I think I have decided the gardens will never be ”finished”. The last few years and ”aging” have told me I don’t need more to take care of. From now on I will watch the hostas I added over the last few years get bigger, no more moving things around.

To cut down on maintenance the last few years I let all of those hosta and daylily leaves lie. Everything grows over them and no slugs or such have invaded. I do remove all of the spent scapes.

We had our patio and fencing around it replaced the fall before Covid hit, so glad we did that. It was a peaceful place to sit and relax and enjoy everything I planted around it, and see hummingbirds almost every day the past two summers. Just a bit of normal in abnormal times.

Sherry

Yes, I agree---gardens will NEVER be finished! And, you know, you make plans and then something gets in the way---like aging---and it slows you down! I hadn't really figured on that!

Do you not remove the hosta and daylily leaves at all? Interesting!

Glad that you got your patio and fence replaced before covid. Good timing! Sounds like a wonderful place to sit and watch the beautiful hummingbirds!

More downsizing for me....

mikgag, I think I remember you saying previously that you wanted to downsize. So you were able to reduce but are interested in continuing to do remove more then. If you are willing to send them, I may purchase some. Let me know. I have a lot of pots. My husband says the pots are a hazard. Oh well!

I've gone from 411 down to 255, probably only getting rid of 2 or 3 this year and see how my back holds up. I really want to keep all my remaining ones as they my absolute favorites but time will tell....

I think we met these goals..

wide paths for strolling..

easy access to plants..

beds with access from every side..

pretty arrangements..

pretty color combinations..

some hosta in pots for fun..they're portable and can be used where planting doesn't work..

not more than I can handle..I love the idea of keeping the garden tidy..

I love certain traits and buy hosta with those traits..I'll never have as many varieties as some but I'm ok with that..I admit I'll probably buy a few hosta occasionally as long as I live!..

to finish I need to..move, give away or compost seedlings..

move just a few hosta..

buy a few special hosta that I don't own..

we've accomplished so much that what's left doesn't feel overwhelming 🙂..

I used a clipboard and took a count several years ago..I had 504 hosta (plants not varieties)..more now of course..if I couldn't ever buy another hosta I wouldn't feel deprived..

but I can and will..😂😂😂

I am relatively new to the hosta world, and only have Patriot, Liberty, and Earth Angel. I’d love to have more, but the resident deer population is so destructive it’s all I can do to keep my existing perennial beds sprayed with Bobbex and protected with the occasional cages when the new hosta leaves emerge in Spring. :-/

My hosta goal is to get my hosta as large as they can be when dealing with tree roots. My expectation is that it will take twice as long as it should and I’m okay with that-I just don’t want them to grow backwards because they’re being strangled

Mikgag, looks like you have done a good job at reducing your hosta! Sounds like you are on the right path to where you want to go.

Nicholsworth, you seem very organized and have set your goals and have achieved them. Great job!

Lovemycorgi, darn those deer! They are beautiful creatures, but so destructive. Wouldn't some kind of fencing work?

Oursteelers, I know exactly what you mean about tree roots. My plants have grown a lot slower too. My husband put in a couple of raised beds for me, but I do know that it is just a matter of time before the tree roots invade them. It's so frustrating! I would certainly cut down a tree if I could. Can you? But my city does not allow it.

Great post! I started shopping and expanding as part of a quest to find what grew well for me. It has been surprising. I also have a challenging area as my main garden, as a dry creek bed that floods whenever it rains hard. My plantings have to be strong to survive and need to be able to hold the soil in place to slow the erosion problem. They also have to be able to handle drought conditions, as the oak trees draw a lot of water from the ground during droughts. The poor growers will be allowed to either and die. I have a quarter acre lot and a demanding job/career. I have no patience for fastidious plants. As an aside, the mice are not for me, or any other heavers.

I'm a collector and an addict, so I suppose my goal was more, more, more and obtaining the interesting (to me) varieties. Well, I'll never have more Hosta than God, nor will I get enough to take over the world. Perhaps, I am done with my main acquisition phase, but there will always be interesting Hosta to add to the garden.

I'd also like to create a place of beauty (as it fits into my collector mentality) worthy of being on a garden tour. I've always had companion plants and other plant obsessions and sought year-round interest but I think I will be more focused on these goals in the future.

I've never needed the biggest Hosta, I'd just like them to comfortably fit into the space provided which means a lot of splitting and moving in my future until I get it right, lol.

I also enjoy sharing what I have with others. After giving away many plants last year, I think I may start selling them in the local farmer's market after I retire. Something to keep me busy and an outlet for all the extras.

