Mine are coming. . . slow but sure. . . as a matter of fact I dug a hole today thinking it would be a good spot for my forget-me-nots. . . when I stuck my spade in the area I noticed I was digging up a hosta. . .(forgot I had planted one there) so with that being said. . . they're waking up after a very long and cold sleep. . .

Hostas always seem one of the last things to emerge for me. Not as late as a Hibiscus, but still late in comparison. Once up, they grow like crazy however. I think it's still a bit early.

Kevin

Mine are coming up along the foundation of the house, and in the warmer, sunnier beds. In the colder and shadier areas, they aren't popping up yet.

Hostas are such hardy and dependable perennials, the only thing I can thing of that might wipe them out over the winter is voles. Voles love hostas. There is one bed where I transplanted some Hostas last fall, and because the soil was feeling "fluffy" this spring, I am worried that some voles may have been tunneling through the bed.

Granted I only have two hostas... but they just poked themselves out of the ground a few days ago.

Hostas are great plants to include in any garden design! I think it's too soon to worry yet because of the unusual weather patterns a lot of us had this year. And if you aren't past your last frost date yet, then you're kind of lucky they are still sleeping.

We've been a little warmer than usual, and I have some up 2 1/2' already so I have to worry about us dipping down too cold again. ....But I also have some that haven't broken ground yet, the smart ones, lol.

I bet you'll start seeing some of those little nubs or pips very soon. Have you ever checked out the really active hosta forum on gw?

Thanks for the words of reassurance everyone. Neither my 'Dream Weaver' nor 'Captain Kirk' have sent up new growth in a part sun bed where a few other named varieties are already up. In prior years all the plants in the bed seemed to emerge more or less at the same time which led me to think they would do so year after year. This is apparently the year they don't.

The plants in my full shade bed haven't sent up new growth yet but I didn't expect them to do so until the soil warmed up quite a bit more. There are a few things awake in that bed--lady's mantle, black snakeroot, brunnera, primrose & columbine--but even the bleeding heart & Virginia bluebells are still sleeping.

sandyslopes - my last frost date is still three weeks away so I'll try to be patient & let Mother Nature do what she does best & better than I.

Gardenweed - I would gently press on the soil around the ones that aren't up yet. If there were voles noshing this winter, the soil will have cavities. If not, the hostas will be fine. Even within the same bed, microconditions can cause plants to emerge at different rates, particularly after this winter where parts of your soil may still be quite cold.

If you had vole damage, firm the soil in the bed with your hand, following tunnels since they often don't get an entire plant and so it can recover if the remaining roots have good soil contact, and water it in like a new plant. Then use the vole repellent recipe both now and before next winter to keep them at bay (and perhaps midseason if you are really concerned.)

the most active forum at GW is the hosta forum ... at least those peeps think so ... lol ...

come on over and be enabled ...

ken

Be enabled. That's an understatement. lol

Karen

"There are a few things awake in that bed--lady's mantle, black snakeroot, brunnera, primrose & columbine--but even the bleeding heart & Virginia bluebells are still sleeping."

With the addition of your hostas, that sounds like a beautiful shade bed. I have lots of shade so I'm always looking for examples of how others combine their plants. Maybe later on in the season you will show us some pics?

Almost all of my hostas are up and running as of today, with the exception of perhaps 3. Some are just pipping, some are a couple of inches high but still furled, but they're coming up. I was worried, with the extremely harsh winter we just had, but my hostas and heuchies seemed to have come through OK. Some hosta varieties are slower to emerge in the spring than others, that's for sure, so perhaps yours are the slower-to-emerge types. Give it another week or so before you give it up and by all means, come on over to the very active & friendly HOSTA FORUM, where you will pipped, NOIDed, scaped, etc. to your heart's content.