Hosta is a real gift to a lazy gardener. It is undemanding to care, cold-resistant, multiplies quickly enough, practically does not get sick. And at the same time it looks luxurious, becoming more decorative from year to year!
Hundreds of species of hosta have been bred, you can choose a plant for literally every taste. The main beauty is the leaves. They can be of all kinds of colors: blue, yellow, light green, striped, marble and even tricolor. The surface of the sheet can also be anything - glossy, wrinkled, waxy.
Hostas also vary in size. Both meter-long giant varieties with burdock leaves and crumbs up to 10 cm high are sold. The hosta blooms from mid to late summer, throwing out tall peduncles with “bell” flowers (usually white or lavender flowers).
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Location. Where to put the host? Note: Most hostas are shade tolerant, but can't stand direct sunlight. However, there are hybrids that can tolerate sunny places. Therefore, be sure to ask the seller about this or look for information on the Internet before boarding.
The soil. Hostas love fertile and well-drained soils, but in very damp areas, the roots of the plant rot. On sandy soil, the color of the host becomes brighter, but the bush does not grow as powerful.
Reproduction. Now in the garden centers there is a very wide range of varieties, both domestic and imported from Holland, Germany and Poland. The price per plant starts from 100 (a tiny plant with a couple of leaves) to 250 rubles (quite a decent bush). As a rule, the hosta is sold in pots, with a closed root system, so that there are no difficulties with engraftment.
Old bushes are divided into small parts, as the "delenki" grow rapidly and reach large sizes in two or three years.
After planting, the first time is abundantly watered. After planting, the plants often wither and lie on the ground, but after 2-3 days they return to their normal position. At this time, planting should be shaded and sprayed more often.
Maintenance made easy
Hostas are unpretentious and very responsive to fertilizers (they use a complex flower) - the bushes grow faster, the leaves are larger.
It is better to break out young flower arrows. The fact is that before flowering, the hosts have a very neat, dense, symmetrical curtain. When flower arrows appear, the leaves diverge to the sides, and the plant "falls apart", takes on an untidy appearance.
Adult plants are not recommended to be replanted often; they can grow in one place for more than 10 years. Hostas almost never get sick, and pests are not particularly interested in them, except that slugs sometimes damage varieties with delicate foliage.
Where does the plant look best?
Like a border of lawns, paths and flower beds, trunk circles near trees.
On alpine slides and in rockeries.
Near any sources of water: near ponds, streams and near fountains.
At clubs for shade and partial shade, near the porch.
In pots for patios, gazebos and winter gardens.
The American Host Society selects Host of the Year each year. Here's what the winning varieties look like
 2006 - Stained Glass. Sredneroslya (40 - 50 cm), golden yellow leaves with an irregular dark and bright green border, peduncles height - 90 cm. |
 2005 - Striptease. Quite large (50 cm), powerful hosta. In the center of the blue-green leaves is a white-cream spot with a marbled edge. Flowers are lavender. |
 2004 - Sum and Substance. Luxurious variety up to 75 cm high with huge light yellow, and in shaded places - greenish-yellow leaves. |
 2003 - Regal Splendor. Very large vase-shaped hosta with blue-gray dense leaves and a white border. Lavender flowers reach 150 cm in height! |
 2002 Guacamole, a large hosta with glossy round green leaves with a golden center. It is famous for its fragrant white flowers. Tolerates the sun well. |
 2001 - June. Low (30 cm) powerful hosta with spectacular golden leaves with a narrow blue edge. |
 2000 - Sagae. This large vase-shaped hosta grows up to 75 cm tall and 175 cm wide. Her leaves are first bright green with a dark gold border. |
 1999 - Paul's Glory. Sredneroslya (45 cm), the leaves are blue with a yellow center. Lavender flowers in the middle of summer reach a height of 60 cm. |
The variety of species, and even more varieties of hosta, is amazing. The atlas of host varieties has more than 2,500 specimens, but breeders are increasing their number every year.
Now in every garden, whether it is a luxurious estate or a tiny summer cottage, you can see a variety of hostas. This amazing plant, which quickly burst into the assortment of perennials quite recently, very quickly turned out to be at the peak of success. In America, the host (or the second name - function) is listed in the bestsellers, in Europe it is approaching the top of demand.
Why flower growers choose hosta
Why does the hosta enjoy such love?
- First of all, the amazing decorative qualities of the leaves won recognition. Looking at the gigantic, up to one and a half meters "burdock" functions and sitting right there miniature rosettes 15 centimeters in diameter with delicate corrugated leaves, it is very difficult to imagine that this is one and the same plant. And how many intermediate shapes and shades a host can give!
