The unsung heroes of the shady garden are the hostas. Hostas come in 70 different species and over 3,000 different cultivars, so you’ll have enough to choose from. They are grown mostly for their lovely foliage, which adds intriguing texture and color to the garden throughout the season.
TYPES OF HostaS
Many kinds, including Hosta plantaginea, sometimes known as the August lily, have beautifully fragrant blooms. ‘Aphrodite,’ for example, is famed for its very fragrant white blossoms. Its double petals fragrant the evening air long after the other hostas’ blossoms have gone. My August lily is still in bud, despite the fact that August is finished. I’m hoping it will bloom soon!
Every year, I travel to the New Hampshire seacoast to see the plants in Prescott Park. They have a demonstration garden with numerous All-America Selections plants and other well-marked favorites, which allows me to see how they’re doing in this dry summer. It also features lovely formal gardens and a particular collection of hostas donated by Birchwood Farms’ Anna Kay.
Despite the fact that it has been so hot and dry this season, the majority of the hostas are in excellent condition. Color and leaf form differences have always piqued my interest. The names add to the amusement. What do you call a hosta with serrated edges and narrow leaves? ‘Hacksaw’ comes to mind. ‘Curly Fries,’ a plant with thin leaves and ruffled edges, was selected the 2016 Hosta of the Year.
‘Rich Uncle’ is a gold plant with thick, broad leaves that appear quilted. ‘Paradigm’ is textured in a similar way, but it’s gold with large green margins.
‘Titanic’ and ‘Blue Mammoth’ are two other large-leaved variants. The tiniest hostas, such as the 10 inch tall, practically white ‘Vanilla Cream’ and the 3 inch tall miniature hosta ‘Pandora’s Box,’ are on the other end of the scale.
With its pointed, heart-shaped leaves, ‘Eternal Flame’ has to be my favorite. It has a sense of movement about it.
Growing HostaS
Hostas are low-maintenance plants that endure for a long time. Your plants will be well-fed with an inch or two of compost sprinkled in the spring before the shoots sprout. They can shade out the majority of weeds, reducing upkeep to a bare minimum. Unfortunately, the same wet, rich soil and cool shade that bring out the best in a hosta also provide the perfect setting for slugs. Hostas with textured leaves are more resistant to slugs than those with smooth foliage.
Made in the Shade
Plant coleus, New Guinea impatiens, torenia, begonias, fuchsia, and sweet potato vine alongside other shade-loving plants like coleus, New Guinea impatiens, torenia, begonias, fuchsia, and sweet potato vine to prevent the “hosta ghetto” look in your shady garden.
Hostas are also ideal for planting alongside spring flowering bulbs since their late-emerging leaves will cover the tired-looking bulb foliage. Hostas make ideal foundation plants for a shady deck or porch where ice and snow would damage shrubs because they die back to the ground in the winter.
How do I know what kind of hosta I have?
To examine the margins, run your fingers around the edges of the leaves. All hostas have smooth, complete borders that are never toothed, sliced, serrated, or lobed. The veins of the leaves may cause some to appear somewhat crumpled. Hosta leaves contain characteristic vein patterns that follow the contour of the leaf and are more noticeable on the underside.
Take a look at the leaves’ surface. Hosta leaves are never hairy and are either smooth or puckered. Their surfaces might be matte, shiny, or waxy, but they are most commonly satiny. Although most hostas have green leaves, others have lighter green, white, or yellow stripes or rims.
What are the most common hostas?
Here are 17 of the most well-known Hosta varieties.
- Frances Williams is the hostess. Growing in partial or full shade, this is one of the most popular Hostas.
Are there any hostas that take full sun?
Sun-loving Hostas Yellow or gold hostas, in general, can withstand partial sun without losing their brilliant yellow hue. These yellow or golden beauties will look their finest with around two hours of regular light exposure. To avoid scorched leaves, aim for early morning sun.
Is there a purple hosta?
Purple Sensation has rich purple flowers that are bordered and striped in pristine white, unlike classic hosta cultivars that have pale lavender or soft white flowers. Hostas are excellent ground coverings and attract helpful pollinators with their bell-shaped blossoms, making them the ideal companion for your spring-blooming bulbs.
Are there red hostas?
Bob expressed his inspiration for having a red hosta that can be seen in your garden right now, after introducing over 50 hostas and attempting to create the elusive red hosta for several years. Many hostas generate crimson or purple bud sheaths as they emerge from their winter dormancy, and some have red or purple leaf tips as they emerge. Although these colors fade as the plant grows older, their presence lends promise to the prospect of a red hosta.
Anthocyanins, the same red pigment found in leaves in the fall, are the source of these red pigments. Although scientists disagree regarding the use of this pigment, Bob believes that hostas employ it as a sunscreen. Hosta leaves emerge before the trees have fully leafed out, exposing them to harsh sunlight until the tree’s shade or other vegetation emerges.