Breeding is something I've dabbled in but seems a little daunting with a full time job. So this is another growth area for me in the near future.

newhostalady, I could take down a tree or two but I probably won’t. I love the cozy feel of the trees and am not willing to pay money to lose it.

If they come down in the wind I won’t replace them so we’ll just have to see what Mother Nature has in store for my garden

my trees did limit my hosta collecting..there's not as much good planting space as it seems..

utog, I see that you really do have a challenging area to garden in. I have seen so many beauties in your postings that it is almost hard to believe that you garden with those difficulties. It also goes to show how adaptable some plants can be. With a demanding job and all your plants, I don't know how you do it!

Steve, so you consider yourself a collector and an addict and will continue to add plants to your garden that are interesting.

"I'd also like to create a place of beauty (as it fits into my collector mentality) worthy of being on a garden tour."

From your picture, it does look like your place is definitely worthy of garden tours! I, myself, don't have the garden space or size of garden that I would like. So that by itself, I find very limiting. But somewhere down the line, I decided that I had a real passion (especially of hosta), and that I wanted a lot of them! But what I decided a while back, was that I was generally going to have plants that brought me joy, but it wasn't going to be the type of garden someone else would necessarily want. Now I think I have a decent garden, but I don't expect others to approve or love what I have done. I figure it is my family and I that view the garden daily. Visitors come too infrequently to get a vote!

Selling plants at the farmer's market after retirement sounds like a good idea. Raising seedlings also sounds like something one can look forward to.

Oursteelers, when it comes to trees, it is always good to know you have a choice to keep or remove a tree. Trees are precious, but the right trees should be planted in proper locations allowing for their size, and they should not damage property. My city pretty well punishes those that are allowed (after appealing the tree bylaw) to remove a tree. First, very few are allowed to remove a tree and when they do, thousands of dollars have to be paid to the city because they allowed you to remove your tree!

Nicholsworth, I guess we can't have it all. The trees on your lot bring you a lot of joy. It's just finding the right balance between gardening and trees---and deciding what makes you happiest!

I would like to get back at the weeding of my perennial seedlings in one of my Hosta beds. I need to enrich the soil and move a few biggies around. I have a raised bed with stones that I would like to tackle and expand. As I love who is in there but way to crowded. I have about 10 in pots that I need to plant in the ground.

As well, I have one that I am a bit worried about. It may have HVX and so I will have to take care of that one. I have been monitoring now for 2 yrs and last year I saw another that may be HVX.

There is a new Hosta Garden Center here in NB called Hosta Heaven. I would like to visit the garden center. My sister lives in Fredericton and I may get to go- with covid restrictions being still in place - it may not happen. They have an online site and I may get her to go and pick some up for me.

Check it out hostaheaven.ca

I always try to get what I like here in the alphabet. Last year I got Teaspoon and Coast to Coast. So I guess I need to add a few to my ABC list. And as for a collector- I like to buy The Hosta of the year. So I still need 2 that I don't have .

Oh and I am going to get new pruning shears .

nhl..I love this quote.."don't worry about what you don't have..be happy for what you do have"..

I do love my trees ❤..and all of my plants ❤..

I'm not sure if some here are mega rich and "have it all"..I'm not..but I believe all of us here are happy! 😂..

Shadow, sounds like you have some great plans, although your possible HVX is worrisome. I did check out the garden center, but I have a few that are closer to me that I could make a day trip of. The alphabet is certainly a good way to see what is growing well for hosta members. Teaspoon is sweet and Coast to Coast a beauty. I need to get a Coast to Coast too!

Nicholsworth, the quote is good! Sometimes we forget all the good things we actually do have to be grateful for. If you love your trees and your garden, then you are "rich" already!

Sandyslopes, you made me chuckle when you said "At first my goal was to have ALL THE HOSTAS!" I think almost all of us in this forum thought that! LOL And now we want the plants we currently have to be HAPPY! I can also understand the "Hoping my body will cooperate with my plans." Ditto!

I never thought what is my hosta garden goal? For me I am blessed with a large yard and I do love my hostas. Back in 2015 my husband said in this area the grass doesn't grow you should make it a garden, he was thinking english ivy and I was thinking shade garden = hostas. Now in 2022 I have almost 200 varieties and have expanded the garden many times.

Every winter I love dreaming of new hostas and always order a few. This helps me get through the grey days. I still have a few areas I want to plant with more hostas but I do have to limit myself. I want to enjoy my gardens and not think of them as a chore. I let the leaves fall then cover them up with mulch. The decomposing leaves make a nice soil but I do struggle with slugs. The vinegar/ammonia drench is that a spray or like watering with a watering can?

