At what point in the season can I cut back my hostas?
by
Babette
+2
Now that it is September, our hostas look very sad and ugly. Dried out and bedraggled, from out lack of rain as of late, ugh! They are obviously "done" for this calendar year, but we know they'll come back great as always. Asking, please, Is it okay to cut their tops of now or should I wait - until when?
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Hello Babette! If you live in a climate that gets frost, wait until they have been hit by the frost, and are turning yellow and drying out. That's when I gently rake out all the dead leaves. They do look ugly at the end of the season! Add a golden retriever who has trampled them to the ground looking for hidden chipmunks! Thank goodness they will come back beautifully in the spring!!
I usually wait and give my hostas the fall time to grow, but if yours are already dying back they can be trimmed now.
I've already cut the ones that are getting the hot sun now that the time has changed, its been so hot here and they can't take the hot sun, but the ones that are still in the shade are doing alright, but I'm watering them a lot too. I don't really think it matters when you cut them back, doesn't seem to hurt the ones I have.
I usually wait till we have a hard frost/freeze...I live in the midwest.