Our Guide to Hosta Care for Exceptional Plants

Hosta is a shade garden favorite for its fabulous foliage and elegant and sometimes fragrant flower .

Where to Plant Hosta

The most authoritative part of hosta charge and the Florida key to their survival is planting your genus Funka in the right location . take shady area with low grade of sunlight . Hostas love wet , soplant them in loamy soilwith plenty offresh , organic matterthat helps the soil retain wet . Hostas grow inUSDA Zones3–9 .

Hosta Care Tips

After you plant your hostas , maintenance is the easy part .

Light

While almost all hostas can cover full tincture , somethrive in full sunshine . variety with variegate leaves show the best colouration in at least partial sun . However , these variety may deform back to an all - immature color in tad . Blue leaf hostas favor some shade and do better in cool mood . Ideal sunny - spot genus Funka admit mystifying fleeceable varieties . Be cautious about placing these plants in full sun if the leaves have white coloring .

Soil and Water

Hosta prefer rich , well - drain soilwith a constant wet supply . They can stand up to drought , but not for retentive .

Temperature and Humidity

Hostas flourish in most regions but wo n’t perform well in a subtropical climate . They show their full potential in the coolheaded end of their hardiness kitchen range . Funka are n’t fussy about humidness . To protect their jazzy leaf , plant them out of the track of strong lead .

Fertilizer

you could feed a Funka with a balanced fertilizer , but the best way to provide the nutrients a hosta needs is toapply a layer of compostaround the tooth root zone every outpouring .

Pruning

dress your plants , or cutting away dead or overgrown works matter , is necessary to keep your works alive , andpruning hostasis no different . Cut off all the yellow , damaged , or dead leaves . Remove these leaves at their root or the point where they pop to emerge from the primary plant . Be certain to fuddle away all unwanted scraps to lessen the likeliness of disease development .

Potting and Repotting Hosta

Most Funka plants ’ dear for shady web site out of doors makes them good candidates as houseplants . However , low light does n’t think of no light , so be cognisant of the unclouded requirements of your favored hosta before adding it to your houseplant collection . In most cases , collateral light is sufficient . Hostas are among the few houseplants that thrive in a north - face window .

When potting a hosta , choose a container with a drainage mess . The container should be 2 to 3 inch wider than the Funka . Fill it with well - draining potting mix enriched with constitutional thing . look on the salmagundi , your hosta may not demand repotting for several years . Watch for roots emerging from the drain hole — a trusted sign it is time to repot . When repotting , use fresh potting mix and a new container no more than 3 inches wider than the plant .

Pests and Problems

Although Funka are typically not disease - prone , the downside to these versatile perennial is that they are preyed on by several pests . Deer and rabbits making love to make a meal out of tender hosta plants .

If you have a particularly special plant life , cage in it early in the give so its new growth does n’t become a salad snack for these critters . you’re able to alsouse other baulk , include hair , line of descent repast , garlic , and fabric softener , to keep cervid from nibbling on your Hosta . Noise is another fashion to stave off deer and rabbits , so bring awind chimenear your hostas to make your works less appealing .

How to Propagate Hosta

Because these plants are such quick growers , they can easily be dividedand shared with supporter . You ’ll lie with your hostas need to be separate when they are crowded and the centerfield of a clunk starts to die out . As a general rule of hosta tending , weigh on dividing the plants every three to four eld to keep them at their healthiest . Some behind - uprise varieties may need more sentence before they ’re ready for sectionalisation . You may be able to divide tight - mature varieties every two or three age .

The good fourth dimension for dividing Hosta is in the saltation when the foliage emerges , so you know where to cut . However , because hostas are ruffianly , you’re able to successfully split them in any season ( except winter when the ground is flash-frozen ) . Give them deal of body of water if you divide in the summer heat . genus Funka can also be grown from seed .

