Zone 7 - Cape Cod

I bought a healthy looking specimen three years ago which, judging by
the stalks, had just finished blooming robustly. I planted it in 3/4
sun with a southern exposure and watered carefully.

Each year in that location it has come up smaller and has never
bloomed.

This year I finally decided to bite the bullet and move the sad little
remnant to 1/4 sun with a northern exposure.

When I dug it up, the crown separately immediately into 6 little
plantlets. I had only prepared one hole. After some internal debate I
decided to plant them all in the hole in a ring shape, more or less as
they were before the transplant.

Although it's early days, they now seem to be flourishing. Each has 4
to 6 leaves, already a definite improvement over last year.

What I'm wondering is, should I leave them as is or should I consider
separating them into separate holes, possibly in the fall.

Separately, I would appreciate any suggestions as to how to get this
variety to bloom.

"Frank" wrote in message
om...
Zone 7 - Cape Cod

I bought a healthy looking specimen three years ago which, judging by
the stalks, had just finished blooming robustly. I planted it in 3/4
sun with a southern exposure and watered carefully.

Each year in that location it has come up smaller and has never
bloomed.

This year I finally decided to bite the bullet and move the sad little
remnant to 1/4 sun with a northern exposure.

When I dug it up, the crown separately immediately into 6 little
plantlets. I had only prepared one hole. After some internal debate I
decided to plant them all in the hole in a ring shape, more or less as
they were before the transplant.

Although it's early days, they now seem to be flourishing. Each has 4
to 6 leaves, already a definite improvement over last year.

What I'm wondering is, should I leave them as is or should I consider
separating them into separate holes, possibly in the fall.

Separately, I would appreciate any suggestions as to how to get this
variety to bloom.

I would have planted each section of the crown in its own hole, reducing the
competition for water and nutrients. Hostas do best in soil that has been
amended with organic matter and that stays evenly moist, but not wet. I
would give them some fertilizer now and move them in the spring. There
seems to be a trade-off between fast growth and flower production on one
hand, and retention of color and avoidance of sunburn on the other hand.
Planting in more sun generally yields more flowers but the leaves can get
burnt and the color can fade. The blue hostas don't seem to do well at all
in the sun. You might want to read the comment posted he
http://plantsdatabase.com/go/3421/ as one poster seems to have experienced
the same problem that you report

Replanting:
Some hosta are bred to stay small, while others will grow huge. Mine grew to
about 4 feet in diameter. Check the label on yours for an idea of what max
size might be.

When they're healthy, their almost bulletproof with regard to being dug up,
split, and replanted. Obviously, the best time is spring or fall, but my
wife used to move them around in the summer. They complained slightly, but
always looked fine within a few weeks, and totally normal the following
year.

As far as planting in 3/4 sun, that never worked for me. I *have* seen hosta
thrive in sun, but I suspect their soil was much richer than mine. In any
case, mulch heavily. You know the nice fluffy soil you find beneath years'
worth of leaves in the woods? That's what hosta REALLY like.

"Frank" wrote in message
om...
Zone 7 - Cape Cod

I bought a healthy looking specimen three years ago which, judging by
the stalks, had just finished blooming robustly. I planted it in 3/4
sun with a southern exposure and watered carefully.

Each year in that location it has come up smaller and has never
bloomed.

This year I finally decided to bite the bullet and move the sad little
remnant to 1/4 sun with a northern exposure.

When I dug it up, the crown separately immediately into 6 little
plantlets. I had only prepared one hole. After some internal debate I
decided to plant them all in the hole in a ring shape, more or less as
they were before the transplant.

Although it's early days, they now seem to be flourishing. Each has 4
to 6 leaves, already a definite improvement over last year.

What I'm wondering is, should I leave them as is or should I consider
separating them into separate holes, possibly in the fall.

Separately, I would appreciate any suggestions as to how to get this
variety to bloom.

"Vox Humana" wrote in message ...

I would have planted each section of the crown in its own hole, reducing the
competition for water and nutrients. Hostas do best in soil that has been
amended with organic matter and that stays evenly moist, but not wet. I
would give them some fertilizer now and move them in the spring.

I will do as you suggest, especially since it appears that if the
small plants continue doing as well as they have been, they will soon
be too crowded in their present arrangement.

