There are some plants that are picky about being moved. Luckily, there are plants that almost seem to like being battered and broken and slung into the ground. One of those plants is the ubiquitous hosta. Hostas are one of the easiest, forgiving, shade loving plants available and are extremely easy to propagate.
What You Need For Dividing Hostas
For small hostas, you simply wait until there is a good rain and then grab the hosta by the base and gently pull it from the ground. If it is large, you will need a good shovel. If you want to completely move the hosta, go around the plant with the shovel cutting the roots and then dig the whole shebang out of the ground. If you want to simply take a piece, you can drive the shovel straight through the crown of the plant, take off a piece, pile some soil up around the original plant and you are good to go.
How To Divide Hostas
If you have a whole plant, you can usually just pull the pieces off. The hosta will almost fall apart where it is ready to divide (kind of like brisket after 10 hours in the crock pot). Dig a hole for each plant (or just use your hands and scoop away a chunk of soil), place (plop) the plant in and press down gently, but firmly around the edges of the soil to finish. Basically, just throw it in the ground. It will grow.
Many times you might end up breaking a bunch of leaves, especially on large specimens like this 'Sum and Substance', The poor plant looks tortured. He will be ok though. In fact, this photo was taken 2 or 3 days ago. Today, there is quite a bit of leaf growth. By 2 weeks out, the plant will be back to his former glory.
Hosta Sections & Pieces
Here are sections of a hosta. The first is the leaf and a little bit of crown (the whitish/purplish part at the bottom). The second is a clump of roots that fell away from the plant when it was being diced. You can plant both. The leaf went about 2 inches deep into the ground. The roots were buried about 2 inches under the surface. Both parts should grow once re-planted.
Sorry for the abuse hosta. We do appreciate you. Really. That's why we keep splitting you and spreading you all over our gardens. Please forgive the battering and bad planting.
The Best Time To Divide Hostas
The best time to divide hostas is typically in the spring after the new growth has emerged. This also gives the plants the most time to get established in the newly transplanted spot. You can also divide and transplant hostas in the fall as well. We do not recommend dividing the the summer or winter months.
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Author Chris Link - Published 10-17-2021 |