But when should hostas be cut back? Hostas should be cut back in late fall. Healthy hosta leaves can be left on the plant in early fall to capture much-needed energy, but all leaves should be trimmed off after the first frost to deter slugs and other pests from making your hosta their winter home.
Nighttime Covering: Whatever route you go, if your potted Hostas are out in the elements for the winter, you will want to provide them with a nighttime covering. This can be burlap, frost cloth, sheets, cardboard boxes, or even inverted pots.
Yes, you can bury hostas in pots as an alternative to moving them under cover. If you live in a region that experiences cold winters and you plan to keep your hostas in pots outdoors rather than moving them to a sheltered spot they can be buried in the garden up to the rim of their containers, then covered with mulch.
Put them against a wall under an overhang or in an unheated building so the pots can't collect water over winter. In USDA zones 6 through 9 or if your hostas are in containers, mulch hostas with a 3- to 4-inch layer of pine straw to even out soil temperatures.
Temperature. Hostas are reknowned for their hardiness to low temperature, surviving down to -40 degrees Fahrenheit.
You'll be happy to learn that hostas require very little care in the fall. They are probably one of the lowest maintenance plants in your entire landscape. After fall's first hard frost, you should cut back the entire plant to the ground. Some gardeners have a difficult time cutting their plants back so drastically.
Hostas may quit growing, or become summer dormant as a result of heat or too much water stress. Hostas require winter chilling to less than 40ºF (4ºC) for several weeks to achieve proper dormancy.
Dividing Hostas in Fall
You should wait until night temperatures have cooled but while there is still time for divisions to grow new roots before freezing weather sets in. September is usually best in areas with cooler climates, October is okay for dividing hostas in warmer zones.
Planting Hostas In Fall
The cooler nights help your hostas prepare for winter's approach. And what a spectacular show you'll have in the Spring! So don't worry that it's too late to plant hostas. Autumn really is a perfect time!
Every single hosta species flowers at some point. That's how they reproduce. However, unlike some plants such as lettuce, which die back once flowering starts, you can let your plants bloom and the leaves will still be as large and colorful as ever.
Cut The Flowers
Tall scapes of flowers can be costly for hostas to produce and maintain. Cutting them off as they start to emerge will divert that energy back to the foliage, creating a fuller look. Other gardeners just don't like the look! Don't worry; cutting the flowers back won't damage the plant.
Early fall is probably the absolute best time to tackle transplanting hostas because soil is still warm from long summer days, which means hosta roots will grow quickly. Spring transplanting also works fine as long as you wait until soil has warmed up a bit.
Cut back your hostas after the first frost.
The leaves wilt and turn brown after the first frost. Hostas leaves can house slug eggs. These eggs can then hatch and destroy a healthy plant. Cutting the leaves off will solve this problem.
Best Fertilizer For Hostas
The best hosta plant food is a slow release NPK 10-10-10 fertilizer. Those three numbers stand for the amount of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium in the fertilizer. Slow release fertilizers feed the plant each time it rains or the plant is watered.
In late fall, after a few frosts, hostas will flatten out and get mushy. We suggest cutting them back to avoid slug and disease issues. Clean up around the plants and remove brown leaves. However, if you run out of time, you could also wait to cut them back until spring.
If a variety has a maximum spread of say 60cm, divisions from this plant that are planted next to the main plant can also reach 60cm in spread. Over time one plant can be divided out in all directions and those divisions also divided to cover a large area. How to divide hostas - please see our blog here.
Generally, hostas prefer to be out of direct sunlight. Most will tolerate morning sun, but need shade during the hottest part of the day. They are often planted beneath trees, but don't like competition from shallow-rooted trees.
Hostas require little care and will live to be 30 or more years if properly cared for. While most known for thriving in the shade garden, the reality is more nuanced. The ideal situation is dappled shade.
Planters made from modern substances, like fibreglass, fiberstone, and non-porous plastic composites can safely remain outside over winter. Fiberstone planters are made from a mix of limestone and fibreglass, which forms a material that looks like stone but weighs a fraction of the natural material.
Clay or terracotta pots are prone to cracking in frost so either avoid using these for your winter displays or look for frost-proof pots and containers. Plastic, fibreglass, wooden and treated terracotta and clay are all good materials for winter pots.