Hostas will come back every year and within two or three will be available for dividing. The process is easy, and you can plant the cuttings in other shady places, or give them to your friends and neighbors.
The best time to divide hosta plants is in the early spring, just as the stems are beginning to poke themselves up from the ground. But Hosta plants are hardy enough to take dividing even during their prime growing season. Just make sure they have a cool afternoon and evening to settle in.
Gently turn the container upside down, helping the Hosta plants slide out of the pot. Don't be afraid to disrupt the roots. Hostas act much like other bulbous plants: put them in the ground and the bulb will readily produce new roots. Once out of the container, divide the bulbs with a spade or heavy knife. Then plant -- either in pots or prepared soil. Estimate the correct planting level. Water and keep on the moist side.
With a small spade or shovel, lift the entire plant out of the ground. It's actually a group of plants, or potential plants to be divided. Don't be afraid to break roots, as Hostas will easily grow them back once resettled into a new growing medium. Once out of the ground, divide the bulbs with a spade or heavy knife. Then plant -- either in pots or prepared soil. Estimate the correct planting level. Water and keep on the moist side.
Although the flowers can be quite pleasing, Hostas are loved more for their leaves than for their flowers.
Remember, Hostas like sunlight, but in our hot high desert climate, provide indirect sunlight, or out and out shade.
