Hardy Hostas
Looking for a hardy perennial to use as a ground cover in a shady area of your garden? Hostas are one of the best plants for shade gardens or under tall trees. Where grass and other ground cover struggle, hostas thrive by adding lush greenery and becoming more beautiful each year. They love the afternoon shade and moist soil that these areas often have. Hostas can transform brown and sterile into green and abundant for you.
Offering an incredible variety of sizes, colors that include variegated, and shapes that include wrinkled edges, hostas come in numerous varieties. Most garden centers have a good selection at reasonable prices for the average gardener to share in the diversity these shady plants offer. For the expert, there are also varieties that are rarer and more expensive.
Calming shades of yellow, gold, white, green and blue will give your garden an air of majestic serenity. Its bold, shapely leaves blend well with other shade-tolerant perennials, azaleas, for example, make a beautiful combination. Juxtapose them with textural ferns, or with contrasting colors like spotted geraniums alongside the chartreuse color of ‘Sum and Substance’, or mix yellow daylilies to the size of the tall ‘Blue Angel’. Massive hosta plantings can make a strong and surprising statement. You can choose to have just one variety or include a range with different sizes, colors, and leaf shapes.
The hostas in the Tiara series, which provide a strong visual effect with variegated leaves, are an especially good choice for borders. These hostas also make good ground covers because they spread quickly and divide easily. A short hosta like ‘Golden Tiara’ is an excellent choice for hosta bed edges to add a formal touch with its color.
Because hostas are so easy to grow and can spruce up a garden in no time, they are a favorite with many gardeners. They are also fun to grow due to the many varieties that can be mixed and placed within what you are already growing. Although hostas are known to do best in the shade, many hostas benefit from partially shaded areas with even a few hours of mild morning sun.
You can plant hostas in spring or fall, in well-drained soil. Planting in slightly acidic soil rich in organic matter is preferred. Add quality compost or composted manure to the soil when planting and then a top layer of mulch will help keep the soil moist, the way hostas like it.
They generally need minimal care, except for leaf-chewing slugs and snails, few pests plague hostas. Some gardeners tolerate leaf damage, but effective slug barriers are available at most garden centers. However, deer like to chew on the stem leaves in early spring, just as they start to lift off the ground, so be careful.
Fortunately, hostas are easy to divide, so you can quickly add new varieties to your garden. They make wonderful gifts for other hosta-loving gardeners. Trade and multiply to get great results.
