Hold on there, Dicky.
Nobody is saying to abuse the plants. Neglect would be a much better choice
of word to describe their care.
She should just hold back on the fertilizer and not water so often.
Fertilizing Hostas just once or twice a year with a low nitrogen fertilizer
is good enough.
Also, they shouldn't need any extra water unless they are showing signs of
wilting. Watering once a week is more than enough unless you grow them in
pots. Most Hostas are very resistant to relatively dry conditions. That
doesn't mean they are desert plants but they do very well kept on the lean
side. Most grow best as shade plants under trees and need very little extra
watering if any.
DickLivy wrote in message
news:wMBWa.44089$o%2.22435@sccrnsc02...
I agree with the others that you are taking TOO good of care of the
Hostas.
I believe they like to be abused. I fertilize once a year - in the fall. I
have never watered a hosta (I have 34 varieties, over 120 individual
plants)
yet get ABUNDANT blums and growth.
"Jutta" wrote in message
...
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/