Hosta plants are one of the Queens of the shady garden. They add bold texture, subtle color, and with some varieties, beautiful scent. They are a low maintenance plant once you understand their needs, and come in many different leaf shapes, textures and coloring. They are easy to grow in most parts of the country, you just need to know these little tricks of the trade. So if you want to learn how to grow and care for hosta plants, you are in the right place!
How to Grow & Care for Hosta Plants
Hosta Plants Need Sun
Thats right, for all of you who planted hostas under the deep shade of a huge elm, and wondered why they didnt thrive, the truth is, they are sun lovers. The problem is, they sun burn! But they are shade tolerant. The trick is to provide the hostas with a few hours of morning sun, or dappled sun throughout the day. With the proper lighting, hostas grow larger and have more vibrant coloring.
Hostas Need Cold
Hosta plants do not do well in temperate climates, because they need a certain amount of cold during the winter to cause them to go dormant, allowing them to store up energy for the next season, much as bulbs do. Many perennials have these same requirements. They are hardy plants, and can even take Midwest winters. Make sure you choose a hosta variety that suits your area.
Hostas are Resistant to Disease & Pests
Except slugs and snails that is. There is no more a gourmet treat for a slug than a juicy hosta leaf, so make sure you practice control as soon as the first leaf unfurls from the ground in the spring. Use slug bait to control the damage.
Hosta Plants Need Good Soil!
Many people try to plant hostas beneath trees because they have trouble growing grass in that deep shade. However, when tree roots compact the soil and the roots of the hosta, it simply can’t thrive. Make sure your hostas have plenty of loose, fertile soil and you fertilize regularly.
Hosta Varieties
Hosta plants come in hundreds of different varieties and sizes. They can have blue leaves, variegated leaves, lime and emerald green coloring. They are as small as twelve inches, to as large as five feet. Some are fragrant, most are not. In fact, some gardeners cut the flowers off in early summer, as they are pretty nominal. You can find hosta plants that thrive in your area at your local nursery, or you can shop online for a better selection of types of hostas.
Follow these easy tricks on how to grow & care for hosta plants, and you may find yourself quickly addicted to one of the most popular garden plants around.
You may also be interested in our post on Showy Shade Garden Ideas. Or, check out this post on Marimo Moss Balls on our sister site OhMeOhMy!
How do I get rid of groundhogs?
What kind can take all day sun?
Sum & Substance is the best at taking sun in our experience, but Hostas never like ALL day sun, they are a shade plant!
Can you put these in large pots/
Yes!
I get lots of hummingbirds, butterflys, and hummingbird moths visiting the flowers of the hosta.. So I wouldn’t cut them off.
A trick I learned from a nursery owner in New Hampshire. He surrounded his hosta with pine needles. The needles are scratchy and leave cuts in the slug’s soft underbelly, and the acid in the needles stings those cuts so the slugs look elsewhere for a meal. I used this method for years in NH. Now that I have moved to North Carolina, I’m trying it again. So far, it seems to be working.
I have not seen anything on the care of hosta’s
Can someone tell me what outdoor plant is easy to care for in Philadelphia/Thanks.
Do I cut the flower stems off my hostas?
Totally up to you… Some of them are fragrant, but we usually cut them off.
My hostas are really droopy. Is there anything I can do to encourage them to grow “UP” and out instead of just drooping to the ground?
Are they getting enough water? Too much sun?
What are people doing to repel deer? They pick out my hostas and eat them to the ground. Was going to try Irish Spring soap shavings, but someone told me that soap is toxic for cats. Any suggestions??
Coyote urine on cotton balls or in tiny plastic bottle attached to nearby shrubs. Works for me. I am in Manassas VA. You can sometimes find at Southern States and Ace Hardware/TrueValue stores. If not, you will find it on line. Wear gloves when working with it. It is quite smelly.
My sister uses cut up Irish Spring to repel deer. She also has a lot of outside cats. She’s been using this method for years with no cat-poisoning incidents.
Another way to keep slugs at bay is to plant rosemary around hosta. Creeping Rosemary is good too. The leaves cut them and they won’t cross.
I was curious at what time of year can you separate and replant them?
Spring works fine, but fall is best!
Go organic. Coffee grinds are ok, in addition to them add copper pipe as a border or wrap a strip of aluminum around the base. They won’t cross it. Plus I save and wash egg shells, and after they are dry I chop them in the food processor. Sprinkle them around under the leaves. They wont crawl over the shells. Other plants benefit from this calcium too. Have fun.
I love hostas they are my favorite but have a hard time finding the names of the few that I have.
Instead of coffee grounds can I use out-of-date ground coffee, I wondered if it might be too strong.
Anyone tried that?
I used the coffee technique and it seemed to work well. Also kept the neighborhood cats away from the soil as well. I just kept the spent coffee grounds in a bucket under the sink after I made my morning coffee and tossed them out once a week. A regular coffee drinker, I was able to reuse my old coffee grounds on a regular basis. Give it a try, either way, if you are already making coffee, why not use the spent grounds for something good!
Hello, best is to collect the coffe grounds und and put it aound the hostas.
The coffee grounds is a poison to the snails. Secondly the coffee is a fertilizer.
Can you tell me how to keep slugs/snail’s from eating my hosta’s? NOTHING SEEMS TO WORK.
Thanks.
Renee
Can you tell me what you’ve tried so far? There are a lot of remedies, but different ones work for different areas as well…what area of the country are you in?
Good old fashioned Sevin or Malathion spray mixture around the base of your hostas. Be careful though, spray only in the evening when honey bees aren’t active.
I am using a mixture of ammonia and water and it is working wonders. It’s a four parts water to one part ammonia and I mix it in a pump sprayer. I spray the entire plant as soon as they start coming up. If it rains, make sure you get out there and spray them again. It’s a nitrogen boost as well, so you really can’t go wrong. If the ammonia makes you nervous, you can make the solution a little weaker.
I live in coastal south carolina and have done many things including nightly slug hunting with a flashlight and container of salt water to drop them in. I now mix 4 oz of ammonia with 36 oz of water in a spray bottle and soak my hostages, the ground around them, the trees (pretty much everything) and my hostages are gorgeous, lush, and a slug is rare!!!! Cheap and very effective!
Sweet gum balls! Snails hate them and will not crawl over them. Pile them up around your hosta!