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Writer's pictureJohn Plant

How to Care for Your Hostas Over Winter

The summer has gone, autumn is well under way. Some of the Hostas are still showing their autumn colour, but in general most have already started their journey in overwintering dormancy.

However, there are a few jobs that should be done before we put them to bed. Some of these are obvious such as hygiene, but many get overlooked.

Hostas once established, whether in the ground or in a container are very hardy. They do not need to be put in a garage for protection. They need a certain level of 'frost' to strengthen them up for the next year.

Here are some guidelines as to what you should and shouldn't do.


winter Hostas

Water the Hosta before Winter

The Hosta needs water the most during the summer months. However, even in winter, it needs some moisture to exist. When the plant is dormant, it still uses up moisture, albeit in much smaller quantities.

In winter, the Hosta is not able to extract water from the ground, so it consumes its internal stores. In fact, it shrinks in size. Therefore, it needs to store enough water in autumn. Only water the Hostas if dry. Take into account the more moist weather conditions that late autumn & early winter brings. You may not need to water at all.

If water is needed, water the Hosta most in the autumn until the first frost. Use enough water to get the soil wet but be careful, don’t flood the Hostas and don’t water too often as this can lead to rot. Stop watering after the first frost, or when all the foliage has died down.


cutting back Hostas

Cut back the Hostas for the Winter

The next thing you need to do is cut back the Hostas for the winter. Removing any dead leaves will clear debris from your pots & garden and therefore avoid rotting around the Hosta.

The frost will eventually completely destroy the foliage and there is no reason for it to stay near the crown. Trim the leaves and leaf petioles of the Hosta immediately after the first hard frost.

 

Sometime in early autumn, the leaves will begin to turn partially yellow, but they won’t die completely until frost arrives. The leaves will nourish the Hosta all this time, so there is no need to remove them until the frost kills them. When completely used and brown, they will easily come of in your hand. You are best to remove these

After a heavy frost, cut off the leaf petioles about 1 inch above the ground. Try not to damage the crown. Use only sharp and sterile pruning shears or scissors for the job.

Very often by winter, there is a dormant bud at the base of each old leaf petiole. Do not damage these buds under any circumstances. Otherwise, crown rotting can occur, and the Hosta may suffer or die.

Remove the old foliage from your Hosta. Don’t leave it to rot near your plants.

This is good compostable material.


Winter Hosta

Clean the Plant

You also need to clean up any possible plant debris around the Hosta. This can be fallen leaves, weeds, etc. All of this should be collected and composted. Try and do this on a regular basis, particularly during late Autumn.

If you leave plant debris around the Hosta it will rot, and may become diseased, and die by spring. In fact, the rotting mass may contain disease pathogens as well as pests. Moreover, it is an ideal environment for unwanted pests to overwinter.

Also, if you see any roots sticking out of the ground, take some soil and put it on top of them.

Very often the rain washes away the soil near the planted Hosta and the top of the roots may be bare. In winter, such roots can be easily damaged by frost, so you should definitely cover them with soil.


Top dressing winter Hostas

Mulch Hostas for Winter

You should mulch your Hostas in the borders, for the winter. Pots and containers should be top-dressed with a shallow layer of compost. Mulch has many positive aspects, the main one being a more comfortable overwintering environment for the plants. It often looks good too, if done well.

A layer of mulch can trap heat coming from the depths of the ground in the root area. This will greatly improve the situation of the roots during hard frosts.

The best mulch is organic matter, such a leaf mould. Compost or pine bark works equally well. Make sure the product you choose is pest free.

The layer of mulch should be about 1-2 inches. Cover the border but leave a circle at least 1 foot in diameter around the Hosta, without mulch.

Also, put some mulch of compost on the crown of the Hosta, but no thicker than 1 inch.

In early spring, you may need to remove the mulch from this area to make room for young shoots.


Do not water in Winter

You need to avoid watering your Hosta throughout the winter. First of all, because it’s usually quite wet in winter and the Hosta doesn’t need extra water around its roots. The good old English weather will provide more than enough water.

Secondly, in winter the Hosta hibernates and uses the stored water. If you give it water in the autumn, that will be enough.

If you water the Hosta in the winter, the soil around the roots will be excessively wet. In a hard frost, the pressure of the soil will damage the crown.

During a thaw, the cracked crown will begin to rot. By spring there will be nothing left of the plant


Avoid Fertiliser

You don’t want to fertilise your Hostas for the winter. This is especially true for products that contain nitrogen. If you fertilise a Hosta at the end of the year, it may stay active and not go into hibernation. Worse yet, young shoots may emerge from the roots. All of this will cause the plant to suffer severely from frost.

To avoid this, fertilise the Hosta no later than mid-summer. I suggest that the end of August is as late as you would want to be. Never use too much fertiliser or products containing a lot of nitrogen.

It is best to fertilise once a year in early spring. Use a slow-release multi-purpose fertiliser for feeding. Make sure that the product has a balanced ratio of all necessary elements (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium). This is particularly important with containerised and potted specimens.

If you follow the manufacturer’s recommendations and do not exceed the rate, the Hosta will have enough nutrition for the entire growing season.

Hostas that are planted don't really need feeding very often. They can extract what they need from the soil. However, a feed will improve the vitality, and the Hosta will look better. However, Hostas in containers, particularly those of 1year or more being potted, will have exhausted the nutrients in the pot, and will want feeding.


Frost protection.

As mentioned earlier, once established, Hostas are very frost hardy. In general they do not need to be given any further protection. The exception would be containerised miniatures, that are newly containerised (less than 1 year). These could be moved to somewhere with a little protection, such as under some shrubs, but do not put them indoors. The are not houseplants! The rest do not need anymore protection than mentioned earlier in the blog.



The foliage of the Hosta dies back in the winter. At the same time, the crown that is in the ground remains alive and new shoots will emerge from it next spring.

Because your Hostas are dormant, and look like they don’t need you, please don’t ignore them. Keep them clean and tidy ready for the spring










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John Plant

Rewela Hostas


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