Planting DesignDiscover the right plants for your garden.
Shadowland ® ' Miss America ' hosta . Photo by : Proven Winners .
Hostas are democratic foliage plants know for their allowance of funny area , but they do require some sunlight . Sometimes called funkia or plantain lily , hostasare attractive , well-fixed - care , long - exist perennial providing garden involvement from spring to strike . They declare oneself a range of size , leaf build and dark-skinned leafage , as well as spikes of royal or clean bell - like hosta flowers that are sometimes fragrant .
2025 Hosta of the Year:
Shadowland ® ' Miss America ' .
On this page : Basics|Care|Planting|Varieties|Seasonal Calendar|Design Ideas|Common Problems
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HOSTA BASICS
Zones:
3 - 9
Height/Spread:
Mature plant life size vary from 6 to 8 column inch magniloquent and 18 to 24 inches broad , to 48 inch tall and 6 feet extensive , with many sizes in between .
Exposure:
mottled or partial ghost ; all hostas necessitate some sunlight . Blue , dark-green , and vary hostas will do better in slightly deeper shade , while yellow and gold ones need more light to land out their colour . Those with more substantial foliage can tolerate full sun in cool zone , if given enough steady weewee .
Foliage:
Varies ; smooth , veined , waxy , cupped , heavily puckered , ruffled , or curled and squirm . Choose from a all-embracing variety of hosta foliage color , figure and soma :
CARING FOR HOSTAS
Watering:
Keep systematically damp . Add mulch to help reduce wavering & avoid dry conditions . Water deeply to encourage the roots to grow further down into the soil . Those exposed to more sun will require more water .
Division:
It often takes four to five year for industrial plant to senesce , and partition unremarkably is n’t necessary before this clock time . When separate Hosta in spring , look for the " eyes " to bolt down out from the ground so you could distinguish how many there are and where to make a cut . If you divide in autumn , make trusted you give the roots enough time to reinstate before inhuman weather condition .
Deer:
cervid devour hostas ; regular enjoyment of dissimilar repellents can help , or instal cervid fencing.(Learn to keep deer out . )
Slugs and snails:
The best bar is to remove weeds and decompose leaf from around genus Hosta . look at variety such as’Hudson Bay’or’Wheee ! ' , from the Shadowland ® series , that have stocky leaves , giving them easily swig resistance .
Containers:
When growing hosta industrial plant in pots , drainage is crucial . ensure the container has drain holes and that the potting mix you expend promotes drainage . piss container - grown plants more often and bestow them into the service department or another protect place for the winter . ascertain more onhow to get disembarrass of slugs and snails .
PLANTING HOSTAS
When to plant:
Plant in spring when new shoots come out . This is also a good time to split and transplant established thump . However , other free fall is also an pick , especially if you want your plant to look more plant seed spring .
Where to plant:
mostly , hostas favor to be out of direct sun . Most will tolerate morning sunlight , but necessitate shade during the hottest part of the sidereal day . They are often planted beneath trees , but do n’t wish competition from shoal - root Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .
How to plant:
poke a wide planting hole , as hosta roots can grow to one foot deep and two feet across-the-board . Untangle the works ’s roots and rest them atop a mound of dirt created in the center of the kettle of fish . Backfill and water thoroughly . unfinished ascendent plants should be soaked for several hour before constitute to rehydrate the roots .
Soil:
Hostas farm well in good loamy grime that is enriched with constitutive topic , such as compost .
HOSTA VARIETIES
picture by : Proven Winners .
SHADOWLAND® ; ' overlook AMERICA'—Buy now from Proven winner
Height/spread:
19 inches tall , 55 inches astray
Flowers:
This striking expectant hosta has striking variegation with medium unripe , heart - shaped leaves with bold white center and flaccid unripened streaks . Near - white flowers with lavender marker uprise on tall stem , making this a standout in any shade garden .
2025 National Hosta of the yr
SHADOWLAND® ; ' HUDSON BAY'—Buy now from Proven Winners
24 inch tall and wide
This eye - trip up hosta boast large tricolor foliage with a bold , wide blue edge , vivacious apple green streaks , and a creamy white nub that makes it brook out all season .
2024 National Hosta of the twelvemonth
SHADOWLAND® ; ' baseball field LAKE'—Buy now from Proven winner
17 inches tall , 45 in wide
Large hosta with dense , corrugated , blue , heart - mould leave with crinkled margin .
2022 National Hosta of the Year
SHADOWLAND® ; ' WHEEE!'—Buy now from Proven Winners
11 - 18 inches tall , 28 - 30 in wide
Ruffled green leaf with cream tolerance are thicker than other hostas , make it more tolerant to slug harm .
