A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Does your Hosta die back in the winter??

I am in zone 7A and my Hosta dies back in the winter... my mother lives 15 miles south of me and is in the same zone as me (we are extreme NORTH GA actually on the TN / AL state lines) but her Hosta (which is cuttings of MY hosta) does NOT die back in the winter! What would make it act differently at her house v/s mine??

I tease her that it's because she's SOUTH of me but I'm actually beginning to wonder if that 15 miles really does make a difference?!?

Her daffodils always bloom a good 3 weeks before mine do too which also seems odd.


Any ideas??

I'm in NC and mine dies back too.

more than a few of my neighbors have hostas (a couple different varieties) and they all die back in the winter.

it's really odd that your mom's dont and they're taken from your bunch! something in the soil or the amount of sunlight migh be affecting it.

and, yes, that 15 miles can make a big difference!!

even with the daffodils - i've seen some that were already in bloom and others - about 10 miles away that didn't even have the flower buds yet.

I'm planning on planting Hostas in my garden this yard. Well right now they are in pots and have only one leaf sprouting from the pot.

But they die off during the winter? Are they just like flowering bulbs? I thought say stay leafy green through-out the year. They bloom as well? Correct? I don't really know my friend gave me a lot as a gift. I didn't really want them since they seem to take a lot of space correct?

Well any feedback would be appreciated

I always thought they dies back as well. They can get very large, but are great plants to separate flower clusters. Make great background plants as well.

if yo ulive where there's a winter they will die back. maybe in CA they don't i suppse that depends on where you are. yes, those 15 miles can make a difference. is the altitude different also? we live in the poconos and depending on where you live things are very different. about 30 miles west of us is a totally different climate! LOL the altitude gets much higher in those few miles. they can be as much as 20 degrees colder on any day. it can rain here and they have snow. on the othyer hand about 20 miles south of us is totally different too. it is more in the valley and stays much warmer. so yes, those few miles can make a huge difference if the altitude is different also. oh and if they are taking up too much space you can dig some up, divide them, and give them to friends! that's how i got mine!

It could also be where she has it located...

There's things like "micro~climates"

If they are close to the base of a house, sidewalk, cement patio, brick... etc..
Something that can keep/hold heat...

I am in growing zone 5, and I can over winter a dahlia outside, at the base of my house, it's by a stone wall from the basement, it's in a raised bed, also has a cement silo brick walkway next to it, *two hot water tanks and a furnace in the basement*, plus I live in town, with lot's of sidewalks and paved roads...and large trees...

Many factors can play a role with plants and their demise or growth or ability to grow it at all!!!

If it's close to the house it may also depend on how good your insulation is. It's just like icicles. You can tell where the houses are better insulated because those houses don't grow icicles in cold wet weather. And the color of the siding is another factor.

Mine died back just like yours did. And I'm in zone 7a too. And they are being very slow to come up.

While we are discussing Hostas I guess it's time to crunch up my egg shells and get them out there to slowdown the slugs. Hopefully the ants won't steal them all this year. They definitely thought they were dessert last year lol.

I guess it's the 15 miles then... because she planted some of it close to the house but also some of it down the hill (no house warmth) too, so really our planting positions arent that different.

Bummer too because her hostas keep getting thicker and thicker while mine dont seem to get bigger.


Thanks for the replies everyone!!

What's your elevation 15 miles away,
compared to her's????
Are you on or near a hill?
She a valley??

I'm in 7b/8 with my hostas up against fences and cuddled up against walls. They all die back to the point where every year I keep thinking they are dead.

I have no idea why your mom's don't. Maybe the species?
ps. The areas 20 miles from me get completely different weather than I do, so I do believe that 15 miles can make a difference, but I'm not sure if that is what it is here.

I really enjoyed reading these posts just now.
Partly because I'm thinking of buying my first hosta.
Weezie, you mean the dahlia in the pictures?
I agree that 15 miles makes a difference. I'm on the coast in California, and the same plants that get huge inland are hard to raise here, and that's about a 15 mile difference. It's a 20 degree difference in climate.

I'm lost, back me up???????

This picture???
[img]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/P1010003abcGrnandOrgArums.bmp[/img]
The yellow dahlia is in the background..

What IS that in the foreground? It looks like red hot poker, but has the wrong leaves. It's cool.

Speaking of Dahlias, here is my new one for the summer (the tall ones aren't perennials here..too bad.)

dahlia

Arum Italicum

Stays green alllllll winter long..
flowers look like Jack~n~the~pulpit hoods..
Then green berries..
Then turn orange from the bottom down.

cooooooooool plant..
Easy to take care of...

Oooooooooooooh that's pretty..
I just started some by seeds..
Common one's though...