emerge. So you are in planting zone 6 or 7? Just curious . . . what are you using for chunky wood pieces . . . and the rest would be garden soil or potting mix?

Newhostalady yes. I mix my own soil for these.....usually commercial "garden soil", pine bark mulch, perlite, some compost and perlite.......I can't say it turns out the same every time. These pots are streakers which need maintenance/dividing along with some newer plants purchase small or plants I am otherwise keeping an eye on.

Thanks for sharing your experience. my front entrance gets zero sun (NW facing). cannot place flowers as they last only a week or two. Even the foliage only plants sulk most season. I was wondering if I could grow couple of hostas in large showy containers to place on the steps But shied away so far as was not sure if those would overwinter successfully or not. Will definitely try when I divide the in-ground hostas. I’m in zone 6b.

here are the cuties I intend to divide in fall:

I have a ton of hostas in pots. After they lose their leaves in the fall, and hopefully before first hard frost, I put them in my garage. All winter they sit there in the dark with no water. I can't drag a hose out to water them because I've put away the hoses, and anyway the hose would freeze, so dry they stay. In the spring I get them out, hopefully before they come up.

This season I had a death in the family and delayed getting them out into the sun. They had come up in the dark garage, without any water and without any sun on them. They looked as white as mushrooms. I put them out, watered them, and in a week or so they all turned green. No damage was done. Here they are today, late May, ready to be distributed throughout the garden. Their stored energy is amazing. I don't understand how they can survive the lack of care I give them in the winter. They always do, though.

For those who don't know, the reason to put them in a sheltered place has to do with root and crown damage that can result from snow collecting in the pots. It will melt when there's a thaw, seep down into the dirt, then refreeze, destroying cell walls and killing the plant.

They take up a lot of room in my garage, as I don't stack them on top of one another in case I delay too long in getting them out of there. Losing that garage space to pots is worth it, though. I value potted hostas for their versatility; I put them wherever I need some energetic green foliage, and move them around often. Some of them are quarantined plants that I bought two seasons ago, now ready to be put in the ground having shown no symptoms of disease. There's a large mature Abiqua Drinking Gourd in there somewhere that I am excited to plant, and two huge Guacamoles also ready for planting. Somewhere.