how to clean up hostas in the spring

This article has been viewed 25,287 times. For tips on removing hosta flowers, keep reading! In fall, the dead leaves can be cut off or left to decompose. To increase your stock of plants, simply lift the plant carefully in autumn or spring with a garden fork, taking care not to damage the growing points. Keep deer away by building a fence around your yard, or luring them to the edges with other deer-friendly plants. Eliminate black vine weevil with an insecticide soap. Do I need to cut them back or should I just leave it? wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. The leaves on my hostas are damaged and full of holes due to pests. This article was co-authored by Maggie Moran. Clean Up the Leaves When hostas go dormant, the leaves die and the living portion of the plant exists only under the soil. If you can not burn the infected hosta plants, send them to the landfill. Rough stones or shingle works, too, but there should be no gaps for the pests to get through. Keep the soil moist but not wet. Hostas (_Hosta spp._), also called plantain lily, funkia or August lily are cool customers in the shade garden. Hostas (Hosta spp.) Add a few shovels of compost or leaf mold to the new home, but don't over amend: The hosta must be able to flourish in the native soil. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. This will help maintain the overall quality of your Hostas and will make doubling your Hosta population easier. If you plan to divide your hostas in the fall, plan for a time when the weather is cool and moist. ", "Didn't know anything about the plant, but now, I feel I've learned a lot! If you don't mulch your hosta during the growing season, you may want to do so after you prune it. BTW, I live in zone 9 (Florida), on the coast, and my hosta has lived, "I'm in love with hostas and had two different species from local Home Depot. For tips on removing hosta flowers, keep reading! I learned some interesting tips from this article. I just leaved up the spent leaves yesterday. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. A thin cover of … Hostas are easy to grow and care for, incredibly versitile, and they live for ages once they are established. ", years. Either way I have a slug problem. Mulch the hostas with 3-4 inches (7.6-10 cm.) https://www.bhg.com/gardening/flowers/perennials/should-i-pull-the-flowering-stems-off-my-hostas/, https://extension.psu.edu/cutting-down-perennials-in-the-fall, http://www.theiowagardener.com/Cutting%20Back%20Perennials.html, https://www.sundaygardener.co.uk/growing_hostas.html, http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/visual-guides/hosta-problems.aspx, https://hort.uwex.edu/articles/hosta-virus-x/, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. A terrific site for more information about Hostas is at greenmountainhosta.com. Last chance to mulch. ", "How to divide plant after 4 years, thanks.". Last Updated: April 29, 2019 The leaves of my hostas are pale along the edges, is this normal? The hosta will start to turn brown, at which point you can cut it back all the way to ground level with sharp pruning shears. This article has been viewed 362,130 times. Hostas will bulk up quickly, if given the right growing conditions. wikiHow's. Hostas do not usually need dividing for … I only had to clean up the garden once in late fall. How to Prune Hostas in the Winter. In addition to cutting them back, compost the soil they're in and put down a layer of mulch to help retain moisture. ", snails or slugs. Cut the leaves all the way to the ground. Clean up around the plants and remove brown leaves. Don’t cut the leaves all the way to the ground, though. There's a vast range of cultivars to choose from, with leaves in all shades of green, as well as dusky blues and acid yellows, sometimes variegated or flashed with cream or gold, ruffled, smooth or distinctively ribbed. Once the garden is clean and ready for winter, a thin layer of clean new pine needles can be spread to offer some winter protection and diminish the washing of your soil. "This was a big help for me. Mainly, we (Wes) were able to clean up the blowing leaves, trim back the hostas, and trim back the peonies for winter. These shade-loving plants are primarily grown for their beautiful foliage. They thrive in outdoor, shaded areas and can range in size from 2 inches (5.1 cm) to 4 feet (1.2 m) tall, with leaves that range from smooth to wrinkled, blue to rosy, and matte to shiny. This provides for an easy clean up after dividing clumps. The flower stalks will turn brown when the leaves do. How much more likely you are to be plagued with it the following season. "Now I've found a better way of taking care of the many hostas, that are in the various flower gardens in yard of. Place the plant on a potting bench and use a sharp knife to cut the plant into two. This is my first try at planting hostas. Cleaning up dead leaves helps prevent further damage from slugs and snails, and makes the munched plant look better. A good fall and spring clean up as part of your regular tree and shrub care program will also remove over-wintering egg masses and keep the populations in check. