Hosta Plants
Hosta Plants – A Shade Perennials Plant
There are not too many plants which would decorate your garden better than Hostas. Exquisitely beautiful and original, they create a very charming effect and bring diversity and a cheerful touch to your garden.
Numerous benefits of this plant, like beauty, durability, hardiness, made it a number one selling plant in the US. Gardeners from all over the world give their preferences to buying Hosta plants, choosing them for border planting, background and ground cover planting, and also for brightening dark or shady gardens.
Hosta foliage comes in four different varieties: white, yellow, green and blue. The size, texture and shape of the leaves are different as well. The surface of the leaf can be wavy, flat, curled, contorted etc.
Hosta flowers are not that showy, and they are definitely not the main attraction for plant lovers. Hosta blooms anytime in the period from the beginning of summer to mid autumn.
Some of the flowers do not open at all, and others show a slight resemblance of lilies. As for the color of the blooms, they are usually white, whitish with thin lavender lines, or purple.
Soil for Hosta Plants
It is not difficult to take care of these plants. Most people prefer to plant them in spring. Choose a location in your garden with well drained and loose soil.
Compost should be mixed with soil approximately fifteen inches deep.
Put the Hosta plants into the planting hole so that the crown is level with the ground.
Fill the hole with soil and add a good amount of water. As for the spacing between the plants, they should be planted with a distance between them up to three or four feet, so they can have room enough to grow and develop.
In the next several years your Hosta Plants will do best if left undisturbed. They require very little maintenance.
They like a shady place that is why it is a good idea to plant them under trees. However, powerful tree roots usually compete for water so make sure your Hostas are watered regularly, especially in the period of growth.
Put a layer of mulch down in order to keep the soil moist. It will also help to create a good temperature for the roots and to eradicate the weeds. Slight fertilizing will contribute to the happiness of your Hosta plants as well.
Light Conditions for Hosta Plants
It is a common mistake to think that Hosta plants do best if planted in full shade. Of course, you should select a shady place where your plants will be protected from the heat of the midday sun. However, Hosta plants do require some sunlight. Some varieties of Hosta will tolerate even bright sunny locations, provided you water them frequently and prevent the soil from drying out.
Uses for Hosta plants
They do reasonable well as border plants, as they overhang a lawn edge and control the growth of weeds by not leaving weeds any space to develop.
It is also a nice idea to plant Hostas as a background plant: with the variety of colours it has to offer it is rather easy to create a beautiful combination of plants in your garden.
And of course it comes without saying that Hosta plants would make an excellent ground cover. They grow considerable fast, so they will create a thick mat to cover the ground in your garden.
Shade Hosta Varieties
Hosta – Albomarginata
Hosta undulata
Zones: 3 to 8
Sun: Full Shade
Hosta – Aureomarginata
Hosta fortunei
Zones: 3 to 8
Sun: Full Shade
Hosta – Big Daddy
Zones: 3 to 9
Sun: Full Shade to Partial Sun
Hosta – Fragrant Bouquet
Zones: 4 to 11
Sun: Partial Sun
Hosta – Francee
Hosta fortunei
Zones: 3 to 8
Sun: Full Shade
Hosta – Francis Williams
Hosta seiboldiana ‘Francis Williams’
Zones: 3 to 9
Sun: Full Shade
Hosta – Gold Standard
Hosta fortunei ‘Gold Standard’
Zones: 3 to 8
Sun: Full Shade
Hosta – Golden tiara
Zones: 4 to 8
Sun: Full Shade
Hosta – Guacamole
Zones: 3 to 9
Sun: Full Shade to Partial Sun
Hosta – Liberty
Zones: 3 to 9
Sun: Full Shade to Partial Sun
Hosta – Minuteman
Zones: 3 to 9
Sun: Shade to Partial Sun
Hosta – Patriot
Hosta fortunei ‘Patriot’
Zones: 3 to 8
Sun: Full Shade
Hosta – Revolution
Zones: 3 to 9
Sun: Full Shade to Partial Sun
Hosta – Stained Glass
Zones: 3 to 9
Sun: Full Shade to Partial Sun
Hosta – Sun Power
Zones: 3 to 9
Sun: Full Shade to Partial Sun
Hosta – T-Rex
Zones: 3 to 9
Sun: Shade to Partial Sun
Hosta – Variegata
Hosta undulata
Zones: 3 to 8
Sun: Full Shade
Hosta – Whirlwind
Zones: 3 to 9
Sun: Full Shade
Hosta – Wide Brim
Zones: 3 to 8
Sun: Full Shade
Hosta for Sale
This list is in the process of being updated
Summary
Hosta plants are my favorite of the shade perennials. There are many, many varieties to choose from. But let me warn you, once you have a few, you will become a collector.
These shade gardening plants prefer rich, moist, well drained soil with a neutral PH.
They multiply quickly and before you know it you’ll be trading them with other collectors.
There are two things to watch for: slugs and snails. Check your plants daily and remove any of these critters.
At the end of the season when the flower stem and leaves start to wilt, you can cut the plant back to the ground and tidy up, or just leave it to Mother Nature. This is a good time to divide your plant if you desire.