Back to goals. I like to create complementary color/shape/size compositions with my hostas. Now being a retired engineer I am not too artistic and this takes moving my hostas around until it works. I guess this part will keep me young. I like to create a place that is peaceful and enjoyable. I also have stopped separating my plants unless it is needed. One last goal is to by only what I can handle (I have to watch out on this one).

Beth you are lucky to have a large garden, and a husband that can help you. Over 200 varieties is wonderful, and from your pictures they seem to be quite mature.

Every winter, I too dream about my garden. Generally I don't dream about the new ones I am going to get, but I dream about what I am planning to accomplish the next season. When I go to bed, thinking about that calms me and I fall asleep!

I agree that we want to enjoy our gardens and not think about the work involved. A garden is work, but there needs to be a balance.

As for the ammonia/vinegar drench, one can do it with a watering can or sprayer. I would think for your size of garden, a sprayer would work better. The point of the drench is to kill the slug eggs. Do it when the soil is moist and later in the day. But if you do it when it is dark, or almost dark, and after it rains, you will be able to do the crown drench and spray the underside of the hosta leaves and even soil surrounding and the grass! Wet grass can house a lot of slugs!

I am glad I gave some of you something to think about---the goal we are trying to achieve. I think when we are younger we don't necessarily think of "the goal" or the overall picture. We just get on with it. I think I just started thinking about it because my garden reached its limit on plants; my back keeps telling me to stop doing what I am doing; and probably most of all, last year I just fell behind all that I wanted to accomplish. So I thought why am I buying more? Surely I have enough! (Well you know the answer to that!)

My goal is to add my first hostas to my Z5 patio container garden. I am ordering Ben Vernooj, Brother Stefan, Curly Fires, Majesty and Red Dragon for this spring. I am going with Al's Gritty Mix for these containers.

I hope you're planning on watering frequently. Hosta like water and Al's Gritty Mix drains exceptionally well. I use a well draining mix for my pots as they overwinter here better.

Chamaegardener, you have chosen some really nice hosta to order! I think you have done some research!

I have the same concern as Steve regarding Al's Gritty Mix. It just may not hold enough water for the hosta.

Steve and Newhostalady,

When I dig down into my containers holding Al's Gritty Mix, I always find moisture below the surface. Not wet, but at least enough to darken the color of the Turface and grit. I have never found it to be bone dry during growing season. Does that matter as far as your concerns about the mix holding enough water, or is that not enough?

Also, I have another mix called Steve's &%itty Mix, which is when I use the Turface of around 1mm to 2mm that falls though my first but not second screen. The first screen provides the 2mm to 3mm+ pieces that I use in my Al's Gritty Mix. So Steve's mix modifies the 1:1:1 Al's Mix by using the proper screened grit and pine bark fines, but compromises on Turface size. I was thinking of using the Steve's mix for the hostas since the smaller Turface particle size should mean more water retention.

Also, I tend to overwater the patio plants anyways, so at least from spring to fall I think (hope) this will not be an issue.

Newhostalady,

I am a sucker for showy plants. When I evaluate adding anything to the garden, it always has to pass my, "do I love it or just like it?" test. Probably not good overall design strategy having all show plants, but space is limited and decisions must be made!

If you water frequently, Steve's mix should be great. I think Hosta would do better with a loose mix watered every couple of days. Mimics what some of them see in habitat. But if you want to go on vacation for a week (or more) you might want to use all of the small particles including the pine fines and grit. Its tough to over water Hosta in the right size pot without having them sit in water. I use the cheapest commercial potting soil I can find and add 30% pine fines and 10% perlite but I don't really plan on leaving my plants in pots for more than 2-3 years. Plus all that screening is time consuming for the number of pots I have. I do use it for my Japanese Maples.

Love your selection of Hosta, especially Ben Vernooij. I wonder if Majesty might be too big for your pot, unless you plan on moving it up as it grows or dividing it to keep it smaller. I'm not sure what other Hosta they have available in a similar look but smaller size. Although, there's a bunch of similar looking ones in the same size. Or maybe you have a whiskey barrel for it. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

I might try your selection criteria but I just love too many plants. What's a design strategy???

I have and have had numerous goals for my hosta garden but the older I get, the harder it is to accomplish them. Last year I started to clear out a new area of brush and roots for a new bed. Hopefully I will finish it this year. I usually pick up a few new plants every year, some new ones and some replacements. I do need more beds for any new ones and have plenty space but need lots of clearing.

I think my main energy this year is going to be putting in new raised beds for veggies. Maybe include one for a nursery bed for hostas.