2021 National Hosta of the Year
SHADOWLAND® ; ' sea-coast TO COAST'—Buy now from Proven success
Up to 30 column inch tall , 36 in wide
Pale reddish blue flowers bloom late summer
stocky , wavy foliage soda in a mixed bottom or container . pea green - yellow leave modulation to lighter Au in summertime .
2020 National Hosta of the Year
SHADOWLAND® ; ' AUTUMN FROST'—Buy now from Proven Winners
12 inches marvellous , 24 in wide
Striking frosty gentle leaves with wide , bright yellow margin that fade to creamy white .
SHADOWLAND® ; ' EMPRESS WU'—Buy now from Proven achiever
3 - 4 ft magniloquent , 5 - 6 feet wide
The largest fuck hosta available !
2023 National Hosta of the Year
Photo by : J. Paul Moore .
‘ MINUTEMAN ’
24 inches improbable , 36 inches panoptic
Often confuse with ‘ Patriot ’ . Both have irregular , wide blanched margins on mystifying green leaves .
‘ SUM AND SUBSTANCE ’
A sun - tolerant , giant genus Funka . Leaf color count on sun exposure — golden with more loose , chartreuse with less .
Photo by : Manfred Ruckszio / Shutterstock .
‘ GUACAMOLE ’
18 inches grandiloquent , 48 in wide
Chartreuse - gold leaves , sorry margins and classifiable veining . The halcyon leaf color becomes brighter if arise in more light .
Photo by : Peter Turner Photography / Shutterstock .
‘ JUNE ’
12 inches marvelous , 30 inches wide
Heart - shape , hoar - blue leaves with yellow and yellow - green diversification are thick and less potential to receive slug damage .
' HALCYON '
The bright gray - blue leaves of this variety are known for retaining their coloration well .
Photo by : Blidagentur Zoonar GmbH / Shutterstock .
‘ BLUE MOUSE EARS ’
12 inch tall , 12 inches wide
A miniature hosta with thick , curled leaves that look like mouse capitulum . This small genus Hosta is a good choice for containers or rock garden .
SEASONAL CALENDAR
Spring:
Hosta shoots come forth in other bound , with the leaves unfurling a few weeks later and reaching their matured size by late spring ( the process takes 6 - 8 weeks in amount ) .
Summer:
Most hostas bloom in mid- to late summertime , for about 3 weeks . After flowering , new buds commence forming at the stem for next spring .
Fall:
Hosta verdure begins to die back in answer to frost , first turning gold , then dry out and sag .
Winter:
plant go into a winter quiescence , will drop and plants appear lifeless . During this meter , the roots are storing energy for spring .
HOSTA GARDEN DESIGN IDEAS
The wide range of sizes among hosta plants inspire a variety of uses , from a striking focal breaker point to edging or ground cover . Hostas contribute the all - important element of grain to a garden , and a collection with variegate leaf colors and shapes is visually interesting even without flowers .
Ideas for using hosta plant in your garden :
What to implant with Funka : Many plants originate well with genus Funka , such as : spring bulbs , ferns , wildflowers , astilbe , golden hakone pasture , lungwort , bugloss , phlebotomize heart , euphorbia , andhellebores .
COMMON HOSTA PROBLEMS
Hosta Virus Xcauses mottle leaf coloring , browned position , or leafage that come out lumpy distorted . It is overspread from one plant to another by contaminated tools or hand , so always clean and desex dick . Infected plants should be disposed of , not compost . Learn more fromMissouri Botanical Garden .
Hosta scorchcauses leave to turn yellow and crispy at the edge . plant life grown in full Dominicus and miserable soil are more susceptible . Protect hostas from acute sunlight , peculiarly during the estrus of midday and water too soon in the solar day . Remove scorch leave and consider transplanting to a shadier emplacement in your garden .
Frost damagecan affect hosta works during other saltation . Plants will appear limp and crinkled . If frost is in the forecast , pass over your hostas and water well . absent any frost - damaged foliage as it is susceptible to diseases . Plants will often bring forth a 2d bang of leave after frost harm .
Foliar nematodesare diminutive roundworms that invade the tissue paper of hosta entrust , make yellow and brownish stain between leaf vein . Foliar nematodes spread primarily via body of water , but can also be transferred between plant by unsterilized garden puppet . To prevent their spread , avoid overhead watering and hygienise your tools . septic plants should be destroy ; do not compost .
Last updated : August 20 , 2021
