Not ken and not just restricted to hostas but it depends on the quality of the potting soil you use. Popular bagged potting soils (peat based) typically carry a lot of small sized particles that collapse and compress with the need for frequent watering and it IS recommended that potting soil be replaced annually, as this affects both good drainage and proper aeration. If you have a more textural and durable potting soil (bark based), this becomes much less of an issue and repotting/replacing the soil is more of a biennial or every three years sort of issue. I would not consider extending it beyond 3 years. Plant vitality will decline significantly.

think of your media... as a water management system.. allowing retention of the water the plant needs.. while shedding excess ... sooo.. you manipulate the media for whatever your crop is... e.g. water loving hosta vs water hating cacti ....

my point was... if you are having watering problems.. in a pot.. consider the most important thing in the pot.. the media.. the plant itself is not important ... after choosing the right media in the first place ....

if you have watering problems.. your first thought is.. is the media or pot clogged with roots.. do you need to up pot??? ... in which case.. you usually bare root.. or at least add significant amounts of new media around the size of the old pot... [its a whole different episode about not putting small plants in huge pots... most plants like to be somewhat root bound]

if its not root bound.. but the plant appears to be lacking access to water... and you water.. and the water pools and runs down the side.. a good fresh media will allow the water to run down ALL thru the media.. from the center out to the edge.. when it doesnt one would say ..... the media is worn out.. not doing its job ...

changing the media also reduces accumulation of air borne weed seed ...

i wonder if my ground freeze.. pot frozen solid MI winter.. adds a variable that you wouldnt have in TX.... probably... it further collapses the finer particles...

anyway.. you probably dont have to change it every year... but when i say that in random posts.. i presume if i say change it every year .. maybe i will convince some peeps to change it every other.. or every third... good old dad.. who could squeeze a nickle out of a rock.. had on plastic cauldron they had 20 year old media in it.. i went purple in the face over 10 or 15 years.. trying to get him to change the media.. and while doing it.. drill some darn holes in the pot... to this day.. i hate those black witches pots... i was pissed off.. when they came out for a visit to see the rand babies.. and brought one with them.. 23 years later.. its still on my front deck.. lol .. but at least the boy has it set up pot in pot... half the media ...

as to hosta directly.. and using the logic of a pot barely bigger than the plant.. you should HAVE TO up pot every year.. so you will always be introducing new media... to be honest.. i never really grew them long term in pots like you do.. so i dont know how realistic this would be for peeps like you who grow in pots long term..

i do recall.. chris at hallsons.. had a chipper.. and he ran bags of large bark chunks thru it.. and used a handful or so of large chips in every one gal pot... and that greatly increased the water flow thru the whole pot... and i started doing that.. but neither of us.. held those pots for more than one season....

lost focus.. let me know if you need clarification

ken

Thanks, ken and gg.

bkay

I have some hostas (the lime green ones) in rectangular not too deep pots and so far so good - 🤞🤞🤞haven’t really replaced the soil for a few years (5+) but I think I started with good soil to begin with. They kept multiplying so finally this year I moved parts to another pot and gave them more room and added some more basic soil I had. Now I’m wondering if I should change the soil, really don’t want to ad they’ve been the easiest container plants so far.

Two questions here, neither about soil in pots…..

Me1, if you don’t know the name of your lime green hostas, show us a photo and we may be able to name it for you……there are dozens and dozens of ”lime green” ones.

ken, where did the term ”peeps” oringinate???? Always wondered…….

debra

Here are the pictures as they are now. Note that they’re typically greener on spring, they get a bit of sun now so the color is faded, unless you guys will tell me they need more minerals of some sort. The plant identifier app I have says their seabold plantain lily but not sure they are because they’ve never had any stripes - always uniform coloration. But they used not to be as yellow - is that a sunburn think or I should feed them magnesium? The last picture is a picture form last summer

Please excuse typos my phone doesn’t know how to spell 😂

From some google search looks like august moon hosts. Definitely it was not 100$

It actually does look like August Moon. The best place to check is the Compare Hosta Library http://www.pwk.resteddoginn.ca/compare_hl_full.php

So, you may put it off, but eventually you will have to do it. Your plant will get smaller. Then, you will have to bare root it and start with a small plant. The longer you wait, the more your potting medium will compact, and you will have hard black concrete at the center of your pot.

At least, that's been my experience.

bkay

I never realized until your thread bkay, that there are container plant growers and then there are longterm container plant growers! Big difference I think! Most media sold for containers (at least here anyways) seem to be made for plants to be in containers for the one season only.

Wow! Those are some nice sized AMoons! Mine have never gotten that large and they also have burned everywhere I put them except all day shade. Mine just ended it’s bloom.

debra