There
seems to be a trade-off between fast growth and flower production on one
hand, and retention of color and avoidance of sunburn on the other hand.
Planting in more sun generally yields more flowers but the leaves can get
burnt and the color can fade.

Then I may have a no-win situation with my Aprhodite. I won't give
up for a while, though. A house on 6A has several striking clumps of
Plantaginea that bloom profusely and fragrantly in early September. I
can't be absolutely sure that they are Aprhodite, but they sure seem
like it [double white flowers, intense scent, blooming season,
apple-green foliage color]. The present owners have no idea what they
are and say the previous owners didn't either. But they also say that
I wasn't the first to pull over in traffic and walk back to comment.
[That gives you some idea of what I meant by 'striking'! ]

The blue hostas don't seem to do well at all
in the sun.

Agreed. In my experience some leaves on Love Pat go green with as
little as 2 hours of intense [noonday] sun even if shaded the rest of
the day, and Krossa Regal tends to lose its 'frosting' with as little
as 1/2 sun.

You might want to read the comment posted he
http://plantsdatabase.com/go/3421/ as one poster seems to have experienced
the same problem that you report

Thanks for the link. My experience with the varieties mentioned there
has been slightly different. For me, Francee grows in almost any
degree of sun, although in full shade it is much greener and the clump
tends to be smaller. Paul's Glory seems to be extremely light
sensitive. I have two clumps with classic coloring, brilliant yellow
centers fading to yellow-white. A third clump, barely a foot away,
gets about 30 mins less sun per day and stays two-tone green. My
Frances Williams [the original was a gift from her to my mother years
ago when we lived in Winchester] shows striking text-book colors in
1/2 sun at my place in Maine. Here I can't seem to get anything but
two shades of green no matter where I put it; the proper pattern is
still there but both colors are clearly green, not even a hint of
bluish or yellowish. I wonder whether soil acidity or too much
organic matter may be a factor.

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message ...

In any
case, mulch heavily. You know the nice fluffy soil you find beneath years'
worth of leaves in the woods? That's what hosta REALLY like.

Thanks for the tip. The new location is both well amended and well
mulched. The old location had less of both and the soil was somewhat
sandier into the bargain.

"Frank" wrote in message
om...
"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...

In any
case, mulch heavily. You know the nice fluffy soil you find beneath
years'
worth of leaves in the woods? That's what hosta REALLY like.

Thanks for the tip. The new location is both well amended and well
mulched. The old location had less of both and the soil was somewhat
sandier into the bargain.

In that case, wait till next season. Those hosta will be huge, and probably
eating small dogs which get too close. :-)

What is the correct pronunciation of plantaginea? Is it like the gin we
drink? plant a gin ea

Thanks

Gary


"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
Replanting:
Some hosta are bred to stay small, while others will grow huge. Mine grew
to
about 4 feet in diameter. Check the label on yours for an idea of what max
size might be.

When they're healthy, their almost bulletproof with regard to being dug
up,
split, and replanted. Obviously, the best time is spring or fall, but my
wife used to move them around in the summer. They complained slightly, but
always looked fine within a few weeks, and totally normal the following
year.

As far as planting in 3/4 sun, that never worked for me. I *have* seen
hosta
thrive in sun, but I suspect their soil was much richer than mine. In any
case, mulch heavily. You know the nice fluffy soil you find beneath years'
worth of leaves in the woods? That's what hosta REALLY like.

"Frank" wrote in message
om...
Zone 7 - Cape Cod

I bought a healthy looking specimen three years ago which, judging by
the stalks, had just finished blooming robustly. I planted it in 3/4
sun with a southern exposure and watered carefully.

Each year in that location it has come up smaller and has never
bloomed.

This year I finally decided to bite the bullet and move the sad little
remnant to 1/4 sun with a northern exposure.

When I dug it up, the crown separately immediately into 6 little
plantlets. I had only prepared one hole. After some internal debate I
decided to plant them all in the hole in a ring shape, more or less as
they were before the transplant.

Although it's early days, they now seem to be flourishing. Each has 4
to 6 leaves, already a definite improvement over last year.

What I'm wondering is, should I leave them as is or should I consider
separating them into separate holes, possibly in the fall.

Separately, I would appreciate any suggestions as to how to get this
variety to bloom.

"Gary and Karen Manning" wrote in message ...

What is the correct pronunciation of plantaginea?

See http://plantsdatabase.com/go/2982/