The browning on the edge of the leaves most likely indicates a lack of moisture. The other one has clearly been eaten by something. For hostas, the most likely culprit would be slugs.
So I need to water them more, obviously. I don't water them much at all, and actually for years, while these healthy ones have been in the ground, they've only received water when it rained. But maybe since these that aren't looking good are new to their current location, they need more attention? What can I do about the slugs or whatever it eating this one plant? How much water should I give the hostas and how often. And these that are so much smaller . . . . are they just a smaller
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variety, or are they small because they were only purchased and planted in the fall? Will 10-10-10 fertilizer help them grow faster?
I have a problem with slugs & I have found Slug Bait @ Wal Mart is the Best....BUT it also will kill frogs, lizards & anything that eats it..so be careful if you have dogs or cats....
I've read in gardening books that slugs do not like to cross rough surfaces...so could put pebbles around base or have even read about using crushed up egg shells around the base of the hostas to keep the slugs away and also have read that it is better not to water them late in the evening.
Slugs crawl across everything that I put down...egg shells, gravel, sand....I had tried everything...beer in saucers, moth balls....all but nothing worked like the Slug bait
I agree, I can just look at them and see where the slugs have been chomping at them. You can put low sided bowls of beer out (slugs can't burp) or you can buy some lengths of copper that looks like scrub pads, but unroll to various lengths. Slugs won't pass this and I usually just wind this throughout my hostas when I have trouble...
Louise, your other hostas have gradually acclimated to only getting rainwater. You will have to water your newly transplanted hostas regularly until they are established. I personally would not fertilize until the roots were well-established and the plants started looking happy.
Dorene, I'm not sure about southwest Florida, but in central Florida some folks actually are experimenting with hosta, the owner of my local nursery being among them. There is a "Sun Hosta" that supposedly has been specifically bred for the south.
Diane, you would need to know what is leading to their decline. Are they being eaten by slugs or deer? Are they getting too much sun or too little water?
Dorene, I'm not sure about southwest Florida, but in central Florida some folks actually are experimenting with hosta, the owner of my local nursery being among them. There is a "Sun Hosta" that supposedly has been specifically bred for the south.