How NOT to plant a hosta....
 

Greeting all.....

Picked up a package of Elegans Hostas ( thanks to Bill's recommendations for giant
hostas).

Picked a nice place in the yard.... the first two hostas went in nice and neat. Dug the
holes, amended the soil...it was. loam/ clay to mostly clay further down.

Hole number three... nicely spaced apart from the other two... shovel went in and
hit something hard, moved a few inches, shovel went in and hit something hard...
tried this again and again and again. No luck.... finally decided to excavate.

There is a boulder, about 3 feet x 2 1/2 feet by xxx feet located about 5 - 6" down.
Made a few half hearted attempts to dig around it... wayyyy beyond my capability.

So the monster is right in the area where the hosta should be planted..... a few feet
left or right will disrupt the pattern of hostas and intrude into another part of the
garden.... Not a good option.

Removing the boulder is NOT going to happen... not by hand anyway.... the thing
is kinda large sized and heavy. I'm not.

So, question is... Will a giant hosta be able to grow in 6" of soil...... most of my
other hostas are within the top 4 - 6" of soil. Anyone have direct experience with
this?? Planting in this location is preferable, right amount of sun, right amount of
shade, right amount of moisture.

Or I can move the hosta to another location and forget trying to get a symeterical
pattern in this location....


Your thoughts are welcome

Peter

How NOT to plant a hosta....
 

In article ,
wrote:


So, question is... Will a giant hosta be able to grow in 6" of
soil...... most of my
other hostas are within the top 4 - 6" of soil.
Peter

All mine are about 5-6 inches. You can always add an inch or two if
you want more room for insurance. A large rock may give you a moisture
retention problem though.

Don't forget Hosta like to be split apart and moved about. Large one
in a great spot was eaten from below last year. New one in same spot
will be behind an in ground fence. Not guaranteed but it makes me feel
good.

Bill death to voles....

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA
Not all who wander are lost.
- J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973)

Some Hopi gardener said, "This is not about growing vegetables; it
is about growing kids."

How NOT to plant a hosta....
 

On 13 Apr, 18:43, Bill wrote:
In article ,

wrote:
So, *question is... * * Will a giant hosta be able to grow in 6" of
soil...... most of my
other hostas are within the top 4 - 6" of soil. *
Peter

*All mine are about 5-6 inches. *You can always add an inch or two if
you want more room for insurance. *A large rock may give you a moisture
retention problem though.

* Don't forget Hosta like to be split apart and moved about. *Large one
in a great spot was eaten from below last year. *New one in same spot
will be behind an in ground fence. *Not guaranteed but it makes me feel
good.

*Bill *death to voles....

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA
Not all who wander are lost.
*- J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973)

Some Hopi gardener said, "This is not about growing vegetables; it
is about growing kids."

Don't forget slug pellets! Mine were eaten alive without them!

How NOT to plant a hosta....
 

On Apr 13, 10:20 am, wrote:
Greeting all.....

Picked up a package of Elegans Hostas ( thanks to Bill's recommendations for giant
hostas).

Picked a nice place in the yard.... the first two hostas went in nice and neat. Dug the
holes, amended the soil...it was. loam/ clay to mostly clay further down.

Hole number three... nicely spaced apart from the other two... shovel went in and
hit something hard, moved a few inches, shovel went in and hit something hard...
tried this again and again and again. No luck.... finally decided to excavate.

There is a boulder, about 3 feet x 2 1/2 feet by xxx feet located about 5 - 6" down.
Made a few half hearted attempts to dig around it... wayyyy beyond my capability.

So the monster is right in the area where the hosta should be planted..... a few feet
left or right will disrupt the pattern of hostas and intrude into another part of the
garden.... Not a good option.

Removing the boulder is NOT going to happen... not by hand anyway.... the thing
is kinda large sized and heavy. I'm not.

So, question is... Will a giant hosta be able to grow in 6" of soil...... most of my
other hostas are within the top 4 - 6" of soil. Anyone have direct experience with
this?? Planting in this location is preferable, right amount of sun, right amount of
shade, right amount of moisture.

Or I can move the hosta to another location and forget trying to get a symeterical
pattern in this location....

