August 26, 2008

Love and propagate... hostas....

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OK, I know this is not a hosta and probably you think what does it have to do with it? Nothing actually... Just lovely flowers NIMG :)

.... but going to hostas.....

End of August, which is end of summer here in Poland, is perfect time to propagate hostas. It is best, for three main reasons - you still can see them :) and you know how to divide it, second - after the shock of digging out they get the chance to start to grow roots, temporarily planted in pots, before you plant them in new place, third - you can still see the leaves after planting, so it is easier to keep the proper spacing between the plants.
My lovely hostas are growing in accidental places - but that is going to change, because the owner of the garden (me, me, me) got out of the 'planting heat' and now some more sense will be introduced in the garden.
I rarely go to nurseries, compare to previous years, when it was my daily excercise. Now I go maybe once a month - I simply ran out of planting space. There is kind of balance now - I go equally often to clothes shopping, as to plant shopping.
Thinking again - 'running out of planting space' is not possible, is it?
This is relative, because depends a lot on what is your plan. Mine is propagating plants that I have in my garden, because it is nice collection of 'Favourites'.
There are still some plants that I would like to have, but I know what I want. They are still in plans, because I couldn't buy it - they are not available in the shops that I visit.
Today I will show you, how easily I have propagated one of my favourite hostas, which was growing in a wrong place. Wrong place, because I couldn't admire its beauty - it was too much hidden.
Can you see how big it is?
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Propagating them was easier that expected. Just first cut was most difficult, because hosta is hard to deal with it, if you apply power - it sounds familiar, doesn't?
I dug it out first.
Then cut by half wih spade.
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After this it was easy to divide it with my hands.
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I wanted get maximum of it, there was 8 plants in total.
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They go to pots for 2 weeks and after that, in September, I will make new place for them and plant it directly in the soil.
Even if they stay in pots for the winter, these lovely and hardy plants will survive and in the spring will grow like nothing happened.
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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ewa,
thanks you for your visits and comments.
Yes, it is a Winky Pinky Hydrangea I've planted last year and has grown quite nicely. We have heavy clay soil in our area and this is a good plant for my garden.
The canna plants come in wonderful colours, but the Hummingbirds love the bright red ones best.
Love your pictures,
Gisela

Victoria Cummings said...

Ewa - This is very helpful information for me. We have so many beautiful hostas and I would love to share some with my neighbors. When I moved here, I was told to use an organic fertilizer called Milorganite on them in the spring to keep the deer from eating them. I guess the deer don't like the smell and taste of this stuff - it is a little stinky at first. It does the trick. I forgot to sprinkle one part of the garden last year and the deer ate every single hosta leaf.

Katarina said...

A very useful post, Ewa - it's nice to know how to get extra plants from your own garden. Especially when dealing with favourites.
/Katarina

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Your garden does look so very lush. It is a good thing that you can divide and prosper with plants you already have.

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

There is always room for one more plant, isn't there? Even when your garden is full of plants you will always find the space to cram in one more plant. I still go more often shopping for plants than I go for clothes and officially my garden is full. ;-)

You certainly got the max out of your Hosta, 8 babies is wonderful so well done Ewa!

candy said...

HI :)
I just found your blog thru a friend and I am so glad I did!!!
I have been wanting to find a Polish blog to see more of Poland since we will be visiting there one day in the future since my husband is from Poland (he grew up in Tczew and Gdansk)

Candy

Anonymous said...

beautiful lobelias. I do like hostas. Unfortunately so do snails and slugs here. I did see some in York last week edging a bed. They looked so beautiful enmasse.

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