Nursery Market Report: Sept. 2001 - LOW LIGHT SOLUTIONS: Hooked On Hosta

Popular for their low maintenance and low light needs, hostas offer other perks. Mainly, they are known for their bold textures and great variety of leaf colors, patterns and shapes.

Hostas vary in height from 2 inches to 4 feet. These herbaceous perennials have tubular or trumpet-like flowers of white, lavendar, blue and purple. Foliage colors are green, yellow, white and blue, often with center or edge variegation.

Leaf textures range from smooth to crinkled, with dull to glossy surfaces. Leaf shapes vary from rounded to oval, heart-shaped to strap-like. These adult foliage characteristics develop three or more years after planting.

Depending on cultivar and site, most hostas spread slowly by underground stems. Some cultivars have horizontal, above-ground stems, making them useful as ground covers (see cultivar guide below). While site and maintenance practices affect mature height and spread, proper location and care can make hostas long lasting, valuable landscape plants. Here are some tips from the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension, Lincoln, Neb.

SITE REQUIREMENTS. For best performance, plant hostas in well-drained, slightly acidic soil. Avoid poorly drained locations, where root and crown rot are prevalent.

Select a site that receives some wind protection because low humidity combined with heavy winds causes leaf browning or desiccation. While most plants will recover from wind damage, leaves developing after damage occurs aren’t as attractive as the initial foliage.

Once established, hostas are drought tolerant, but they require regular moisture for best appearance and size. To improve the soil’s water and oxygen-holding capacity, add organic matter one-third by volume. Spade or rototill organic matter to an 8-inch depth.

HOSTAS IN DESIGN. Low-growing hostas can be placed at the front of a planting bed to form a distinct, unifying edge. Taller hostas can be used as a backdrop for short shrubs and flowers.

Hostas help direct viewers’ attention to specific landscape features. For example, hostas placed near a building entrance can strongly accent and draw attention to the area. Scattered use of brightly colored or unusual colored hostas, however, can draw attention away from other important landscape features, decreasing orderliness.

Hostas can be used to influence the viewers’ perceptions of size. When plants are placed near the viewer and smaller-leaved plants are used in the background, the background appears more distant. But hostas viewed in the background of a landscape with small-leaved plants in the foreground make the landscape seem smaller.