hostas

I live in Toronto and moving to a new home by the Scarborough Bluffs overlooking Lake Ontario. I have many hostas that I would like to bring with me but am not sure how to do this. What is the best way to move my hostas? Since I'm not sure what is planted in the gardens at my new home, I'd like to wait till next year to see what comes up before I plant my hostas.

 

Univ of Georgia Coop Extension Service provides a good factsheet on growing hostas, with some advice on transplanting them (early spring when leaves are emerging).

 

I have moved my hosta in less than ideal conditions (twice in as many years) in the heat of July and August. Some I just put into pots and some just in plastic bags and boxes with drainage and left with roots exposed over the winter for some. They all survived beautifully. Of course, we are a zone 8 and your cold may not be as forgiving.

 

It's rather late in the season for you in your zone, so it is not likely there will be much if any root growth after moving them this late in the year. Dig them up, taking as large a rootball as you can handle so you do the least amount of disturbing to the roots, dig them in and make sure you put plenty of leaves or some other form of mulch on them and just wait for spring to come around again.

They should move fine -Hostas are remarkably resilient plants- however you may find that they will not be quite as large next year as they were this year, but that will look after itself the year after. There are several threads on this subject in some of the Hosta forums I frequent, for example here's one.

 

Dig 'em up, plunk 'em in a plastic bag, put them in a pile in the corner of the new yard, and open the bags to the sun and rain in spring.

I'm exaggerating a little, but not much. Maybe each bag should have a top opening for air.

If they are small new plants, dig them up in their entirety and put them in pots. In your climate you may have to group and shelter them for the winter. If they are large plants, you need only take a chunk of them, and the bag treatment should work fine.

Again, though, I'm in Zone 8.