Tips For Growing Hostas:

Hostas are easy to grow, de tolnt, herb perennials. Grown mainly for their beautiful foliage, hostas exist in a wide range of pes, colors, sizes, and texes. They were once classified in the family Liliae but are now included in the family Agavae. Hostas are also called plantain lilies or Funkia, but these names are outdated. The scientific name for hosta is also its common name.

Hostas, nat to Japan, Ko, and China, were imported to North America in the mid-1800s. From the handful of species that were imported, hybridizing and tissue cule propagation have incsed opti for today's gardeners as there are many species and thands of cultivars available.

If we're at all familiar with gardens, the name hosta evokes an image of a -growing gn plant with large broad leaves. To be e specific, a hosta is a non-bulb lily that is a de tolnt, hardy perennial plant grown pcipa for its foliage. But hostas produce pendul 1" to 2" long white or violet fers on an erect panicle up to 31" tall.

Hostas are hardy in USDA zones 3 thgh 8, meaning they grow in most as except deserts and the tropics or subtropics. They need about 700 hs be 40 degs F to meet their dormancy requirements.

Hostas pre moist, lt, humus-based acid l. The l should be rich in organic matter and it can be any form: peat moss, rotted or composted manure, rotted sawdust, or composted leaves. By adding large quantities of organic matter, moise retention and ation of the l is improved. Due in part to their leaf size, hostas have a very h transpiration rate, and so l conditi should al for optimum water retention.

Keep in mind that with hostas, whichever you choose, you can not go wrong. However, there are two keys to growing hostas successfu: lt and water. Most newcomers think all hostas do b in full de, but this isn't true. Hostas tolte varying degs of de, yet some like the sun. Each variety of hosta has a difent lt requirement, so you can plant hostas in almost any lt situation. Gen, blue hostas pre e de and the gold and yel-colored varieties tolte and rece their b colog from e sun. If you have dense de, you mt want e variegated ones to help brten the as.

Preg a well-drained location, hostas gen need e water than the rain provides in an avge year. This is true especia if growing under ts which take up much l moise. Plants in ideal growth conditi rece 1-1/2" per week. Over the cse of a season that is 3/4" every 3 to 4 days. Hostas need this extra water dug the growing season, but not in winter when they are dormant. Too much water in winter can contribute to crown or root rot.

Hostas need room and about two seas to grow and achieve their full potential. When planting, sp the small-leaved hostas betw 18" and 24" apart and the large-leaved ones 24" to 30" apart. Sp them appropriately to al room for growth since hostas do b when left undisbed for sevl years.

After they are planted, y hostas will require little care. Attent wateg and well-drained l are musts, and a layer of mulch (no e than 2-3") will prevent competition from weeds. Annual feeding with s-release tilizer will keep y hostas happy. With so many difent opti in tilizer, the thing to do is to take a l sample to y local Coopt Extension Office for ting and tilize according to recommendati.

Pl y hostas in l that is loose and well-drained in a dy spot that is protected from hot afternoon sun. Amend the l with organic matter or compost. Add a s-release tilizer to the l. Pl the hosta in the hole so that the clump is level with the l surf, and water thoghly. You can plant them any time dug the growing season, but the later in the season you plant, the e important it is to keep them quately watered. Cutting off the fer scape as soon as possible after blooming tends to incse the probability of re-bloom.

Hostas do not need regular dividing to keep them vigor. They can be left undisbed indefinitely, but when dividing is necessary, do so in the spg just after the plant pips are emerging from the gnd so the new foliage is not damaged. If the plants are left undivided, you can enjoy their mae beauty sooner.

Hostas are virtua disease-f. Major ps include slugs and snails, deer, cut-worms and leaf beetles. Slugs chew holes in the hosta leaves and make them unstly. There are books about slug control methods including: picking them off one by one, leaving out beer-filled trays in the hopes the slugs drown, copper gs, squashing them betw bricks, picides, and my favorite, diatom earth. It is a powder of the finely gnd shells of diatoms. Diatoms are microscopic sea ces. When spkled on the gnd, the slugs crawl over the powder, cutting themselves all to pieces, then they die of dehydration.

Deer love hostas. Apart from keeping a dog present in the affected a, there is no single cure for deer. Previly successful methods of repellent, such as leaving bags of human hair and, are no longer effect because urban deer have become comfortable co-existing with humans. A varied program with sevl components will be e effect than a single prevent method. Contact local nurseries for information on deer repellent products currently on the market. Rabbits and squirrels may chew an occasional leaf, but are not gen known to be problems for hostas.

Cut-worms and leaf beetles can cause e damage than slugs. Cut-worms l in the gnd and feed at nt by crawling up the plant and eating holes thgh the unopened leaves. Leaf beetles will eat holes in the center of the leaves betw the veins. Sometimes this can be confused with slug damage. A naal control is the he wren. They have a tremend appetite for those ps and for slugs. If you're not k on birdhes, you can fall back on commercia available picides. Always carefu fol label instructi and heed warnings.

Now that you're an expert on hostas, how do you pick the rt ones? Think about the sp you have available and the amount of the sunlt the plant will rece in y garden. Those are determining factors.

Here are a few varieties to cider:

x'Sum and Substance' - A striking hosta with large, leathery, neutral-gn leaves. It has b called "the bigg and most popular hosta in the world." It grows to 3' tall and 5-6' across.

x'Blue Angel' - The larg and most dramatic-looking of all hostas, 'Blue Angel' has deep blue-gn leaves and can grow into a mount 30" tall and 6' wide.

x'Emily Dickenson' - Deep gn glossy leaves with cmy white margins, a neat, compact, mounded habit, and deep lavender fers make this a welcome plant in any garden. It grows to 20" tall and 26" wide.

x'Praying Hands' - The most unusual hosta to appear. The plant has extremely narrow, curled, ckled and furrowed gn-and-white leaves that some believe resemble hands folded in prayer. It forms clumps about 18" wide and in late summer bears 18" tall spikes of lt-lavender fers.

x'June' - Heavy leaves with blue-gn margins, gold centers with gn striati within the gold, and brt color in the de. It grows to 15" tall and 15" wide. Bears very fragrant violet fers from July to August.

Ready for a caref, lush plant to cover y problem de as or to provide a sense of calm to y garden? You're dy for a hosta.