I have a bunch of hostas from the other house that I want to re-plant. I dug them up when the bartlett pear tree was going to be removed. You told me they'd over-winter fine if I just dug them up and sprinkled mulch over them. I did that, just laid them out down the side of the house and liberally covered them with mulch. Well, imagine my surprise when I went back to the house last week for some things, and saw that they'd all sprouted and were happily growing right where I'd stored them!!! I wish I'd had the presence of mind to snap a photo. I will when I go back this weekend. Anyhow, I wanted to create a hosta bed down the side of Paige's house where it's shady. I figured I'd use the bricks from the front, once I've replaced them with stones. Is there anything I need to know before I embark on that project? I am still shocked at how well those hostas are growing when I did nothing at all except lay them on the ground and cover them up! I mean, seriously, I didn't plant them, dig a hole, nothing! Just laid them out. And they look like they've been established there for forever!! I'm hoping they're not going to be terribly hard to dig up....I imagine most of their roots are still above the ground? Anyway, I'll move them over here, and.....then what? Should I do anything in particular to prepare the ground for them? It's clay, remember? Honestly, they did so well just laid out and covered with mulch, I'm wondering if I should do much more than create a small bed, fill it with topsoil and mulch and potting mix stuff, and just shove 'em in there?
Is it red clay or black clay? What did you have them planted in at the old place? I have black clay so I dig a good sized hole and mix what I dug out with some compost when planting in it. You don't want to totally replace the soil you dug out because the roots will soon stretch out into the clay and that could be like hitting a brick wall, stunting their growth.
Toni it's red clay at this house. In the other one I dug them up from a mix of red clay and old mulch, I guess. But just to be perfectly clear, when I set them out to over-winter, they weren't planted in anything. Just laid on their sides (the leaves had already started to wither because it was late fall) and covered everything up with a layer of mulch. And from that, that covering of mulch when they were laid out on their sides, is what the verdant new hosta growth came from! But now I'm really curious. What difference does it make whether it's red clay or black? (I didn't even knew there WAS black clay!)
Each Spring I am always finding bulbs or plants putting our new growth while laying on the top of the ground where I forgot them the previous fall. Plants can be hardy creatures for sure. As long as the roots are viable, the green will come back. Shouldn't be difficult to transplant them, if the roots balk when you start picking up the plants then use a trowel to dig around and loosen up the soil they have grown into. Black clay is the consistency of chocolate pudding when wet and as hard a concrete when dry. One reason my area has so many foundation repair companies, they do a lot of business here. It really needs to be amended with compost or you have to find plants that will grow in clay. We do have red clay north along the Red River, I remember trying to make pots and things out of it when I was a kid. But I have never had to plant in it. It never hurts to amend a planting hole with compost, so doing that should make the Hostas very happy when you move them.
I was going to suggest a bit of compost in the planting hole. Hosta's are very tough plants so I don't think you need to do much else for them to thrive.
Compost--check. Is compost something I can just go to Home Depot and buy a bag of? Will it be labeled as compost or is it called something else?
Yep, there will be several brands of compost. Try to find one that is organic or made locally. Our HD carries mushroom compost that is good too.
Oh, OK! I've actually seen mushroom compost when I've gone to get mulch at Home Depot. I remember having the fleeting thought that it was interesting they'd have something just to help mushrooms grow.
