Hostas are the backbone of the shade garden. They are hardy, long-lived perennials grown mainly for their leaves, which come in blue, green, gold, cream and white, in sizes from a six-inch miniature to a clump wider than a sofa. A well-placed hosta can live for decades and gets bigger and better every year with little more than water in dry spells and a quick cleanup in fall. The two things most likely to go wrong are too much sun and slugs, and both are easy to plan around once you know what to look for.
Here is what you need to know before you plant, in one table.
| Botanical name | Hosta spp. |
|---|---|
| Common names | Hosta, plantain lily, funkia |
| USDA zones | 3 to 9 (best in 3 to 8) |
| Sun | Part shade to full shade |
| Height | 6 inches to 4 feet, depending on variety |
| Spread | 1 to 6 feet, depending on variety |
| Bloom time | Early summer to early fall, mostly mid to late summer |
| Grown for | Foliage |
| Flower color | Lavender, purple, white |
| Soil moisture | Average to moist, well drained |
| Deer | Favored: deer eat hostas readily |
| Drought tolerance | Low |
| Native range | Japan, China and Korea |
| Pet toxicity | Toxic to dogs and cats (ASPCA) |
| Maintenance | Low |
Where Hostas Grow Best
Hostas grow in USDA zones 3 through 9, but they are happiest in zones 3 to 8. They need a cold dormant period each winter to come back strong, which is why they struggle in the mild-winter, hot-summer parts of the Deep South and Florida. In the North they are among the most dependable perennials you can plant.
The ideal spot gets morning sun and afternoon shade, or bright dappled light under high tree branches. Deep shade is fine too: plants grow a little slower and flower less, but the leaves stay beautiful. What hostas dislike is hot afternoon sun, which bleaches and scorches the leaves by midsummer. The farther north you live, the more sun they can take.
Soil should be rich in organic matter, moist and well drained, with a pH of roughly 6.0 to 7.5. Hostas tolerate clay as long as water does not sit around the crown. Planted under maples or other shallow-rooted trees, they compete for water and need more frequent watering than the same hosta in an open bed.
Let Leaf Color Tell You How Much Sun
Leaf color is a reliable guide to placement. Blue hostas get their color from a waxy coating that melts off in heat and strong sun, turning the leaves green, so give them the most shade. Gold and chartreuse varieties handle the most sun, often three to four hours of morning light, and many color up brighter with it. Green and white-edged types fall in between. Fragrant varieties descended from Hosta plantaginea are also more sun tolerant than most.
How to Plant Hostas
Plant hostas in spring once the soil can be worked, or in early fall at least four weeks before the ground freezes. Spring planting gives the longest establishment season; fall planting works well because the soil is warm and the weather is cool.
For a potted hosta, dig a hole twice as wide as the pot and set the plant at the same depth it grew in the container. For a bare-root division from a mail-order nursery, soak the roots in water for an hour, make a small mound in the bottom of the hole, spread the roots over it, and set the crown (the point where the shoots meet the roots) level with the soil surface. Planting the crown too deep invites rot.
Space plants by their mature spread, not their size in the pot. Miniatures go about 1 foot apart, medium varieties 2 to 3 feet, and giants 4 to 5 feet. Water in thoroughly and add about 2 inches of shredded bark or leaf mulch, keeping it a few inches back from the crown. Expect patience to pay off: gardeners describe hostas as sleeping the first year, creeping the second and leaping the third, and large varieties can take four or five years to reach full size.
Watering and Feeding
Hostas want about 1 inch of water a week, more during heat waves and in the first season after planting. One deep soaking is better than several light sprinkles because it drives roots downward. Water at the base in the morning so the leaves dry off before evening, which helps with both disease and slugs. A soaker hose is the easiest way to do this across a whole bed. Limp leaves or brown, crispy edges are the first signs a hosta is thirsty.
Hostas are light feeders. A layer of compost each spring is often all they need. If growth is weak, apply a balanced slow-release fertilizer such as 10-10-10 once, as the shoots emerge. Stop feeding by midsummer so the plant can harden off for winter, and avoid heavy nitrogen, which produces soft leaves that slugs love.
Deadheading
In mid to late summer, most hostas send up tall flower stalks called scapes, topped with lavender, purple or white bell-shaped flowers that hummingbirds and bumblebees visit. Deadheading is optional. Once the flowers fade, cut each scape off at the base to keep the plant tidy and stop it setting seed. Seedlings rarely look like the parent and can crowd a bed.
Some gardeners cut the scapes before they bloom so all attention stays on the foliage, while fragrant varieties are worth keeping in flower for their scent. Leave the leaves alone until frost collapses them in fall, then cut them to the ground and remove them from the bed. This clears out slug eggs and fungal spores that would otherwise overwinter at the crown. Our guide to cutting back perennials in fall covers timing for the rest of the garden.
Dividing Hostas
Hostas never need dividing to stay healthy, but most clumps can be split every four or five years if you want more plants or the center is thinning. The best time is early spring, when the pointed shoots, called eyes, are just breaking the soil. They are easy to count and the plant has a full season to recover. The second-best time is late summer to early fall, about four weeks before the ground freezes.