- Perhaps the most important thing in understanding the popularity of the host is that the cultivation of this wonderful plant is available to everyone - both the venerable professional gardener and the novice amateur. The agrotechnics of the plant is very simple: the host does not require complex pruning, pesticide treatment, mandatory division and winter shelter. In addition, the function is a long-liver, so more than one generation of garden owners will admire it.
- And the final touch to revealing the secret of love for hosts is its versatility. Almost any flower garden or composition in the garden will sparkle with new colors when planting a decorative funkia bush. She will emphasize the best features of any plant and skillfully hide its errors.
How do varieties of hostas differ?
Without going into details of species diversity (more on this in a separate article), it is worth noting that host varieties differ as follows:
- in height (from miniature 10 cm crumbs to bushes the size of a person of average height);
- by color (from soft cream to deep green, with the presence of yellow, light green, lime, blue colors of different intensity and combination);
- according to the shape of the leaf plate (lanceolate, round, wavy);
- according to the texture of the sheet (from glossy-smooth to “waffle”).
Often varieties of functions combine these features in a completely fantastic order. There are miniature hostas with wavy lanceolate leaves, there are medium-sized hostas with round, smooth foliage of a blue hue, there are huge bushes with a wavy copper-yellow surface.
Consider the most popular varieties of hosts and decide where they will look the most advantageous.
Non-green varieties of hosta
Of course, the most purchased are those functions whose foliage is not colored like most garden plants - green. Varieties with multi-colored stripes or spots are in special demand - yellow, pale green, white, bluish.
Among the most popular are the following.
Thunderbolt (Sunderbolt)
A large bush with very dense green-blue foliage and a stripe in the center, yellow at first, white by the end of summer.
The variety feels great in partial shade, enlivening the lower and middle tiers of the shadow mixborder with light stripes and white peduncles. It grows well and overwinters in large containers.
First Frost (First Frost)
An extremely popular variety, recognized in 2010 as Host of the Year. Medium in height (35 cm) and sprawling bush (90 cm) makes a great impression on the audience.
It goes well with roses, lilies and is often included in silver-blue flower beds.
Sum and Substance (Sam and Substance)
That's what the guests of the garden immediately pay attention to, so this chic hosta! Huge, up to 80 cm in height and up to a meter in diameter, it simply attracts attention with giant leaves of a juicy yellow-green color. The foliage is dense, with a beautiful wavy texture.
Unlike other functions, this variety is not interesting for slugs, the foliage is always clean and without holes.
The location is both sunny and slightly shaded. Hosta requires regular watering and spring fertilizing with complex fertilizers.
It fits well into compositions with decorative deciduous shrubs and coniferous crops.
Captain's Adventure (Capitans Adventure)
Very elegant hosta with oval leaves and a low rosette. The plates are green-yellow with an interesting "waffle" structure. Feature - a wide cream border, clearly separated from the core by a dark green feather-like stripe.
Grows well in partial shade and full sun. From several hostas of this variety, you can create a long shady border, especially beautiful at the time of flowering of medium-sized lavender inflorescences.
Lakeside Dragonfly (Lakeside Dragonfly)
Compact (30 cm in height and in diameter) variety with narrow leaves of a green-blue hue and a cream border. It blooms from late July to autumn with beautiful purple flowers.
Suitable for growing in rock gardens, rockeries, medium-sized flower beds. Grows well in pots and tubs.
It grows in width very slowly, therefore it is divided only after reaching 5-7 years of age.
T-Rex (T Rex)
Giant (up to one and a half meters in height) hosta with amazingly decorative leaves of a greenish-gray color. Between the deeply hidden veins, the leaf plate has a beautiful wavy structure.
T Rex will become the main focus of the garden, its highlight. It looks good surrounded by other hostas, as well as large perennials - buzulnik, rogers, brunners. The plant is shade-tolerant, blooms for a long time with dense white inflorescences.
So Sweet (So Sweet)
Popular compact variety. The main feature is very fragrant flowers! The green pointed leaves are edged with a white stripe.
This hosta feels great both in the sun and in partial shade, so it is often used for large rockeries, as well as a border for roses and other flowering perennials.
Blue Ivory (Blue Ivory)
One of the varieties that have recently come into vogue with a very decorative leaf plate. In early summer, it is bluish-blue with a contrasting creamy stripe along the edge, and by autumn it becomes blue-blue, the edges turn white.
The bush is wide (up to 1 meter in diameter), medium height (50 cm). Location is shade. Looks great as a tapeworm on the lawn, especially in adulthood, when the variety is visible in all its glory. It combines beautifully in a flower garden with plants that bloom with blue and lilac flowers, as well as those with silver foliage.
Liberty (Liberty)
Very bright and distinctive variety. The bush is tall (80 cm), with a dense dome. The foliage is heart-shaped with a very wide yellow-gold border, which fades to white by the end of summer.
One of the gardeners' favorite varieties, it brightens shaded areas like a ray of sunshine. True, this function does not like strong shading, responding to the lack of lighting with a green leaf plate.
