Hosta

By Mary Jo Baur


I think most gardeners in this area have a hosta or two growing.  They are popular and there are many hybrids available.  If you are looking for something beyond the plain green leaf variety, I'd like to suggest "Frances Williams" which has large chatreuse leaves with darker margins, "Blue Wedgewood" with lovely blue-gray leaves, or "Sum and Substance" with giant leaves.  I have some heirloom varieties that have green leaves with white down the center, and a newer kind with smaller leaves which are light green with a cream or yellow edging. 

Most hosta are grown for their foliage, not for their flowers which rise on tall stems above the plant and have lavender or white flowers.  Trim the stalks after flowering to keep the plants looking neat.  They thrive in full or partial shade.  If you plant them in sun, their leaves will scorch.  I find that when mine emerge in late spring, the deer in the area just love to eat them, so my preferred method to deal with that problem is to cover the growing clump with a milk crate until the leaves are that tall, then I remove the crates and by then the deer have found other food.  One year I did not do that and the deer got to every plant (and I have many) and the hosta did not put out new leaves for that entire summer.  However, they did return the following year.

Try some of the newer varieties for a different look in your gardens.