Monday 5/9 we had a big nasty storm stall out over our fair city. For over 4 hours, we had heavy rain, thunder, lightening, high winds, tornado sirens, and HAIL. It was a wild ride, because storms will usually move through faster, and this one just sat over us and pounded us. There were several tornadoes, and some folks did have damage to their homes. Here at Birchwood gardens, we fared well as far as any damage to our house or vehicles, but as you can see in my pics; my gardens were not so lucky. The Hostas sustained by far the most severe damage. Tress and shrubs did OK and other perennials seemed to be fine for the most part.I was just heartbroken to see the battered plants. A few Hostas that sit directly under trees were not hit so bad, but some are just shredded. I had just planted 5 bareroot beauties that I had mail ordered this spring. They are in bad condition. I am now wondering what will become of these poor plants this season. I was instructed to cut out the worst damaged leaves, but to not cut them down because they will still need to photosynthesize. One garden guy suggested fertilizing if they had not been fed yet (which mine mostly have with a slow release) in that case try some water soluble like Miracle Grow. So here are the sad pics.So, you get the picture, quite awful. I am a dedicated Hostaholic; I will not give up!
I have had the same thing happen to mine once and they all recovered, if that makes you feel better. I didn't cut back any leaves as I thought any piece of green was better left. Mine were established plants so I don't know about your babies.
I'd say just love them and then love them some more!! We had a horrendous hail storm last week and it damaged a few things. We don't have many things in bloom yet so the damage was minimal. I went to the garden center looking at plants yesterday and bought one wave petunia for $1.65 and a beautiful geranium for $3.65 because they had been badly beaten by the hail I know they'll come back but they look pretty sad right now. I like the 3 or 4 you have living together in the same pot. I too am a Hostaholic so I feel your pain.
Shocking. Time for beer and cups? Or is it too late for you. Such a shame to see. Those slugs and snails are ruthless. My condolences.
Oh dear Kay, Shredded shreds! The lime green one (Guacamole?) looks the worst! But I will repeat what others have said: the same thing happened last year to my hostas & they all recovered just fine. True, they did not have their full beauty last summer, but they were healthy. Think of them as pimple faced teenagers whom you know will outgrow the 'ugly ducking' phase.
Such a shame Kay, but Hosta's are very resilient...they will be just fine. They will send out new growth and before long they will look as good as new!
Oh ow! I don't have a whole lot of experience with hostas, but what I DO have tells me they are incredibly resilient. If they were my plants I'd just leave them completely alone to heal on their own. I'd be the support person of course...making sure they were fed and watered and nurtured that way, but my experience with hostas is that they do an amazing job of fixing themselves with the right kind of peripheral support.
Oh dear me, what a sorry sight. They will bounce back. Fingers crossed they will look better than ever.
Thanks for the kind words of encouragement. It is so sad to look at them right now. I just want to give em hugs I will finally have time tomorrow and the weather will permit me to get out and access and probably give them a dose of liquid fertilizer. BTW- Mother Nature continues to be mischievous, the low last night was 37F. Brrr Last Sunday; Mother's Day, I had taken my Mom on a stroll through my gardens and was just so very proud of how great everything looked. Recovery mode...
Hi Kay,..oh boy you were pounded for sure,..those plants will recover as its only the leaves and not the roots that were damaged,..you could leave them as they are but i would cut off just a few of the badly damaged leaves as that will promote more growth quicker rather,.. than have the plant spend more energy trying to repair its damaged leaves.
Out of the 70 odd hostas I have, only lost 3 original plants and 6 of their offspring. The best guess for their demise was extreme cold experienced by tender new plants. As for the rest, despite being trampled, run over by lawnmowers and heavy machinery they always seem to rebound. Sometimes a benefit of the unusual abuse is more plants. The original plant often sends up multiple shoots. Bottom line, your plants will survive. Jerry
Sorry to see all of the damage...I agree that next season you will not even remember it happened and just don't worry about them too much. I would only pull off the leaves that start to dry up for now. We are experiencing 30 degrees at night right now, I have a garage full of plants waiting to go into the ground or pots. The ones in the pots I covered with sheets, I do hope it was enough. Not sure when our spring will ever arrive. We get a beautiful day and then our temperatures drop again and the cycle keeps going.
Kay they do look rather sad. But like others have said. With tender loving care they will recover. Sherry8--I know exactly what you mean about our crazy weather and temps. We are closer to Lake Michigan so our temps haven't been quite as cold. But I did have a think sheet of ice the other morning on my dish of Oriole jelly juice. Not sure if our fruit trees took a hit of not. Need to inspect them closer to see if they are going to drop their blossoms.
5/19 update I spent the entire day puttering in my gardens (I just love these days) I think the Hostas are recovering from their rude assault slowly. I removed more of the badly damaged leaves from them, and notice new growth is starting to show. I have a feeling that the plants are going to be smaller this season because of this.
It is good to hear that things are improving with your hosta's. Fingers crossed for the rest of the season. I'll bet you really do enjoy these sorts of days in your gardens.
