Potting Hundreds of Bare Root Hosta Plants
Potting hundreds of new bare root plants is a big, yet exciting undertaking.
Over the last few days, my gardeners have been busy caring for all sorts of bare root hostas. Bare root plants are so named because the plants are dug from the ground while dormant, and then stored without any soil surrounding their roots. I ordered 700-hostas to plant around the farm - all from Pioneer Gardens, a wholesale company located on the outskirts of Deerfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1996, Pioneer Gardens specializes in high-quality perennial starter plants, both field-grown bare root and greenhouse plugs, and sells directly to growers and finishers throughout North America. I can’t wait to see these plants mature and flourish.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Recently, we received a delivery of several big boxes filled with healthy bare root hostas and other cuttings.
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- Each box includes 100 bare root plants. Healthy bare root plants get off to a more vigorous start because their abundant, fibrous roots have already had a chance to develop unrestricted.
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- Here is a closer look at one of the bare root hostas. Hostas are popular, tough herbaceous plants that grow perennially and develop into clumps. I have many of them in my gardens. These plants emerge from small, occasionally stoloniferous rhizomes with plump white-hued roots.
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- For this project, we needed hundreds of one-gallon plastic pots. These pots are available at garden centers, but if you have the room to save pots like these, they come in very handy. The cuttings will be potted, so they could be carefully nurtured before moving to a more permanent location.
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- A good fertilizer made especially for new plantings is sprinkled generously into the potting medium and mixed. We use M-Roots with mycorrhizal fungi, which helps transplant survival and increases water and nutrient absorption.
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- This medium is made right here at my farm with composted manure from my Friesians. Composting manure above 131-degrees Fahrenheit for at least a couple weeks kills harmful pathogens, dilutes ammonia, stabilizes nitrogen, kills weed seeds and reduces any objectionable odors.
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- As each bare root hosta is removed from the box, Carlos checks each one and untangles any roots. Bare root plants should not have any mold or mildew. The cuttings should also feel heavy. If they feel light and dried out then the plant probably will not grow.
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- After filling the pot about a third full, Carlos places the hosta inside, making sure it sits low enough to cover all the roots, but high enough so none of the green stems are under soil.
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- If planting bare roots, always do this before new growth starts. Hostas are low-maintenance plants that grow in hardiness zones 3 through 8. All varieties of hostas go dormant at the end of autumn and die back to the ground while resting.
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- Carlos continues to plant the cutting into each pot. If they are in good condition, the plant should sprout leaves in the same year it is planted.
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- Here it is easy to see that this hosta is planted at the proper level – a trace of white at the bottom of the stems shows, but all the green is clearly exposed. The soil is then gently filled in around the roots, but not packed too tightly.
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- Each pot is then fitted with a weed disk, which will prevent any surface weeds from growing, while also letting in water and lots of air circulation. These are available at garden supply shops and online – they will definitely save time on manual weeding.
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- Carlos places one weed disk on the top of each pot.
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- The disks should fit securely under the lip of the pot if possible, so light cannot hit the surface. These disks are also pre-cut with slits that easily wrap around planting stems.
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- All the potted hostas are then grouped together, so they can be moved to a designated location by variety where they will be maintained until they’re transplanted into the garden beds.
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- Ryan uses large markers to label each variety of hosta.
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- This hosta is called ‘Patriot’. This variety has dark green leaves with wide, white margins that are creamy-yellow in spring. This hosta blooms in mid summer with delicate lavender flowers and grows up to about 22-inches in height and 30-inches in width when mature. (Photo courtesy of Pioneer Gardens)
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- These hosta cuttings are called ‘Guacamole’. All hosta plants grow best in shade with filtered sunlight. Too much sun exposure scorches the leaves. These plants grow more compact and produce more flowers in shady conditions.
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- ‘Guacamole’, when mature, has huge, apple-green leaves with wide, dark green margins. This variety is a fast grower and reaches a height of 22-inches with a 38-inch spread. (Photo courtesy of Pioneer Gardens)
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- Here are some of the potted hostas as they’re loaded onto our Polaris ATV. The goal in handling bare root plants is to maintain adequate moisture so they don’t dry out.
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- This variety is called ‘Francee’ with dark green, heart-shaped leaves and narrow, white margins. Another vigorous grower, this hosta blooms in mid to late summer. (Photo courtesy of Pioneer Gardens)
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- Carlos also uses a wheelbarrow to transport these cuttings to their temporary home.
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- For this collection of bare-root cuttings, we decided to store them in the cold frame outside my greenhouse. In gardening, a cold frame is a transparent-roofed enclosure, built low to the ground, and used to protect plants from adverse weather. The transparent top allows sunlight during the day and keeps the heat from escaping at night.
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- I am fortunate to have such a large cold frame here at the farm – this can hold a few hundred potted plantings.
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- Some are also stored in one of the hoop houses, where the temperature and humidity levels are also controlled.
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- We also have Hosta ‘Blue Angel’. This is one of the larger varieties. It has huge, heart-shaped, blue-green leaves and matures to three-feet tall and four-feet wide. It is also quite popular because it is slug resistant. (Photo courtesy of Pioneer Gardens)
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- This hosta, ‘Aureomarginata’, features green leaves with a hint of blue, and thin, gold margins. The leaves are slightly puckered giving the plant a more textured appearance. (Photo courtesy of Pioneer Gardens)
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- This is ‘Wide Brim’ with its dark green leaves and wide, yellow, irregular margins. This variety prefers full shade for most of the day. (Photo courtesy of Pioneer Gardens)
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- And this cultivar is called ‘Antioch’. ‘Antioch’ is a classic hosta that dates back to the 1920s. This hosta has a medium green center with margins of chartreuse in spring that change to white by June. It’s a vigorous grower that forms a large mound of attractive green and white foliage. All these hostas will be a spectacular addition to the gardens at my farm. (Photo courtesy of Pioneer Gardens)
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