Mini hosts
This group of varieties has also been attractive to gardeners in recent times, as it is suitable for use in small front gardens, ridges along the path, mini-gardens, rock gardens, as well as container gardening.
There are no peculiarities and difficulties in growing them - babies are also unpretentious, like large varieties, very frost-resistant, durable.
The only thing you need to pay close attention to is protection against displacement of dwarf hosts by aggressive plants, including functions with large leaves.
Some subtleties in growing various varieties
For different varieties, it is important to choose a suitable place, lit more brightly, or partially shaded.
The more space on the leaf plate is occupied by light-colored places (yellow, white, cream), the lighter the location should be. It must be remembered that very light hostas contain little chlorophyll and live until mid-summer due to starch reserves in the roots. Starting from July, the bright places on the leaf plate turn green - and this is normal, since the plant turns on the photosynthesis process to the fullest, begins to prepare for the next season and again store nutrients in reserve.
The best hosts
I have a desire to get the best varieties of hostas. I have some ideas about the design in my garden and the combination of plants with each other, and I cannot do without a host. The best hosts in my opinion are large and fast growing. And the most popular hosts are also among the best: there are other reasons why you love them - for example, for the beauty of a single sheet or originality - Great Expectations and Tattoo. These varieties have already been tested, many have them, and the experience of the owners is very important for me. The host seller himself dissuaded me from buying Tattoo hostas, however, many well-known varieties were included in his “not recommended” list: Gold Standard (an old variety, there are similar ones, but better, and in general “chameleons” are out of fashion), Blue Cadet (not new and smallish), Pizzazz (supposedly does not show the promised beauty), Christmas Tree (the same), well, and some other varieties from a specific delivery, because maybe they are infected with viruses.
A very valuable material is the Websad photobase. In addition to wonderful photos, I found information about the "hosts of the year", of which I have Patriot, Striptease, Sum and Substance. I also have them in my favorites, regardless of the official rating, and I want more such hosts. My question is: if different varieties of hostas are derived from a common parent, does this mean that these hostas have a similar leaf shape, and therefore they combine well with each other? For example, Striptease and Moonlight are from Gold Standard, do they look similar? I have "relatives" Patriot and Francee - well, exactly the same, not counting the width of the border, although the latter grows much more actively. But the Patriot sport - Fire and Ice loses a lot in size and is more shaggy. I want to find the variety "Patriot in reverse", i.e. a medium-sized host with a light center and a dark green border - will Revolution take on this role? I also need advice on strains similar to Sum and Substance. I know it's called "Golden Sieboldiana" but the Sieboldiana hosta is more suitable for shade and I need the same monumental hosta for a well lit area. In general, I want to collect more “relatives” of rated hosts, but not a trifle like Fire and Ice.
And where can I see the data on the "hosts of the year"? I spent several evenings at http://www.hostalibrary.org/index.html, translating for myself information about the varieties that I already have. I read several topics in the archive about hosts, I will continue my reading in my free time - there is a lot of information. Such sources need to be studied for a very long time in order to understand what is Classic in the field of host, what I need from this, and what I definitely don’t. Sieboldians are great of course, I have Elegans, I recently bought Great Expectations, I know it's problematic, but painfully good. I ask you to suggest other beautiful varieties of Sieboldiana with a light center and preferably large ones.
Thank you.
| Moscow |
| 18.01.2007 |
| 05:37:26 |
Once upon a time, 7-8 years ago, when I just took up gardening and enthusiastically got acquainted with new (that is, almost all) ornamental plants, I wanted to collect a collection of hostas. It seems to me that many beginner gardeners are fascinated by the idea of a collection, and many of these many are hostas. Naive guy...
Then I got acquainted with the works of Beth Shatto. In one of them, she wrote that even crack, but you still can’t collect all the hosts, this activity is useless and meaningless. And not only because the number of varieties goes off scale beyond all reasonable limits. New products often differ little from existing varieties, and you can put your life to find the differences.
Then I got acquainted with the National Collection of Host Holland at the Arboretum Trompenburg, and I realized that even in a scientific collection of this level, confusion is a common occurrence. Understood when sorting out photos of varieties.
Then I got acquainted with the host garden Hille Hoppmann-Hauke. His owner told me what an incredible effort it took her to keep her collection of hosts in order (and she had a collection of miniatures separately). The story of why she donated her collection to the hosta garden at Oldenburg Castle can be read on Gardener. And here are photos of this beautiful garden back in the days when the host collection was with him:
In general, over time, my desire to collect hosts has cooled down. First I switched to cereals,. However, I also have hosts. For purely utilitarian reasons, most varieties are XL and XXL - they help me in a very nice way to reduce the weeding area at my dacha near Moscow:
For host lovers, here are some useful links.