From locating genes to the ability to create anthocyanins, many genes are involved in the formation of a red hosta, but Bob is certain that someday breeders (if not himself) will develop a red hosta. He’s seen a hosta that has purple pigment throughout the leaf blade, not only in the veins. Unfortunately, you won’t find this plant on the market because the leaves curl and turn brown on the first warm day. This is not an attractive addition to any garden.
During the spring, Bob has introduced some selections with red coloration on the plant. As all hostas??green-up?? in the summer, the coloring fades. During the summer.
Hosta Leaves Turning Yellow from Scorch
When yellow hosta leaves suggest too much sun, it’s probably the easiest problem to fix. Hosta are shade-loving plants that thrive in partial or full shade. In fact, they’re a common sight in the shade garden. Yellow hosta leaves can be expected if grown in full sun. The leaves turn yellow and burn at the edges. Hosta scorch occurs when the leaves of a hosta plant become yellow as a result of too much sun.
If the plant is also cultivated in poor soil, the scorch will be significantly worse. The plant prefers moist soil that is rich in organic materials. The hosta leaves turn pale and burn when they are dried out in full light during a drought. You can provide temporary relief to the plant by watering thoroughly early in the day, but a better and more permanent option is to relocate the hosta to a shaded location with high organic matter soil.
Yellowing Leaves on Hosta Indicating Disease
When yellow hosta leaves signal disease, the treatment options become more limited. Petiole rot, caused by the fungus Sclerotium rolfsii var. delphinii, can produce yellowing leaves on hosta plants. Yellowing and browning of the lower leaf edges are the first signs of the disease. Your plant most likely has this disease if you notice brown, mushy decay with white fungal threads or fungal fruiting structures around the size of mustard seeds near the base of the petiole.
Is there a pink hosta?
Question: I’ve read about pink hostas in periodicals, but I’ve only seen seeds for them from a few online seed suppliers. Could you elaborate on the situation?
Yes, there are fly-by-night seed companies claiming to sell hosta seeds with brilliant pink leaf, but this is not the case. It’s just a ruse. Most likely, the provider, who claims to supply mixed hosta seed, finds that extensively doctoring a photo of an ordinary hosta, something that is surely easy enough to accomplish with Photoshop or comparable software, to make it look brilliant pink, helps their seeds sell much better. The resulting viral photo is unmistakably eye-catching. In fact, the plant in the photo is so vibrant that it would be difficult to resist the urge to purchase seeds. Of course, the new plants will almost certainly all be plain green, though there is a chance of various shades of green and even some variegation… just not pink variegation.
Sometimes these kind of vendors simply take your money and disappear, but more often than not, they will send you a packet of seeds, but what kind of seeds? Hostas, perhaps, but anything from weeds to salad greens have emerged from packs of seeds from such dishonest providers in other comparable instances. They can keep the fraud going longer if they send you seeds of something. After all, it takes a few years for a hosta to reach its full size and color, proving that it isn’t pink at all.
When there are too many complaints, these types of vendors can close up shop and reopen elsewhere under a new name, then repeat the trick.
What pairs well with hostas?
Hostas are ideal for shade gardens, adding a hint of the tropics to otherwise barren areas of the yard. When selecting companion plants, aim for those that, like your hostas, prefer bright morning sun and cool afternoon shade. Hostas go well with astilbe, ferns, geraniums, and shady-friendly bulbs. Bleeding hearts and heuchera are two of our faves.
The delicate blossoms and elegant, arching branches of bleeding heart (dicentra) plants are the perfect contrast to bold, flashy, or variegated hosta plants. They also blossom early in the spring, enabling the flowers of your hostas to take center stage later in the summer.
Heuchera, often known as coral bells, is cultivated for its leaf, which may provide a splash of crimson, purple, or silver to your shade garden. Take a colorful bunch of flowers and turn it upside down: For a garden full of rich, vibrant leaves and light-colored flowers, combine red or purple heuchera with marbled or striped hosta species.
Learn how to plant, grow, and care for hostas from our experienced gardeners.
Which is the biggest hosta?
How Can You Make GIANT Hosta Growing Conditions Better?
- The vivid gold leaf of the Key West Hosta makes an astonishing 80-inch broad mound.
- Empress Wu’s wavy green leaves are reported to be the largest hosta leaves ever!
How far apart should hostas be planted?
While Hostas are known for their fondness of the shadow, they thrive in dappled light for the majority of the day. For the greatest color, yellow and gold cultivars require 2 to 3 hours of early sun.
Hostas can grow in a variety of soils, but they prefer a rich, moist soil with plenty of organic content.
Plants should be spaced 1 to 4 feet apart, depending on the variety. Planting closer together will allow the plants to fill in more quickly, resulting in a hosta ground cover.
Planting: Hostas can be planted at any time during the growing season. Spring is the greatest time to plant in the north since it allows the plants to establish themselves before summer. Fall is a good time in the South because of the cooler weather. It is feasible to plant in the summer, but plants will require more water than usual to withstand the heat.