Hosta and other plants are being sold in garden centres now. Is it okay to plant them now?

Dear George - you are in Zone 3A - your hostas can't go outside till the ground is thawed out, for one thing. I'm in Zone 5 (outside Ottawa) and we have 2 or 3 feet of snow out there. Any perennial purchased from a garden centre now must be kept indoors, and preferably fairly cool, till it's time to plant. These garden centre perennials have been forced in greenhouses. Do you have bulbs in your garden? When the tulips and other bulbs start to grow, bring your hosta outdoors, maybe just in the daytime for a few days and then plant. When I can't resist buying a forced perennial at this time of year, I keep it in my basement (62 or 63 F) under grow lights. It works.

No they are not forced just the root which is starting to sprout. We haven't had much of a winter here. We might get winter next month.

George - I still say: keep it indoors, but cool, till the weather is reliably spring-like.