Hostas cut in the garden and in the tub

Funkia enchant in the garden bed or in the bucket with their leaf decorations. Plant lovers often do not know whether and, if so, when to cut a hosta. Plantopedia has the answers.

Cutting - yes or no

In principle, hostas can be cut. As a rule, this is limited to shaped cuts and measures to regulate the height and / or width. The latter is particularly useful when hostas are planted in a tub and they take up too much space due to their voluminous growth. Dense growth of internal parts of the plant can also reduce the supply of light, so that drying out with clearings occurs, which results in an unsightly appearance. The heart leaf lily, as this agave plant is also called, can and should even be cut occasionally. The questions about when and how are important here.

spring

Before the growing season begins in May, a cut should only be made under certain conditions and the following parts of the plant:

leaves

If hostas have soaked, perhaps putrid leaf stalks from winter, they show frostbite or if the leaves have dried up, they should be cut off in April before the start of the growing season will. They take away from healthy parts of the plant the nutrients and energy that the hosta urgently needs for growth and especially for flower formation. It is advisable:

• Generally cut dry or otherwise damaged leaves continuously between spring and late summer / autumn
• Cut must be made at the end of the stem because it has no function without a leaf and continues to draw nutrients

Shape and clearance cut

The best time to cut into shape and let more air pass through hostas is in spring when the growing season is approaching. In order to achieve an improved shape and ventilation, the leaf stalks are simply cut through if possible at the bottom. For visual reasons, it is advisable to cut the outer petioles from bottom to top to create an evenly slimmer image. To clear the interior of the plant, it is usually sufficient to cut off just a few petioles.

summer

When the flowers of hostas wither in August / September, some hobby gardeners believe that the perfect time has come to cut them. That is only partially correct.

Cut off dead flowers

Ideally, cutting in summer / late summer should be limited to withered flowers at most. It is advisable to cut them off, as they unnecessarily remove nutrients from the plant when it is withered, but do not contribute to the increased supply of nutrients.

For the flower pruning, the following should be taken into account:

• Use sharp cutting tools
• It is essential to disinfect the cutting tool beforehand (increased humidity from September increases otherwise the risk of infection)
• Ideal: cut off flowers quickly as soon as they have wilted
• Always cut off the whole flower stalk
• Cut should be made near the ground
• Under no circumstances pull out the stem - this can result in loosening of the roots

Tip: Especially with hostas that are planted in tubs, withered flowers and stems should be removed because this is usually the case Significantly fewer nutrients are available than in the garden soil or an increased amount of fertilizer is necessary would.

Stronger pruning

You should definitely avoid pruning in summer. During this time, the host will already begin to bud. Anyone who still cuts more at this time of year risks a bloomless following year. In addition, after a more extensive pruning, the hostas reduce their nutrient supply accordingly, because fewer parts of the plant need to be supplied. In the worst case, this means that the plant loses its resistance for the upcoming winter and can even die. Before the flowering period at the end of May / June, of course, no extensive pruning should be carried out.

Slight shape cut

If you really want to use the scissors because the hosta seems too voluminous, you can make a slight shape correction after flowering. The following should be noted here:

• Only cut if it was neglected in the spring before the start of growth
• Just shorten leaf shoots
• Only cut off as much as is absolutely "necessary"
• Limitation purely to lateral shoots, which determine the volume
• The cut is always made from the lower petioles to the upper (for an even look)
• The earlier it is pruned in summer, the better hostas collect energy and strength for the winter months

autumn

Particular caution is required when cutting in the autumn months. The leaves of the hosta serve as natural protection from the cold and winter. After the first frost, the leaves bend downwards and virtually encase the plant base and the root area, which leads to protection against the cold. If they were cut off, in the worst case, hostas could freeze to death, even though they are officially classified as hardy. There are also other reasons why they should not be cut during autumn:

• Pretty accents with leaf decorations
• Provide winter quarters for numerous insects under the leaves
• Privacy screen for overwintering insects from natural predators

Cutting off the leaves

If brown, dead leaves appear, they can be removed in the autumn months before the first frost, although the plant does not experience any disadvantages from cutting, because the nutrient supply is now slowly increasing anyway Minimum down. If you still want to cut it off, you should definitely provide protection against the cold. This is placed on the earth in a thick layer over the root area. For example, the following are suitable as protection against the cold:

• straw
• brushwood
• Pine needles
• Bark mulch
• leaves

Tip: Do not forget that by autumn the budding has already occurred. This doesn't do anything with dead, brown leaves, but it should definitely be on it Care must be taken that healthy petioles are not accidentally injured or even separated will.

Radical cut

If the hosta looks weakened, it has been severely damaged by a pest infestation, for example if it is carried away or no longer grows as desired, a radical cut can work wonders cause. This should only be done at the beginning of autumn in October and should be viewed as an exception. The radical cut is always to be seen as a “last resort”, as there is an increased risk that hostas, depending on the degree of weakness, will no longer sprout.

This is the correct procedure for radical cutting:

• Cut off all leaf shoots to about two centimeters above the ground
• Always make the incision at an angle (so that moisture can run off (promotes wound healing)
• Carry out the cut only in dry weather conditions
• Provide protection from the cold (see "Autumn - cutting off the leaves")

winter

Even if the winter months are mild and the cut is missed in autumn or late summer, the hosta must not be cut during the winter until April. During this time, she is in a resting phase with a reduced metabolism. Cutting off would mean stress for the plant, which it cannot process intensively due to its minimal functions. Hobby gardeners run the risk of the hosta dying.