I don't mind the screening. My plan (do those ever work?) is to repot the hostas as they mature. I am ordering from Sebright and assume they will not be fully mature plants. I also plan to divide them over time and plant the divisions into an area on the north side of our house that currently mostly grows wild.

My thought about the gritty mix is to use it in as many pots as I can. It seems (I don't know because I am just starting) that repotting with the gritty mix should be very simple since the roots won't be wrapped around soil. In my imagination I see the loose mix just falling away from the roots when the plant is removed from the pot, and then I can prune the roots and stick back into a bigger pot of gritty mix.

I do really like the idea of having an intended use for the Steve mix because the 50lb bags of Turface MVP yield twice as much 1mm to 2mm sizes as the 2mm to 3mm yield. Besides using it for the hostas, I also put in a new rain garden and am using the smallest particles of all the components to create a sort of bog having very moist soil-less soil.

chamaegardener, using the gritty mix for hosta does sound interesting. Isn't it that hosta have come from Japan, China and Korea? And don't they grow on the rocks there? That's what Bob Solberg said after returning from a visit from Japan. So gritty mix just might work! Also, interesting about your "other" gritty mix. (I have a bag of turface I bought 2 years ago just sitting in a garbage can in my garden!) I do agree that repotting from the gritty mix should be an easier task.

I am a sucker for showy plants. When I evaluate adding anything to the garden, it always has to pass my, "do I love it or just like it?" test. Probably not good overall design strategy having all show plants, but space is limited and decisions must be made! I understand perfectly! My garden is too full and I don't have much place to add another garden bed---and I have too many pots (well, my husband tells me that---but I don't think so!) So now I have to make decisions about what I love and should stay in the garden and what should go. Certainly to buy more plants, then something has to go!

But here's the tricky part when it comes to hosta---sometimes to have to like something before you get to love it. So, for instance, Liberty. I had to like that hosta for 4 years before I said I love it. And as for your design strategy, I mostly do the same. I think I have one life to live, and I'll get what I love (rather than what might look better in my garden).

Steve, I like your potting mix: I use the cheapest commercial potting soil I can find and add 30% pine fines and 10% perlite. Only thing is that we, in Canada, don't have pine fines. Heaven knows why we don't. I can find nuggets and that's it.

Old_dirt, I know what you mean when you said: I have and have had numerous goals for my hosta garden but the older I get, the harder it is to accomplish them. Our new raised bed never got finished last year. So I planted into the raised bed getting ready for winter and now this spring we will finish the bed. Plants will have to be removed in order to finish the bed. What's that saying---something like---to garden is to dream? Imagining the end result makes the project worthwhile. But as we age it takes longer to complete.

My garden is too full and I don't have much place to add another garden bed---and I have too many pots (well, my husband tells me that---but I don't think so!)

My plan if/when my wife catches me bringing more plants, pots and mix to the backyard is to innocently proclaim "I didn't think we had the precise right amount of hostas. I thought we agreed I would bring in as many as make me happy. I'm sorry." [raised eyebrows innocent look]

It will be very interesting to see your results. I bet it works well for you. I think my Hosta love having the soil blasted off their roots and really suck up the water before their next stop even if it doesn't make sense. My wife gave up the battle years ago other than snide comments like, Honey, where are you going to put that? and We need to buy a new smaller house with a larger lot. hmmm...

Chamaegardener, I don't think that line would work with my husband! He built a raised bed last year because he said I would have more room to plant my hosta pots. (He doesn't like my pots being on the patio. We have a tree in the middle of our patio and there is always some debris falling to clean up.) Unfortunately, I don't think I am going to stop buying more plants. I NEED more plants!

Newhostalady,

Well if you NEED them, then I think your husband is being unreasonable.

Doesn't he realize the plant-industrial complex promises us all these beautiful easy to grow shade-loving plants that are guaranteed to make us happier?

Yes I NEED them!!! I see that you understand completely! I think my husband loves cars, fixing them, driving them. But I don't think he has a passion for it. There's a big difference. Maybe it's hard for someone to understand if they don't have a passion. And then there's all that marketing. For example, very spring Costco has bags of perennials and bulbs for sale. They are so hard to pass up! Beautiful pictures of beautiful plants. I don't buy the hosta in those bags because I had HVX show up from them. But it is still tempting!

My hosta goal is to acquire more. LOL. But of course garden space is limited, so I think in order to accommodate the newbies, I'll dig up and give away duplicates. May have to stick to buying small varieties, including minis. And also I want to buy ones with names starting with letters I don't have, so I'll have more to post in next years A-Z threads.