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Perennials to clean up in fall to make way for other plants in spring Since the hosta will be dead when you start pruning, it should be easy to snip off the body of the plant. References Now I do. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 25,287 times. After 4 years, all Hostas will need to be divided and replanted. Use fungicide spray if you see large spots with a dark border on your hostas, as this could be a sign of Anthracnose. Slugs are a big problem for hosta gardeners, and they can destroy an entire, otherwise healthy plant. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Had no idea as to care. They require very little attention, and they look fantastic. Moreover, winter cold will damage the foliage, so get a head start on your spring garden clean up by cutting back the plant in the fall. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published, This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. How to grow hostas. Insert your spade straight down around the plant, making a ring. Since hosta roots crowd out the roots of weeds, they are a good choice for use as a ground cover. Lay down a 1 in (2.5 cm) layer of mulch to insulate your hosta plant. Use pruning shears or a scissors to cut them back to … Hostas continue to be one of the most popular perennials in shady and party shady gardens. Transplanting or Dividing Hostas. This article has been viewed 362,130 times. When to Cut Back Hostas. Removing the foliage makes them move somewhere else to lay their eggs. You may also want to snip off your hosta flowers once they start to fade to enhance the beauty of the foliage. Cover the ground with mulch, and then wait for your healthy hosta to reappear in the spring. ", "Everything was very helpful. Spring transplanting also works fine as long as you wait until soil has warmed up a bit. If you want to prune your hostas for winter, wait until after the first hard freeze in the fall. For more tips from our Horticulturist reviewer, including how to plant your hostas, keep reading! Leaving the leaves in place can provide some weather protection to the roots but also provide a home for slugs and snails. When it doesn't get too cold too fast in the fall I clean up the leaves...otherwise wait till spring. Shiva -- in the Fall, I always leave the foliage. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. typically need little care during the spring and summer and into fall. Whether you cut your hostas when they're flowering or once the bloom has faded is up to you! Thanks for the tips. -- hostas for cover, hostas for bloom, hostas for unusual foliage. When it came time for Allium Globemaster to bloom, the unsightly, faded daffodil foliage was completely hidden. ", http://www.garden.org/plantguide/?q=show&id=2051, http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/growing-planting-hostas.html?mobile=1, http://www.bhg.com/gardening/flowers/perennials/should-i-pull-the-flowering-stems-off-my-hostas/, Funkien in deinem Garten anpflanzen und pflegen, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Place mulch around the plants to help retain moisture. It's my pride and joy. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. I will be checking out some info on sclerotium blight. ", "Very informative. Since the hosta will be dead when you start pruning, it should be easy to snip off the body of the plant. The answer to the problem of shade in the garden is often hostas (Hosta spp.) By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Watering hostas in the morning will help keep them hydrated during hotter parts of the day during the summer. Clean out cold frames if you use them for a head start on spring vegetable growing. of each stem standing to protect the crown during winter. ", "I wanted to know when to transplant my hostas. Received these hosta plants from a friend. Destroy the cut leaves to prevent any possibility of spreading potential diseases. Exposure to cold allows the cold to do its job by killing certain insects that would otherwise overwinter in plant waste. Choose a cloudy day after a rain, or at the least water the plant to make digging easier. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. Approved. Before you begin, set up a good workspace. Fight Anthracnose by preventing your hosta plants from getting too wet. References. This article received 24 testimonials and 97% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 362,130 times. To care for hostas, water them at the base whenever the soil begins to look dry so its always moist and the leaves stay green. How often you need to transplant hostas varies. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/57\/Prune-Hostas-Step-01.jpg\/v4-460px-Prune-Hostas-Step-01.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/57\/Prune-Hostas-Step-01.jpg\/aid10106374-v4-728px-Prune-Hostas-Step-01.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"