Hosta Dilemma

I got fed up with trying to protect my hostas so I dumped them in the oubliette, left them to the mercy of molluscs and replaced them with ferns. I haven't regretted it for a minute.
However, the hostas have all sprouted green and innocent and all 'We really, really promise to be good'
I've sprinkled a few slug pellets while I think about it.

 

Could you grow some in pots? That’s how I grow all of mine and I think their shape really suits a pot. Much easier to protect from slugs

 

Yes, after yrs trying to protect one in the ground, with varying degrees of success from yr to yr depending on how damp spring was, I moved it to a pot … and it now gets hardly any damage!

 

Hostas in pots.

 

They're in pots already.
@Debs64 @roders ,
I got fed up with going out every morning and snipping slugs.
Ferns do the same job in the shade without the faff.

 

You could try placing the pot on top of another upturned pot to give the slugs a height challenge. It worked for most of mine last year. You need to be sure there’s no slugs already lurking in the pot though, otherwise they might think they’ve been elevated to private dining .

I agree @BB3, ferns are much easier .

 

Some of the pots were 2ft off the ground. Somebody bought me one of those useless kneeling jobs that trap your elbows. Rather than dump it, I turned it upside down and used it as a shelf. Accomplished absnailers around here @Plantminded

 

What about topping the pots with a mulch? I bought some seashells ( broken up and sourced from a seafood company apparently) and I imagine the combination of sharp edges and any salt residue would make life tricky for slugs.

 

I use egg shells. Same theory.

I also have the pots raised on feet and some copper mesh (not tape - the cheap copper tape on sale these days seems to be just “copper coloured tape” and is completely ineffective, though when it was originally marketed, back in about 2002, it was expensive but effective) round the rim. Last yr these precautions resulted in beautiful, nibble-free leaves.

 

I grow my hostas in pots, elevated slightly in saucers and also on pot feet, also I resort to regular slug pellet treatment especially on the ground around each saucer. Nothing else seems to work. Beware any overhanging foliage from nearby plants. My slugs and snails are brilliant at absieling.

 

I don’t use slug pellets, but have my hostas in tall plastic pots. I do pop out in the evening and remove any slugs I see, but I also spray the sides of the pots with cleaning sprays, hoping the slugs won’t fancy the smell and taste as they slither upwards. It seems to help, I have very few losses.

 

I use garlic spray to a recipe from Sienna Hostas and it seems to be more effective than anything else I've tried over the years. Somebody did suggest applying vaseline to the outside of pots but I haven't tried that - yet.

 

I use flattened copper pipe around the the top of the pot .
I also stand the two large pots on gravel.

 

Thank you all for the suggestions. I've tried most of them already. That's why I went for ferns. I was going to put them at the front of my house for someone to take but I want to keep the large pots.
I'll see how it goes but I've given up the slug battle. There's more interesting things to do in the garden.