I agree with everything you said gardenchick! I have duplicates too that need to go to a new home. I love large hosta, but my garden doesn't allow for many of those. I look at the mature size of a hosta when thinking about purchasing. I find minis kind of particular. So I will just keep trying with what I have without getting more of those. I understand too about getting hosta starting with letters you don't have (for the alphabet)!

Like this thread.

I had to rethink many goals. Gardens for reselling is hindrance. No one wants it and they just put turf over it leaving few bushes.

We upsized and it comes with consequences. On prior lot we had no grass. Now we had to buy lawn mover. This year I am trying to figure out easiest designs for moving lawn, building raised veggie beds and regrading plant beds.

Also ID many hostas since labels were messed up big during move. Thankfully I have records of purchases and attemp to get mostly 10 ft rulers. On negative side I might have to wait for them to grow mature again to be able to ID....

Never mind upkeep, canning and preserving, observing, learnng if I could use swales principles to redistribute water for better use, figuring how to maintain large deck, fight with buckthorn and be a good steward to preserve which has tons of mayapples, trilliums and such.

Now I feel depressed.

Hosta goal accomplished, growing in Al's gritty mix.

April 18:

April 24:

May 2:

May 10:

May 15:

May 19:

May 21 (with Japanese Maple `Rainbow'):

What an interesting thread! I like creating a place of beauty. I love hostas as they look wonderful almost the entire season. Many perennials are beautiful when blooming and then it is over.

I too have a suburban yard and I can't even think of purchasing Empress Wu. I want healthy thriving hostas and that is a challenge with two large trees whose roots compete for available moisture. I have turned to pots in the garden under the outer edges of the tree canopy and that has worked fairly well. I need to improve my soil in the pots and I'm always learning what works best in my garden. I am a member of our local horticultural society and enjoy being the go to person for hosta and helping to ID and sort the donations for our plant market. I get to divide my hostas and share and encourage others and this is very rewarding.

I have begun growing milkweed and raising Monarchs so I will be trying to incorporate pots of milkweed among my planted hostas. I also need more perennials & annuals for the pollinators so I've had to leave space for some of these in my sunnier locations. I've found my interests have shifted over the years and my garden follows along but it is always a source of beauty and tranquility and this was so helpful over the past two years. I don't know what I would have done without my garden.

I recently joined the South Western Ontario Hosta Society and attended their first function in a few years. It was fun to chat about our gardens and learn what others are doing in their hosta gardens. I hope to be able to attend more events. i think a long term goal would be to be able to attend a function of the Hosta College.

I appreciate all the contributors to this forum and it is fun seeing the same posters every year and hearing what you all are doing.

Hugs to everyone!

Chamaegardener, good job! Is that Fire Island? I've had it for years and it just doesn't grow for me. It did once, and then it went downhill. Maybe a trial with Al's gritty mix might be warranted! How often do you fertilize?

Lindalana, you have a lot of your plate! Moving is a big stressor along with adapting to a new home and garden. Sounds like you have accomplished a lot already! Take time to think about all that you actually have done in your new home in order to stay positive. Then maybe lower your expectations to something that you can accomplish? I understand it's annoying to lose hosta labels. I didn't even have to move to find some of my labels missing this season. Frustrating.

hostas_for_barb, nice that you are helping out at your horticultural society. Great that you are helping the pollinators too! I attended at Hosta College. It was great. And then covid came. I miss Hosta College. Hope you get to go one day.

NHL, It is Fire Island. I fertilize using Foliage Pro at the low dose amount about every other time I water.

I never really thought about a goal other than to buy hostas because i have so much shade. I had some hostas on the property already and just began to reshape and plant in the back yard with encouragement and guidance from a friend who had some experience from doing her own yard. That was back in 1992. since then, we have torn out awful bushes (with help of course), removed railroad ties that were too big for the yard and rotting, found lannon stones every where, every time we dig. But I kept planting, mostly hostas when I found them in garden centers or big box stores. Then along the way i decided to create a garden space in front…….then asked to remove all the awful daylilies on the side of my neighbors house, which is at my side door and actually looks like it's my property AND plant hostas there…….. then I found you all and I have gotten more focused and thoughtful about what I buy and where I place hostas now. Trying to have abit more artistry and variety in companion plants. This year I removed a large arborvite bush, opening up some sun. I have planted milkweed, butterfly weed (not weed), coreopsis, lupines, more bee balm and dianthus hopefully to attract more pollinators and Monarchs. I have a bunch of hostas coming this week and have carefully planned where they go. Like many of you, digging out duplicates, digging out ones not doing well and putting in what I want. I am not much for potting hostas up, but have a couple in pots as we speak. I would like to do a mass planting of a hosta, love Little Treasure, but where??

debra