Date: Fri 20-Sep-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: DONNAM

Illustration: C

Location: A-12

Quick Words:

Gardener-Bleach-Hostas

Full Text:

(`Burban Gardener column on Hostas, 9/20/96)

Suburban Gardener-

Hostas Revisited!

By Anthony C. Bleach

Deborah C. Swanson of the University of Massachusetts Extension Service wrote

a good piece on that whole genus, Hosta, recently. As she wrote, these are

certainly not new plants to most of us but with so many new cultivars

appearing, it is time to review our current knowledge.

Hostas are plants in the lily family and are also known as Funkia and Plantain

Lily. They are native to eastern Asia and have been grown and used in gardens

in the United States for many years. Hostas are easy to grow, provide garden

interest from spring through frost, and can be used in myriad ways in

landscape designs as specimen plants, ground covers or interplanted with other

perennials and/or trees and shrubs in a mixed border.

Hostas can be and are used in decorative pots both outdoors and indoors. If

grown in pots in this climate, winter protection is necessary or the roots may

be winter killed. They are tough, reliable, drought tolerant, versatile

perennial plants. Hostas thrive in shady areas, though many will also do well

in sun or partial shade, and prefer a well-drained, organic,

moisture-retentive soil.

Their enemies are slugs and snails, and metaldehyde pellets ought to be spread

all around them, particularly when new leaves appear in spring and now, in the

fall, when they are a plague.

Through breeding and selection programs in the United States, Europe and

Japan, Hostas today offer an incredible range of foliage colors: light or dark

green, chartreuse, yellow, blue; some with no variegation, others with yellow,

white or cream or a combination of those colors.

Leaves may be large, nine inches wide and ten inches long (H. Sum and

Substance ) or small, two inches wide and three inches long (H. Little Aurora

), with all sizes in between. There is also a diversity of foliar texture

exhibited by the many different Hostas: smooth, dull, glossy, puckered, deeply

veined, wavy. Hostas, although grown primarily as a foliage plant, also

produce flowers in shades of lavender and white, some fragrant, some not.

The following short list of Hostas highlights just a sampling of the numerous,

exciting Hostas available for landscape use:

H. Sum and Substance . Large Hosta champion. Chartreuse to gold, glossy

foliage; partial shade to full sun; pest resistant; useful as a specimen,

accent or background plant.

H. fluctuans Variegated . A large Hosta; vase shaped, upright mound; frosted

blue-green leaves streaked with cream-yellow; shade to three-quarters sun;

good as specimen or background plant.

H. Daybreak . Another large Hosta; gold foliage, deeply veined; lights up dark

garden areas; shade to partial sun.

H. Great Expectations . A beautiful plant. Grows into a mound two feet high by

three feet wide. Variegated foliage of blue/green margin with a creamy yellow

center. Shade to three-quarters sun.

H. Janet . A mid-size Hosta; foliage displays varied shades of chartreuse,

yellow and white with green margins; useful in massing or as a ground cover.

Other Hostas to look for are On State , or Piedmont Gold , which was

introduced by two brothers who had a nursery on Piedmont Street, Waterbury.

More outstanding Hostas are Zounds , Wide Brim , Patriot , Hadspen Blue , H.

montana "Aureo-marginata," Golden Tiara , H. tokudama "Aureo-nebueosa" and H.

"Flavo-circinalis."

(Anthony C. Bleach coordinates the landscape and horticulture programs at

Naugatuck Valley Community-Technical College in Waterbury.)