Planting a Garden of Hostas
Another garden transformation is complete at my Bedford, New York farm.
This week, we opened my cold frame and planted hundreds of hosta plants in a new garden down behind my chicken coop yard. I got these plants earlier this year as bare-root cuttings - 700 hostas from Pioneer Gardens, a wholesale company located on the outskirts of Deerfield, Massachusetts. Hostas are a perennial favorite among gardeners. Their lush green foliage varying in leaf shape, size and texture, and their easy care requirements make them ideal for many areas.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Hosta is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies and occasionally by the Japanese name, giboshi. They are native to northeast Asia and include hundreds of different cultivars.
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- Hundreds of young hosta plants are taken to the new location by cultivar so they can be positioned properly before planting.
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- The hostas are transported in one of our trusted Polaris ATVs. This Polaris Ranger EV is an all-electric vehicle, so it produces zero tailpipe emissions. I love using these vehicles around the farm.
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- For the last few months, these plants were stored in the cold frame outside my main greenhouse. In gardening, a cold frame is a transparent-roofed enclosure, built low to the ground, and used to protect plants from adverse weather. They have grown so beautifully in such a short time.
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- Phurba rakes the entire bed, so it is clear of any weeds, branches, and rocks.
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- Any organic debris is placed in one of these handy totes – my heavy-duty Multipurpose Garden Tote. I have lots of gardening tools on Amazon – click on the highlighted link to see.
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- The soil in this area is already well amended with nutrient-rich compost.
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- The hostas will be planted under a grove of dawn redwoods, Metasequoia. These trees grow faster than most trees. I planted these about 10 years ago. The dawn redwood has feathery, fine-textured needles that turn shades of red and brown before falling – it is one of the few deciduous conifers.
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- The bark of the dawn redwood becomes deeply fissured as the tree matures.
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- Ryan carefully positions the hostas where they will be planted, paying attention to variety and color. Hostas are grown primarily for their ornamental foliage. The stalked, veined, often dense, basal leaves rise up from a central rhizomatous crown to form a rounded to spreading mound. These will look so gorgeous once mature.
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- Among the hostas we’re planting is ‘Wide Brim’ with its dark green leaves and wide, yellow, irregular margins. This variety prefers full shade for most of the day.
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- This variety is called ‘Francee’ with dark green, heart-shaped leaves and narrow, white margins. A vigorous grower, this hosta blooms in mid to late summer.
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- ‘Regal Splendor’ is a large hosta featuring thick, wavy-undulate, blue-gray leaves with irregular creamy white to pale yellow margins and cuspidate tips. Bell-shaped, lavender flowers bloom in mid to late summer.
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- ‘Elegans’ has huge, rounded, blue-gray leaves with white flowers that bloom mid-summer.
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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.
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- When planting hostas, it is important to dig a hole wide enough to accommodate all the roots of the hosta to be planted without cutting or folding them. Chhiring digs the holes as Phurba plants them.
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- The plants are placed next to each hole, so there is no confusion when they’re planted.
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- If you follow this blog regularly, you know how important it is to add a good quality fertilizer to the soil. We use dryroots, a natural granular fertilizer with nitrogen, potassium sulfate, iron, magnesium, kelp meal, vitamins, and humic acids to improve soil and plant health.
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- Fertilizer is so crucial. It increases transplant survival, as well as water and nutrient absorption.
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- A generous amount of fertilizer is sprinkled in the existing soil of each hole.
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- Hosta roots usually extend as far or further from the center of the plant as the foliage does. Phurba checks the roots to ensure none are badly tangled and then loosens the root ball before placing it into the ground.
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- Hostas do not grow deep into the soil – only about the length of the shovel scoop.
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- Phurba tucks the hosta into the hole so that it sits at the same depth as it did in the pot. After planting, he tamps the soil lightly to establish good contact.
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- It is important to allow plenty of room to accommodate a hosta’s mature size. Small varieties spread three times as wide as they are tall. Medium-size varieties spread twice their height, and the larger varieties are at least as wide as they are tall.
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- Ryan places more hostas on this side of the garden space. He also makes sure not to place them too close to the trees, so the roots of the dawn redwoods are left undisturbed.
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- The team works quickly and safely – always practicing recommended social distancing guidelines. Once established, hostas will tolerate occasional dry soil, but they will not survive long periods of drought unless regularly watered – they prefer moist, well-drained soil.
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- After planting, the crew rakes around each of the plants so the entire bed is level and tidy. Unlike many perennials, which must be lifted and divided every few years, hostas are happy to grow in place without much interference. In summer, blooms on long stalks will extend up above the clumping hosta foliage.
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- Here is the other side all done. These hostas will fill the spaces so nicely once they are fully mature in a couple of years. It looks great. I hope you are all able to enjoy some outdoor gardening this weekend – stay safe.
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