You might have a point, as I'm watering religiously and fertilizing every 2
weeks - this is my desperate attempt to coax some flowers out of them. I've
heard it before that hostas thrive on neglect. Thanks for the post.

paghat wrote:

In article , Jutta wrote:

I have to ask again if anyone has any ideas why my 5 different types of
Hostas are not blooming whereas my neighbours' hostas are all in bloom?
They are in an ideal condition, get watered and fertilized and look
healthy. 2 types are new, so I don't expect them to bloom; the others
are 3 years old (H. sagae; H. Elegans are two of them). What gives?????

I don't have a strong opinon here, but I can tell you that I have very few
hostas because they're not my favorite things, but I do have a few, which
I tend to neglect a bit because, well, because they're not my favorite
things, plus they grow amidst some hard evergreen ferns that are easily
injured by fertilizers & the ferns' needs rate foremost. (I like them best
as "horns" early in spring.) They are under-watered & never fertilized,
though they do have nice shady areas, & this year I put some Sluggo around
them & they didn't get as nibbled-on as in the past, but in the past I
even let the slugs eat them. Yet they always bloom; they thrive on my
minimal attention. It could be you're OVER caring for yours & that regular
fertilizing & plenty of waterings is not their preference! It's just a
speculation.

In support of this possibility I can say only that in cases when
perennials are stressed, such as during a summer heatwave, there is a
tendency for gardeners to respond to signs of stress with more fertilizer,
though plants should NOT be fertilized while stressed. Secondly, when
providing a lot of fertilizer & too regular a watering schedule, this may
promote nice leaf growth & healthy general appearance, but it will not
encourage the root system to penetrate more deeply & wider to maximize its
access to resources in the soil, & until they have a big happy root system
they might not bloom. Again, this is just speculation, something that is
true of many plants & perhaps also of hostas, as it would explain why mine
do well on semi-neglect, & yours won't bloom when blessed with the
"ideal."

Hostas may also be slower to establish if they are just planted in holes a
bit bigger than the pots they came in. An entire garden area should be
deeply worked before putting in hostas, or a hole dug to three feet wide &
enriched with organic material before even a small hosta goes in. If only
a small area is well-worked for it, it may feel like it is still in a pot
when surrounded by packed soil, & not put out the greater root system it
requires.

Some have claimed the very best fertilizer for hostas is kelp. I never saw
field tests so don't know if anyone proved it, but it sounds credible, as
it is a fertilizer that increases anarobic bacterial activity so essential
go the health of all shade-plants (& all plants generally but especially
shade-plants which rely most heavily on soil conditions). But supposing
fertilizing more than once in spring would ever be a good thing, even
then, if you're using a nitrogen-heavy fertilizer this can have the
opposite effect as intended. Check the fertilizer you're using & make sure
it is LIGHT on the nitrogen end. Finally, summer & autumn fertilizing is
often said to be detrimental to hostas; certainly the hostas should be
"gearing down" their activity & not encouraged to put out a lot of new
growth late in the year. I'd restrict fertilizing to no more than once
each spring, though adding others with more experience specifically with
hostas do recommend three topcoat fertilizings through the spring but none
later in the year (though that would be to maximize leaf size & is not the
chief influence on blossoms).

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/