Plant Miniature Hostas in a Strawberry Pot!
Miniature Hostas look great planted in a Strawberry Pot!
After finding a beautiful blue strawberry pot at a garage sale, I knew exactly what I was going to plant in it! Miniature hostas!
A great tip I learned years ago from a seasoned gardener is to make a watering pipe for a strawberry pot. This little trick solves the problem of uneven watering and allows you to water the whole pot at one time.
Just cut a piece of PVC pipe slightly shorter than the strawberry pot. Then stagger drilled holes over the entire pipe. (See picture below.)
Set the pipe into the middle of the strawberry pot and pack wet soil all around it , filling the pot. Keep the PVC watering pipe free of soil as you fill the container. (if a tiny bit falls in, it’s okay!)
Now you are ready to plant your miniature hostas. I had five tiny hostas that had been planted in a flowerbed but overwhelmed by much larger plants. After digging the plants up, I divided them and planted the starts alternately in the planting pockets. I used three starts on the top of the pot around the pipe opening. Remember that the plants will fill out before too long, so small divisions will do.
Drill holes in a PVC pipe for watering.
Tuck dried, fibrous material loosely on top to cover the watering pipe.
Tuck a tiny hosta into each planting pocket and pack it in tightly with wet soil. After planting, top it off with some dried moss or other fibrous material. This helps the soil stay put when the container is watered. I used cocoa fiber from an old hanging basket liner that had seen better days. Waste not, want not!
Mini hosta tucked into a planting pocket.
Here’s the finished planter a few days after planting. Now those tiny hostas can show off and be seen! Now, pour water into the watering pipe opening at the top of the container until you can feel or see moisture in the pockets. So easy! Best of all, hostas are perennials so I can enjoy them for a few years, then divide and replant them again. Maybe I’ll find another wonderful strawberry pot in the meantime …
Miniature Hostas look great planted in a Strawberry Pot!
Thanks Barb! I tried portulaca in an idle strawberry pot this year. I missed watering while on vacation and came back to dead plants. Next time I’m going to use the PVC trick and put a water filled upside down soda bottle over the top. I bet it will last the week! Also I had soil washing out of the holes. Coir or sphagnum will solve that.
Great tips!
It is working great having the coir fiber in the plant pockets, Arleen. The soil is staying put and it looks nice around the plants!
What do you do in the winter?
This planter would be fine overwintering here in a sheltered location (I’m in Delaware). But, because of the ceramic glaze, I’ll probably store it in the coldframe or garage so it doesn’t crack from getting wet and freezing.