Types of Hosta

Hosta was once a plain green leafy plant , but it has evolved and now comes in a productive pallet of colors . With well over 3,000 unlike genus Hosta , you ’ll get at least a few varieties that invoke to you . You ’ll want to look at how magnanimous the hosta plant spring up before make your choice .

‘Aureomarginata’ Hosta

Hosta montana‘Aureomarginata ’ develops wide clumps of glistening , tapering leave with wavy , atypical yellow edges . Mauve flush bloom in early summer . Zones 3 - 9

‘Aztec Treasure’ Hosta

Hosta‘Aztec Treasure ’ has 1 - foot mounds of essence - shaped chartreuse leaves and Alexander Bell - mold purple bloom in summertime . zone 3 - 8

‘Blue Mouse Ears’ Hosta

Hosta‘Blue Mouse Ears ’ is a charming nanus option with rounded down leaf . It grows 5 inches tall and 12 in spacious . Zones 3 - 9

‘Chartreuse Wiggles’ Hosta

Hosta‘Chartreuse wriggle ’ bears thin golden - green leaves with wavy edge . It produce 6 inches improbable and 12 inches all-encompassing . geographical zone 3 - 9

‘Daybreak’ Hosta

Hosta‘Daybreak ’ have recondite gold leaf with a corrugate texture . It haslavender flowersand uprise 3 pes wide . Zones 3 - 8

‘Deja Blu’ Hosta

Hosta‘Deja Blu ’ offers blue - green leaves that bear a golden - green edge . It grows 14 in improbable and 20 inch wide of the mark . zone 3 - 9

‘Formal Attire’ Hosta

Hosta‘Formal Attire ’ has large gloomy - green leaves edged in creamy white . The leaf has a distinctive pucker grain . It spring up 30 inches tall and wide . Zones 3 - 9

‘Francee’ Hosta

Hosta‘Francee ’ develop wide mounds of large ellipse leaves rimmed with cream . funnel shape - shaped lavender flowers blossom in summertime on 30 - column inch fore . zone 3 - 9

‘Golden Prayers’ Hosta

Hosta‘Golden Prayers ’ shows off cupped golden - yellow leaves . It ’s a compact survival that grows 10 in tall and 16 inches blanket . zone 3 - 9

‘Great American Expectations’ Hosta

Hosta‘Great American Expectations ’ feature declamatory chartreuse leaves edged in blue . It grows 26 inch tall and panoptic . zone 3 - 9

‘Great Expectations’ Hosta

Hosta‘Great Expectations ’ has puckered chartreuse farewell on an irregular basis march in grim . It grows 22 in tall and 40 inch broad . Zones 3 - 9

‘Heavenly Tiara’ Hosta

Hosta‘Heavenly Tiara ’ carry light unripe leaf edged in amber . It acquire 12 in tall and 36 inches broad . zone 3 - 9

‘June’ Hosta

Hosta‘June ’ is an prize - win selection that features golden - yellow foliage broadly edge in blue . It grow 15 inch tall and 20 inches broad . It ’s somewhat sun - tolerant . zone 3 - 9

‘Krossa Regal’ Hosta

Hosta‘Krossa Regal ’ is an elegant selection that offersblue - green foliageand a unparalleled vase - shaped habit . It grows 36 in tall and 60 inches wide . zone 3 - 9

‘Pandora’s Box’ Hosta

Hosta‘Pandora ’s Box ’ shows off creamy - white foliage march in sour green . This miniature variety grows only 2 inches tall and 5 inches wide . Zones 3 - 9

‘Paradigm’ Hosta

Hosta‘Paradigm ’ is an award - winning selection with compact , golden leaf narrowly edged in dreary - unripened . It ’s a large variety that grows to 46 inches tall and 48 inches full . Zones 3 - 9

‘Pathfinder’ Hosta

Hosta‘Pathfinder ’ is a compact potpourri with thick , slug - resistant , creamy - livid foliage edged in dark green . It grows 12 inches tall and 24 column inch across-the-board . Zones 3 - 9

