Hosta's - a Shady Gardens Beauty~

Do you have a shady area of your yard that you would like to beautify a bit? Hosta's can definetly help & with the many varities available, there is surely a variety that will fit with your style.

Hosta's come in many colors, greens, blues, variegated. I'm going to showcase a few varieties here, just to give you a taste of how varied this shade loving plant is.

Hosta's can take some sun and shade, but not deep shade. They are grown from corms or rhizomes, and are very easy to propagate (by division). In the spring, you can divide whichever hosta's are growing fast. Use a sharp shovel or spade & divide the hosta once, or even twice & plant the portion divided.

 This is Fantasy Island, a variegated hosta

This one is one of my favorites. Ivory Necklace. It is a tighter growing hosta & can be divded quickly.

Mr Watson - an interesting name for this one that is a yellow-green hosta beauty.

 This is Carolina Sunshine - a nice varigated hosta

This last one is called Blue Angel & is a popular one sold in most garden centers.

Hosta's reach their full maturity in 4-8 years, depending on the variety. Some varieties can get as large as 8 feet wide!

All hostas bloom in summer with spikes of lavender to white, lily-like flowers, which can be quite showy. New varieties of hosta plants are also being bred to produce larger and even more attractive flowers.

In general, the blue-leafed hostas require shade, while the gold, yellow, and white-leafed hostas can tolerate more sun. In cold temperatures, hosta's will die back...but quickly grown again in the sprin - bigger every year.

Deer, slugs & snails are potential pests for Hosta's. I have been able to control slugs with some beer poured into a saucer & left out, near the hosta's for a couple of days. Slugs crawl in & die.

So, if you are looking for some beauty in your shady part of the garden, or even in the sun - take antoher look at Hosta's - you definetly get your money's worth with being able to divide them.