Safely removing hostas from underneath small Japanese maple

[Anonymous]

The previous owners of our house planted a miniature Japanese maple tree and put giant hostas underneath. The hosta leaves overwhelm the maple at the height of summer (I don’t just mean visually- each hosta plant is about half the size of the maple), and the hosta flowers are at least as tall as the tree itself. I would like to relocate the hostas to a more suitable area, but am unsure whether digging them up could do serious damage to the tree. I’m a horticultural novice, and unsure of how deep I should expect the roots of the hosta plants and maple to be.

Any advice?

[Anonymous]

You don't have to dig too deep to remove hosta. Now is the ideal time to transplant them as they will recover and look great in the new location. Dig only as deep as the bulb of the root of the hosta(about 3-4 inches down)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You don't have to dig too deep to remove hosta. Now is the ideal time to transplant them as they will recover and look great in the new location. Dig only as deep as the bulb of the root of the hosta(about 3-4 inches down)

Thanks. I have transplanted smaller hosta plants before, but these are huge and I was afraid that they may run much deeper.

[Anonymous]

I have hosta (green leaf with fragrant blossoms in August) that are absolutely prehistoric in size and you don't have to dig too deep to transplant.

[Anonymous]

Hosta are pretty hardy! I had to dig a bunch out last minute when we had to have some regrading work done. Dug out what I could and stuck them in pots for several days, than transplanted elsewhere. Not only did all the transplants establish, but the remnants that I hadn't dug out in the original location came back the next season too, despite being trampled and having a bunch or dirt and mulch dumped on top!

[Anonymous]

yeah, hosts are easy to move and very resilient.

[Anonymous]

It’s not the hostas I’m worried about- it’s the maple. I was afraid that the roots of these monster hostas might be deep, but I’m glad to hear that they probably aren’t.

Thanks all!

[Anonymous]

If you're really worried about the roots, which is reasonable, move half this spring and half this fall or next spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're really worried about the roots, which is reasonable, move half this spring and half this fall or next spring.

This is good advice and I agree with the others that it will probably be fine no matter what.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You don't have to dig too deep to remove hosta. Now is the ideal time to transplant them as they will recover and look great in the new location. Dig only as deep as the bulb of the root of the hosta(about 3-4 inches down)

OMG, no! OP, please don't do this!
GIANT hostas spread roots as far as it's leafs spread (hostas don't have BULBS, they have a crown) shoots roots down from the crown about a shovel deep (at least).

OP, here how you transplant a giant hosta.
If leafs are out and arching already gently bring them in a bunch with a pair of pantyhose or a soft rope , it will preserve them and get them out of your way to work around.
With a sharp shovel make a vertical cut between the maple and a hosta closer to the hosta - make sure that you don't damage the crown (leafs come out of the crown), cut about 6 - 8 inches away from it. The point is to preserve as many maple tree roots undamaged as possible. As you are moving around the hosta and away from the maple tree, make vertical cuts about 20" away from the hosta crown all the way around. Then go around the hosta again gently lifting it with the shovel and cutting deeper under the crown. Lift the hosta if it doesn't resist, if it resists, identify where and keep cutting with the shovel. Lift it, shake off excessive soil, plant it in a new location and generously water it every day for about a week.
Restore the damage under the maple tree - add soil to fill the hole left after removing hosta, flatten the ground and tap firm to eliminate air bubbles.
Water, water, water -- both plants will be pissed for some time.