Migrating Hostas to a New Garden

Migration isn’t just limited to the birds and the butterflies, it happens in the garden too.  We have about a month before the frost date here in Middle Tennessee (mid-October) and it’s time to move and divide the hostas in my garden.  Once that frost date comes the hosta leaves will fade away and the hostas will be harder to find so now is the time.  Most of these hostas are being relocated from underneath the Bradford pear tree that will need to be removed soon.  That bed will by necessity become a full sun garden.

The area I moved them to is the sideyard shade garden. Several years ago I planted hemlocks and crape myrtles along our property line.  The crape myrtles and the side of the house have covered this area in nearly full shade which is great for shade loving plants like hostas, hydrangeas, and heucheras.

One of my hostas was too large over near a gas meter and needed moved so I split it into six smaller hostas and planted it as a border hosta.  It’s a more common variegated variety with no name. (I picked it up at a plant swap) The other hostas are more unique.

• ‘Ginkgo Craig’ is a low growing hosta with narrow, pointed, and variegated leaves.  
• ‘Krossa Regal’ is a large leaved variety with blue leaves. 
• ‘Empress Wu’ is one of the largest hostas developed and can be about 5 feet tall.  
• ‘Fire and Ice’ is a variegated hosta that grows to about 15 inches.  

I covered a couple of the hostas to protect them from the deer and sprayed the rest with a pepper and soap mixture to ward the deer away.

I’ll come back with a leaf mulch once the leaves begin to fall from the trees. Fall leaves make an excellent mulch!