Dividing Hostas

We have a pond at our house; its a small one with a little stream that flows into it. We put it in during the summer of 2003; the hostas that line the stream have been in since then. Last summer the ones at the end of the stream were so large that they reached across the stream and obscured the water.

Pond in 2003 (hostas in pots)



Pond in 2008 (Huge Hostas)
btw, its not the same taro after all those years



So, its time to divide the hostas. After much deliberation I decided to do it in the spring before the leaves emerge. Although it is still pretty cold out the plants are starting to peep out.

I started on the plant that is at the right side of the stream in the two photos above. I used my sturdy flat spade to dig all the way around the plant. I couldn't really slice under the bottom the way I was instructed so I ended up carefully prying the plant out of the hole. My shovel has a forged head and it is really strong.

Hosta before (Spilt Milk)



Clump out of hole



Rinsing the roots



The hostas has a bunch of rocks stuck in their root balls, it was really amazing how many were stuck in there. I was pretty unimpressed with the soil in the bottom of the holes so I dug down a little deeper and then I went and got some nice topsoil from my leaf compost area.

Nice compost



I don't have any pictures of cutting up the clumps. I didn't have a cameraman for most of the proceedings.

Here is the first plant all reinstalled.



Regal Splendor before



Leftovers; I am shipping some of these in plant exchanges. Others are going to friends and family in the area.



My helper



Super Gardener (check out my t-shirt)



Self portrait