Dig the entire clump, shake or hose off the soil so you can see the crown, and cut it into sections with a sharp spade or knife. Each piece should have at least two or three eyes and a good share of roots. Replant at the original depth and water well. Fall divisions with full-size leaves may wilt for a few days; trimming a few leaves helps. Clean tools with a 10% bleach solution between plants to avoid spreading hosta virus X.
Popular Hosta Varieties
There are thousands of named hosta cultivars. These are proven, widely available choices that do well for beginners, grouped by size.
Large and Giant Hostas
‘Sum and Substance’ has huge, thick chartreuse-to-gold leaves and forms a clump around 30 inches tall and up to 5 feet wide. Its heavy leaves resist slugs, and it takes more sun than almost any other hosta. ‘Empress Wu’ is one of the largest hostas available, with dark green leaves on a clump that can pass 4 feet tall. ‘Frances Williams’ is a classic with puckered blue-green leaves and irregular gold edges; keep it in shade, since the margins scorch in sun.
Medium Hostas
‘Patriot’ has dark green leaves with crisp white margins that light up a shady corner, and reaches about 2 feet tall. ‘June’ pairs a gold-to-chartreuse center with blue-green edges and holds its color well. ‘Halcyon’ is one of the best blue hostas, with powdery, heart-shaped leaves that keep their blue in good shade.
Small and Miniature Hostas
‘Blue Mouse Ears’ grows only 6 to 8 inches tall, with thick, round blue leaves that slugs tend to leave alone. It was named Hosta of the Year for 2008 by the American Hosta Growers Association and works well in containers, rock gardens and along path edges.
Fragrant Hostas
‘Royal Standard’ and ‘Guacamole’ both carry fragrant white flowers in late summer and tolerate more sun than most hostas. ‘Guacamole’ has large apple-green leaves edged in darker green, while ‘Royal Standard’ is solid bright green. Plant them near a patio or path so you catch the scent in the evening.
Companion Plants for Hostas
The best hosta companions share its love of shade and moisture but bring a different texture or a burst of flowers. Ferns such as Japanese painted fern and ostrich fern add fine, lacy foliage against broad hosta leaves. Astilbe brings feathery plumes of pink, red or white in early summer. Heuchera (coral bells) adds purple, amber and silver leaf color, and Japanese forest grass gives soft, arching movement.
Bleeding heart is a natural partner: it blooms in spring and often goes dormant by midsummer, just as the hostas fill out and hide the gap. Brunnera, lungwort and Solomon’s seal round out a low-care shade bed. Spring bulbs, especially daffodils, work well tucked between hostas, whose emerging leaves cover the fading bulb foliage. Keep in mind that deer-resistant neighbors do not protect the hostas themselves.
Common Hosta Problems
Most hosta trouble comes from a few predictable sources. Here is how to recognize each one and what to do about it.
Slugs and Snails
Irregular holes in the leaves, often with shiny slime trails, are the classic sign. Slugs feed at night and in damp weather. Hand-pick them after dark, set shallow beer traps, or use an iron phosphate bait, which is considered safer around pets and wildlife than older metaldehyde baits. Watering in the morning, keeping mulch thin near the crown and choosing thick-leaved varieties all reduce damage.
Deer and Rabbits
Deer treat hostas as a salad bar and can strip a bed overnight, leaving only bare leaf stalks. Rotating repellents helps in light pressure, but fencing is the only reliable fix. If deer visit your yard every night, put your effort into deer-resistant perennials and keep hostas close to the house or in fenced areas.
Voles
A hosta that wilts suddenly in spring and lifts out of the ground with no roots has likely been eaten by voles over winter. Mixing coarse gravel into the planting hole or planting in wire mesh baskets protects the crown.
Sun Scorch and Drought
Brown, papery leaf edges and bleached patches mean the plant is getting too much sun, too little water or both. Water more deeply, and move the hosta to a shadier spot in spring or early fall.
Hosta Virus X
Hosta virus X causes mottling, streaking or ink-like bleeding of color along the veins that does not match the variety’s normal pattern, often with puckered or twisted leaves. There is no cure. Dig up and throw away infected plants rather than composting them, disinfect your tools, and buy from nurseries that inspect their stock.
Late Frost Damage
Hostas that leaf out early can be hit by a late spring frost, leaving the leaves collapsed or tattered. Cover emerging plants with a sheet on nights when frost is forecast. Damaged leaves can be removed, and the plant usually recovers, though it may look thin for the season.
Where to Buy Hostas
Garden centers sell hostas in pots, which lets you see the leaf color before you buy, and they cost more as a result. Mail-order nurseries offer a far wider choice of varieties. They ship in spring when it is safe to plant in your zone, and the plants arrive dormant, either bare-root or in small pots. A bare-root hosta looks like a clump of roots topped with pointed buds, which is normal and will leaf out within a few weeks of planting.
Whichever route you take, look for divisions with at least two or three eyes, since cheap single-eye divisions take years to fill in. Check potted plants for the mottled leaves of hosta virus X. New releases can cost several times more than proven classics, but for a first shade bed, dependable varieties like ‘Patriot’, ‘Halcyon’ and ‘Sum and Substance’ are inexpensive and every bit as rewarding.
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