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| hosta-open email from W. George Schmid Subject : old hostas heaving Some hostas heave because they literally grow out of the ground. As the rhizome expands (and particularly in heavy soils) it expands out and up. The new roots grow from the top of the rhizome so become exposed. In old clumps, the rhizome becomes ring-shaped as the center dies out. You can take a posthole digger and remove the dead part and fill it with a division of the same plant and good soil. That "fills out or in" the plant. A friend of mine planted a two-colored hosta this way. This one is a real show stopper, but a gimmick nevertheless: Blue hosta surrounded by a yellow one. To each his own. So there is winter heave caused by freezing soil as it expand AND there is growth heave caused by an upward and outward expanding rhizome. A lot of other perennials "grow out of the ground." Winter heave can be avoided to some degree by plenty of mulch but in some cold areas the soil freezes anyway and my mother (in Detroit) had to replant some plants in spring to get them back into the ground. I have found no cure for growth heave other than replanting the clump. It seems that growth heave does not show itself as much in loose soil and on younger plants. My clumps usually show it after ten years or so, provided they can maintain a normal growth rate. Never a dull moment! |
| hosta-open email from: Bruce Banyai Subject: old hostas heaving Here is my recommendation. Heaving can happen to any plants in light or loose soil � with freeze/thaw. If they are mature plants, you would do better to push the crown/roots back underground and cover with a slight amount of soil. Especially this late in the winter. If you are expecting more freeze/thaw, after pushing the roots back in the ground and putting some soil on, put a MINIMAL amount of mulch, to temper the temperature swings. In Michigan and Delaware, a certain amount of heave is normal. Even with older plants, it happens. |
| hosta-open email from: Don Wachtel Subject: AHS Hosta Journal How many know the names of the first hostas that were registered back in 1968? The AHS Bulletin #1 (now the Journal) lists the names. There were 8 and it was appropriate that the one listed first 'August Moon' (it was the only one that started with 'A') was from Alex, the first president and one of the founders of the AHS. Here is a quote by Alex Summers in that first issue of March, 1969 ...... "We are registering the names of hosta cultivars to avoid the confusion which would arise through the use of duplicate names for different hostas. At the moment there are probably less than a hundred that have been named. In the future there will likely be several hundred and even thousands." |
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