Using a digging fork to loosen and lift hosta plants from soil can help prevent cutting roots. To lift an entire plant and separate it into several viable divisions, insert your digging fork or spade into soil outside the dripline of the leaves. Work your way around the plant, eventually prying the plant from soil.

If your hostas are too large, use your shovel to cut the clump into divisions.

1. Carefully dig out the sections from the original hole.
2. Replant themin a low light or shady area.

The best way to keep a hosta from spreading is to cut the plant back. Wait until spring, when you can see the new shoots of the hostas beginning to grow. You can also divide in August, when the flowers fade, according to Clemson University.

The longer a clump stays in the ground, the bigger it becomes. Hostas don’t typically need dividing unless they have outgrown a space. In most cases, even when a hosta has filled it growing area, the resulting root restriction doesn’t damage the plant but simply reduces the growth rate.

Hostas need relatively little upkeep, and they do well in a variety of locations, although they prefer dappled shade. They take about eight years to reach full maturity. However, when they do mature, they can quickly fill up space in your garden. This condition means the hosta is too big and does need to be divided.

Versatile and easy to grow, most hosta varieties spread readily once they are established. They grow from rhizomes that spread just below soil level, and healthy clumps of hostas can be divided into smaller clumps every few years to share with friends, family and neighbors.

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.

When choosing companion plants, begin with favorites heuchera (pronounced HUE-kerr-uh) and hardy ferns. These two perennials enjoy the same light conditions as hosta – bright morning sun and cool afternoon shade.

Other shade loving perennials to grow with hostas

• Primrose (some grow this as an annual, but it comes back every year for me.)
• Bluebird Columbine (zones 3-9)
• Toad Lily (zones 4-8)
• Oxalis (comes in many colors and is hardy in zones 6 and warmer)
• Elephant Ears (huge showy leaves that tower over the hostas.

Hosta varieties with extensive white coloration or with thin leaves are likely to burn in full sun. In general, blue-leaf hostas require shade, while those with fragrant flowers, gold or yellow foliage or slight white variegation can tolerate more sun.

In a spray bottle, mix a solution of 2 cups water, 10 drops tea tree oil and 10 drops liquid dish detergent. Spray onto plant leaves, and repeat as necessary to keep insects from attacking your hostas.

Hostas for Full Sun In general, yellow or gold hostas tolerate partially sunny location without losing their vibrant yellow color. About two hours of daily sun exposure will keep these yellow or golden beauties looking their best. Aim for morning sun to avoid burned leaves.

What Does Epsom Salt Do for Hostas? Epsom salt’s main usage is to provide hostas with magnesium. It can bring a yellowed plant suffering from magnesium-deficiency to lush, green glory. It can also be used alongside other fertilizers to fix nutrient-deficient soil.

To plant hostas, select a spot that receives partial to full shade. Most types of hostas can withstand morning sun but prefer a shady setting. It’s important to know that these perennials grow best in soil that’s fertile and full of organic matter.

Hostas are drought tolerant, yet like moist well drained soil. If the weather is hotter, increase the watering to three times per week. Large hostas should be watered two times per week and daily during hot weather, especially if it gets more sun. Hostas growing in pots will require more frequent watering.

Hostas will benefit from an application of coffee grounds used as mulch because of their relatively high nitrogen content, but you need to use the grounds judiciously. Too much coffee grounds spread around Hostas can form an impermeable layer that hinders water and air from reaching the roots.

Petiole rot is a very serious disease of hosta caused by the fungus Sclerotium rolfsii var. delphinii. A soft, brown, mushy decay may be seen at the base of the petiole sometimes accompanied by white fungal threads. As the disease progresses the leaves discolor and wilt.

Examine the center of the hosta plant to check for dead or dying stalks. Hostas expand outward with each successive season of growth. A dying center may simply indicate the normal growing cycle of the plant. Evaluate the condition of the mulch around the plant.

You can cut back hosta plants in mid summer to regenerate a suffering plant.

Hostas cut down completely can regrow, but repeated trimmings like this will damage your plant.

If a newly planted hosta is not taken care of properly, whether it be lack of water, too much water or even a lawn mower accident, it may die. When a hosta does not return from its winter rest, it is usually from pests like mice and voles or extreme freezing and thawing.

The American Hosta Society recommends cutting off each scape after three-fourths of the flower buds have opened; this keeps the plants from diverting energy into setting seeds for the next year so instead they’ll grow more roots and leaves.

Cut the stalks after the blooms wilt on varieties that produce attractive flowers. Remove the stalks before they flower on foliage varieties that produce small or unattractive flowers. Flowering diverts energy from the leaves, so trimming the stalks can result in larger leaves.

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.

Some hosta species and cultivars are often referred to as “rebloomers”. That means that certain hostas may bloom more than once during the growing season, particularly if the first flush of scapes are cut off at ground level after flowering. Hostas do NOT rebloom on the same scape.