Sorry, no time to put your feet up - This blog is a gentle reminder and follows up last years winter care blog published in October 2024
Winter always looks to be a period where you think you don’t have to do anything for your Hostas. There is a light covering of frost in the mornings, or even a little snow, maybe a light cool breeze and you think… nah! Not today. Nothing to do! Rather be indoors.
However, that is not the case. There is always something that needs to be done.
Winter is a much quieter period for Hosta maintenance than perhaps Spring or Summer. The Hostas are all dormant, but we need to do all the essential Winter maintenance, to get then set up for the start of the growing season.
During December and into January, we do a full stock-take, on the nursery. We do this every year. It’s essential to know exactly what you have. It could be a boring, but much needed task. I must admit, I find it very therapeutic. (or am I a little bit sad).
This would be a great time to ensure all your Hostas are labelled well, and even some notes taken of where they are.
For us, one of the fun things we do is to add in all the new varieties. To make it easy for us to pick each Hosta for all the orders, we have everything in alphabetical order. This does mean moving virtually all the sales stock to make space for well over 100 new varieties this year with a total of 500 sales varieties, in order. Not a quick task, but very satisfying.
Whilst we are moving pots about, we take the opportunity, to inspect each pot. We also clean the benches as now; all the deciduous trees have shed their leaves. Take the opportunity to pot up the Hostas that needs it (roots coming out of the bottom of the pots), or even split the larger ones, providing there is no frost.
This is a winter job that you all could be doing with your Hostas.
One of our ‘winter jobs’ is to top dress the pots. This is simply topping up the compost on each of the pots. This was a perfect time to do it. We managed to finish this task before any frosts appeared. For some reason, each Hosta appears to eat the compost. There seems to be a need to top up in nearly every case. This will protect the top of the pots, from the worst of the frost, especially where roots are showing on the surface. Hostas, once established, are hardy to the winter weather, but a little helping-hand won’t hurt. Perhaps you could do the same? Note: After such a cold snap make sure the ground or your pots are fully thawed, before you are tempted to add any top dressings.
As a Hosta collector, do you know what you have and where it is? Why not ensure that ALL your labels are readable, present & correct. It’s always good to keep a record of what you have, and the labels are an important part of that. Remember, labels become faded, brittle and easily break. They don’t last forever. Do you have anything written down? The most questions we get asked are about Hosta identification due to illegible or missing labels so why not use these winter months to have a relabelling session? For more information about labelling, please refer to our recent blog.
What about you and your garden? What can you be doing over the winter period? You will probably have Hostas both planted and in containers.
Hostas when planted, once established, will generally look after themselves. It’s lovely & they come back up every year, with very little effort.
You can help them through the winter by top-dressing. You can use most organic materials such as leaf mould, bark, spent compost (don’t throw it away when you are finished with the pots).
Cover the crown with an inch or so of spent compost (not mulch), especially where the roots are on the surface. At this time of year, do not use any fertiliser, or fresh potting compost containing fertiliser.
With newly planted, young Hostas, cover the crown with about 2”-3” for a little more protection, but reduce this in the spring when the new ‘pips’ start to show.
Keeping Hostas in pots is a fabulous way of showing them off. They do take a little more care in winter than the planted versions.
Top dress and check labels as per normal. Do not do this in the frost or snow, If you cover frozen compost with fresh compost, it will stay frozen a lot longer. Labels tend to break more readily when frozen into the pot.
If your pots are standing on a hard surface, such as a patio, it is important to lift the pots, off the hard surface. There are a number of ways to do this. A practical, cost-free version, is to save you bottle tops and place at least 3 (all the same type) beneath each pot to raise it up a little to improve the drainage. Make sure the surfaces are clean before you do this. If you have to move the pots, let’s say, to pressure-wash the patio, it’s a lot easier before putting in the feet. This may not be needed if pots are on gravel or similar.
In general, you don’t usually need to move any of the Hostas into a frost-free area, other than possibly miniature Hostas. These may benefit from a little protection, at least, until they are well established. Underneath the shelter of some shrubs etc, will suffice. They do not need to be ‘frost free’. Do not water! The UK weather will be more than enough for them.
Our Yorkshire Hostas a quite hardy as we often have plenty of snow! They will all be fine until the spring, when the seasons cycle starts again.
This period of cold weather is important to Hostas, as they require a particular amount of cold temperatures for them to break dormancy this is called vernalization each cultivar has its own requirement regarding the length of vernalization it needs prior to spring emergence.
Watch out for our weekly blogs with lots of information and advice on how to enjoy Hostas....... If you have any suggestions of topics to cover just let us know.
To learn more about Hostas, you may be interested in reading : How to care for your Hostas Over Winter, What Are the Common Mistakes to Avoid When Growing Hostas?, Ways to Protect Your Hostas from Slugs and Snails and "Uncovering the Advantages of Bare Root Hostas
Shop for Hostas HERE
John Plant
Rewela Hostas
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