When I think of hosta’s, I envision beautiful broad leaved plants growing around the shaded base of large deciduous trees. I used to think of them as boring but, once again, after a little research I was enlightened! Native to northeast Asia and named in honor of Austrian botanist Nicholas Thomas Host, they are widely cultivated as shade tolerant foliage plants and a genus in the Asparagaceae family. In earlier literature they were known as Funkia in honor of Heinrich Funk who was a collector of ferns and alpines.
The hosta is a long lived easy to grow hardy perennial which makes them a popular choice among gardeners. Their many sizes, heights, textures and colors also make them a good option in multiple garden settings (patio’s, rocks, containers, etc.). Exploration reveals hundreds of varieties from 4 inch miniatures to those that can grow up to 8 feet wide. Their many varieties come in all shades of greens including tinted blue and even cream. The golden edged Aureo Marginata and the Blue Cadet are two nice shade loving varieties and August Moon, Honeybells and Sum and Substance are recommended for sunnier spots. Before our landscaper planted these in our south facing front beds, I didn’t know there were sun loving varieties of hostas.
Although usually selected for their foliage, they do produce fragrant flowers on long stalks in shades of pink, purple and white. Their fragrant flowers draw hummingbirds along with slugs, snails, rabbits and deer and as such, you may need to apply critter repellent. I read that planting daffodils around hostas will keep deer away from emerging hosta shoots. Young hosta leaves can be eaten and in Japan they are boiled, fried in tempura or eaten raw with a flavor similar to lettuce and asparagus. Probably best not to try this after you have applied critter repellent though.
Hosta’s can be purchased as bare root or as potted plants in the spring. Plant the bare root and potted plants even with the soil level and keep them moist and mulched while getting established. They prefer well-drained soil and benefit from application of a well-balanced slow release fertilizer once a year. After blooming, their flowers should be removed to ensure new growth and brown foliage should be removed to discourage disease and slugs. Right when the growing tips emerge in the spring is the time to divide and transplant mature plants. I planted one in the sandy rock area of my beach where it seems to be thriving. In closing, hosta’s are visually pleasing low maintenance plants that do well in many garden locations making them a common sight in the upper Midwest.