‘Patriot’ Hosta

Hosta‘Patriot ’ is an honour - winning variety with sour green leaves boldly edged in white . It grows 12 inches improbable and 30 inches all-inclusive . geographical zone 3 - 8

‘Silver Threads and Golden Needles’ Hosta

Hosta‘Silver Threads and Golden Needles ’ is a miniature variety show bearing green leaves edged andstreaked in Au and silver . It grows 6 in tall and 8 column inch wide . zone 3 - 9

‘Stitch in Time’ Hosta

Hosta‘Stitch in Time ’ is a compact selection with green leaf inch in cream . The foliation has a unparalleled quilted look . It grows 14 inches tall and 24 inch wide . zone 3 - 9

‘Striptease’ Hosta

Hosta‘Striptease ’ features golden leave with wide green edge . A sparse blank paring separate the unripened and yellow colouration . It grows 20 in tall and 36 inch all-encompassing . Zones 3 - 9

‘Sum and Substance’ Hosta

Hosta‘Sum and Substance ’ is one of the largest and most democratic genus Hosta around . It has huge Paris green leave-taking that can reach 24 in long . The plant develop 24 inch tall and 60 inches all-embracing . Zones 3 - 9

‘Sun Power’ Hosta

Hosta‘Sun Power ’ is a Dominicus - resistant variety with yellow - dark-green leaves . It show up brightest color when it gets direct sun in the morning . ‘ Sun Power ’ maturate 24 inches magniloquent and 48 inch broad .

‘Touch of Class’ Hosta

Hosta‘Touch of course of instruction ’ is a stunning selection bearing Paris green leaves widely edged in blue . It grow 7 in grandiloquent and 24 inches wide . Zones 3 - 9

‘Whirlwind’ Hosta

Hosta‘Whirlwind ’ bears upright leaves that bulge out out creamy ashen , edged in greenish but become all green as the summertime go on . It grows 5 inch magniloquent and 40 inch wide . Zones 3 - 9

‘Wolverine’ Hosta

Hosta‘Wolverine ’ bears long , minute blue - green leaves edged sharply in gold . It grows 15 inches improbable and 40 inches blanket . Zones 3 - 9

Hosta Companion Plants

Astilbe

Astilbe bringsa graceful square noteto moist , shadowy landscape . In coolheaded climates in the northerly third of the country , it can tolerate full sun provided it has a constant wet supply . In dryer situation , the leaves char in full Dominicus . Feathery plumes of white , pink , lilac-colored , or blood-red flowers rise above the fine divide foliage from ahead of time to previous summer , depend on the multifariousness . It diffuse easy over time , where well - situated . Most commercially available type are complex crossbreed .

Columbine

Perfect for cottage and woodland gardens , old - fashioned columbinesare uncommitted in almost all the colors of the rainbow . Their intricate picayune flowers are unremarkably a combination of Marxist and peach , but they also get along in yellows , blues , White , and pinks . aquilegia resemble folded newspaper lantern . They thrive in sun or partial shade in moist , well - drain grunge . Plants are short - lived but self - semen promptly , often creating natural hybrids with other nearby aquilegia . If you want to prevent ego - seeding , deadhead plants after flush .

Holly Fern

For that suspicious spot , youcan’t go haywire with holly fern . Their evergreen fronds always look adept and shuffle well with other shade lovers without taking over . They can be planted close and mass as a ground cover or used as accent plants where the soil is fat and well - drain .

Frequently Asked Questions

apply caution when plant hostas under trees where the roots of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree will contend directly with the tooth root of hostas for nutrients and moisture .

The fair time it take for hostas to reach full size is four to eight years . When it does , disperse by separate ball . To help Funka stay healthy and keep arise , polish off any dead branches or foliage when you see them .

Under ideal condition , hostas have been known to live up to 30 old age .

Deja Blu Hosta