Last night a horrific storm came thru Omaha and between the hail and the winds my hosta beds are destroyed. They were literally shredded. Would not be quite so bad except my youngest son is getting married in my yard in Oct. Has anybody cut them all the way back to the ground>? Do they regrow? HELP!!

I don't know if they would regrow for this season if you cut them now. Let's hope for some plant experts to chime in. I love my hostas, but do nothing to them as far as maintenance goes.

No they will not grow back this season if you cut them back. Fortunately the focus will not be on the hostas for the wedding (smile). All will be joyous and wonderful and perhaps the hostas will be blooming and the state of the leaves will be lessened.

Sounds like the hail shredded them for you.

Yes, you should have lots of time for them to come back. I would cut off the shreds and let the new growth come ... as mine are just starting to show now.

As I'm not sure how much more growth you have, and because you have such an important need for them ... speak with a local nursery as to the suggested care. They might suggest a fertilizer boost to help them re-start their lives!

thanks for your reply. Well there really aren't many leaves to speak of that are still whole, so am not really sure they will bloom anyway.I am just heartsick, know that is not the focus of the wedding but still, my hosta beds surround my house-there are no other flowers in those beds.

They will come back, there should be some more leaves come out during the rest of the season. Deer try and eat mine..

You can clip them to the ground - it won't do any harm. Hostas are weed-like in that respect! My neighbor pulled her hostas out of the ground, tossed them into a pile on her left, picked up the pile, but left one behind. It took root just laying on top of the ground.

They may or may not come back this year. Haven't tried this particular experiment with them.

Do cut them down and make the whole area the same. Will they grow back in time? Probably not enough for a wedding, but you could stick in some annuals for color. And really, no one is going to be worried about plants when two lovely people are getting married.

I'd go for the annuals, and get someone to help you a few days before, also get some expert advice on how long they will take to open and how long they will STAY open.

Everyone had some storm damage and no one's going to fault you for cutting them down, if anyone even notices.

Relax. Enjoy the wedding. Take pictures. Share some with us.

If possible I wold plant a ton of impatiens and hope for the best.

You might still be pleasantly surprised at the growth between now and then ... you do have six months! Check for a fertilizer to help them recover.