Your thoughts are welcome

Peter

Peter
Yes, forget symmetrical and go for a naturalistic look. Not being a
fan of symmetry I would love
to have a nice big natural boulder in my garden!
I would uncover the whole top of the boulder and put the remaining
hostas in a random natural
way around the edges of the boulder, not all the same distance apart.
Add some other woodsy
type plants and what a beautiful spot it will be. (Oh I am drooling at
the thought of a boulder
to play with....just let it display all its lovely rockiness.)
Emilie
NorCal

How NOT to plant a hosta....
 

On Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:29:20 -0700 (PDT), mleblanca wrote:

On Apr 13, 10:20 am, wrote:
Greeting all.....

Picked up a package of Elegans Hostas ( thanks to Bill's recommendations for giant
hostas).

Picked a nice place in the yard.... the first two hostas went in nice and neat. Dug the
holes, amended the soil...it was. loam/ clay to mostly clay further down.

Hole number three... nicely spaced apart from the other two... shovel went in and
hit something hard, moved a few inches, shovel went in and hit something hard...
tried this again and again and again. No luck.... finally decided to excavate.

There is a boulder, about 3 feet x 2 1/2 feet by xxx feet located about 5 - 6" down.
Made a few half hearted attempts to dig around it... wayyyy beyond my capability.

So the monster is right in the area where the hosta should be planted..... a few feet
left or right will disrupt the pattern of hostas and intrude into another part of the
garden.... Not a good option.

Removing the boulder is NOT going to happen... not by hand anyway.... the thing
is kinda large sized and heavy. I'm not.

So, question is... Will a giant hosta be able to grow in 6" of soil...... most of my
other hostas are within the top 4 - 6" of soil. Anyone have direct experience with
this?? Planting in this location is preferable, right amount of sun, right amount of
shade, right amount of moisture.

Or I can move the hosta to another location and forget trying to get a symeterical
pattern in this location....

Your thoughts are welcome

Peter

Peter
Yes, forget symmetrical and go for a naturalistic look. Not being a
fan of symmetry I would love
to have a nice big natural boulder in my garden!
I would uncover the whole top of the boulder and put the remaining
hostas in a random natural
way around the edges of the boulder, not all the same distance apart.
Add some other woodsy
type plants and what a beautiful spot it will be. (Oh I am drooling at
the thought of a boulder
to play with....just let it display all its lovely rockiness.)
Emilie
NorCal


Alas, you will discover that even with a big stone, when one reaches a
certain age, it is difficult, if not impossible to get it up...

I covered it back up.. may it rest in peace.




The hosta will go elsewhere !!

Peter

How NOT to plant a hosta....
 

On 4/13/09 1:20 PM, in article ,
" wrote:


Greeting all.....

Picked up a package of Elegans Hostas ( thanks to Bill's recommendations for
giant
hostas).

Picked a nice place in the yard.... the first two hostas went in nice and
neat. Dug the
holes, amended the soil...it was. loam/ clay to mostly clay further down.

Hole number three... nicely spaced apart from the other two... shovel went
in and
hit something hard, moved a few inches, shovel went in and hit something
hard...
tried this again and again and again. No luck.... finally decided to
excavate.

There is a boulder, about 3 feet x 2 1/2 feet by xxx feet located about
5 - 6" down.
Made a few half hearted attempts to dig around it... wayyyy beyond my
capability.

So the monster is right in the area where the hosta should be planted..... a
few feet
left or right will disrupt the pattern of hostas and intrude into another
part of the
garden.... Not a good option.

Removing the boulder is NOT going to happen... not by hand anyway.... the
thing
is kinda large sized and heavy. I'm not.

So, question is... Will a giant hosta be able to grow in 6" of soil......
most of my
other hostas are within the top 4 - 6" of soil. Anyone have direct
experience with
this?? Planting in this location is preferable, right amount of sun, right
amount of
shade, right amount of moisture.

Or I can move the hosta to another location and forget trying to get a
symeterical
pattern in this location....


Your thoughts are welcome

Peter



You've gotten good advice. And leaving the boulder exactly were it is and
putting the hosta somewhere else is what I would do and have done many times
before.


In my younger, more energetic days, I would move that rock, it wasn't were I
wanted it and I put it were it would do me some good. But not any more

C

How NOT to plant a hosta....
 

Alas, when one reaches a
certain age, it is difficult, if not impossible to get it up...

Ummm, OK, sorry to hear about your problem, but I think that is
another topic!
And one I am not likely to have. I think that
is better discussed in another newsgroup (GRIN)
Emilie

I covered it back up.. may it rest in peace.

The hosta will go elsewhere !!

Peter