Why divide hostas

Richard talks about the best time of year to transplant hostas, the tools to use and the soil and type of compost he uses at New Hampshire Hostas.

Once the hosta eyes are popping up and before they have begun to unfurl is the window of opportunity to make your move. In the northern climates this is going to be the month of September and, as you go south, that window for dividing hostas moves later into October. Cool moist weather is what you want. Make your decision based on the long range weather forecasts.

What You Need To Know Generally, lifting and dividing hostas is setting them back several years in maturity. How far you set them back depends on how much root system is lost in the process.

So, the question that you should be asking yourself before you proceed to divide your hostas is this: How many plants do you need and how far back in maturity are you willing to set them? Why do you divide hosta?

I bring this up because I get the sense from some customers that they divide them too often. Some of the giant or jumbo hosta cultivars do not reach maturity for five years and they continue to improve in appearance as the overall clump expands. Let's take a look. So, here's my hosta. We're going to go out about three to five inches from the base. We're going to go all the way around so we can get that plant out in one shot.

Let's dig that hosta. Okay, so I've dug up the plant, now let's pull it out here. Alright, look at this, this is a great looking plant. This is going to be excellent and very easy to divide. There are a couple of different ways you can divide. You could use a big knife, like a bread knife or you could use a saw. You could even use your hands.

I find the easiest thing to do it is just use the shovel. Alright, let's split it. So, you're just going to want to move your foliage here a little bit so you can see the center of the plant, put your shovel in there, okay? A good chop, let's see what we got.

Okay, alright, this is going to be perfect. Now come take a close look at this. See this, each of these is called an eye root and each of these eye roots could be its own plant, so you can have lots of new hosta plants. Now if you're just dividing it to keep it healthy like we did today, just one split right there in the middle is perfect. All you've got to do now is plant another hosta plant. Without enough space, plants look shabby and detract from the overall appearance of your garden.

Diving plants is a multi-purpose gardening endeavor, allowing you to improve the health of your plants while gaining free ones at the same time.

The reason for this is that there is less chance of heat stress and of the plant drying out. Spring and fall weather tends to be more moist with lower temperatures than in the summer. Flowering is usually finished, and the plant will have some time to hunker down and settle in before it needs to start growing again in the spring.

In the spring, your plant is gearing up for the intense growing season, and is more likely to have stunted growth or to become stressed if you divide it. If you choose the fall, you want to start on the job about four weeks before the first average expected frost date.

This also happens to be the best time to eat the shoots, by the way! Some of the larger hybrids and cultivars can take four or five years to reach maturity.

Smaller ones mature in two or three years. Just know that your plant will take a bit longer to reach maturity as a result. You want the soil to be workable and loose. If the ground is soggy from lots of rain, wait until it dries out a bit. Then, trim away any yellow or dead foliage if the leaves are present, and any scapes the flower stalks. Doing this results in less shock, since there is less time for the roots to be left exposed to the elements.

For tips on setting your hostas up in the ground or a container, read our growing guide. Water hostas frequently—they thrive on moisture and humid climates. Too much sun dries out hostas and interrupts their growth.

Although hostas are typically not disease-prone, slugs are a difficulty you may face. There are a number of different "slug traps" to rid your garden of these pests, one of which includes beer you heard us right—beer! Fill a shallow dish with beer and place next to your hostas. Slugs are attracted to yeast, so they'll steer away from your hostas and toward the beer trap. Also try spreading eggshells or coffee grounds around your hosta plant—both of these are fatal barriers to slugs.

Pruning your plants , or cutting away dead or overgrown plant matter, is necessary in order to keep your plant alive—and pruning hostas is no different. Simply cut off all the yellow, damaged, or dead leaves. Make sure to remove these leaves at their root or the point where they start to emerge from the main plant.

Be sure to throw away all unwanted scraps to decrease the likelihood of disease development. Expert Tips to an Ultimate Hosta Garden. Save Pin FB More. Credit: Kat Teutsch. Credit: Kritsada Panichgul. Credit: Matthew Benson.