Experts fill us in on their favorites of the thousands of varieties out there
STATS
Hostaspp. and cvs.
USDA Hardiness Zones:3–9
Conditions : fond to full shade ; moist , robust , well - drained soil
Propagation : Division in spring or descend
problem : Deer , clout , snails
Who does n’t enjoy Hosta ? They ’re boastful , they ’re sheer , and they ’re pretty easy to grow — as long as you do n’t have a healthydeerpopulation . Funka give nurseryman in cooler zone the tropical tone they long to have from plant like elephant ear ( Colocasiaspp . and cvs . , USDA Hardiness zone 9–11 ) and bananas ( Musaspp . and cvs . , Zones 8–11 ) . But with popularity comes endless choices . thread into the shade section of any nursery , and you ’re bound to see a ocean of hostas , in every imaginable sizing and colour . alas , not all hostas are create adequate . Some struggle to bulk up ; others tend to lose their eye - catchingvariegationas the years go past . To help weed through the plethora of choices , Fine Gardeningreached out to some of the most well-thought-of works experts in North America to find out what their favored hostas are . Now when you go shopping for more of your favorite shade plants , you’re able to make informed purchase .
Learn more : How to Use Hostas in a Garden Design
Best for Fragrance
August lily
( Hosta plantagineavar.grandiflora )
Size:18 inches tall and 4 feet panoptic
When choosing the consummate hosta , most gardeners consider foliage first . Few take into account their heyday because — let ’s confront it — while no genus Hosta has blooms that are untempting , most are not specially attending - getting . Not so with August lily . This honest-to-god - fashioned ducky deserves a replication , with its show - stop floral display taking center level in a season when flowers in the shade garden are scarce . In mid through late summertime , flowering still hunt rise to a startling height of 4 feet , and the pure white , exceptionallyfragrantblooms ( 4 column inch or more in length ) undefended in recollective succession . For the best unfolding , site it in morning sun ( even full sun in the Frederick North ) or very bright , dappled shadiness . give in springiness and declination and unconstipated tearing assistant ensure a yearly show .
Expert : Troy Marden is a garden and floral fashion designer based in Nashville .
Most Sun Tolerant
‘June’
Size:1 to 2 foot tall and 24 to 30 inches broad
Many genus Funka prefer some sunshine , refuse the popular misconception that all thrive best in tad . I larn this moral with ‘ peachy arithmetic mean ’ and ‘ Patriot ’ when they languished in the dark . ‘ June ’ , however , is unquestionably one of the best introductions to fare equally well under both environments , and flourishing in sun . Thefoliagehas a lovely variegated pattern , featuring gold centers with unpredictable blue - K gross profit margin varying in lineation . The thick , shiny foliage create it fairly resistant to stagnate damage . It possesses a robust nature , tolerating dry , compost - deficient dirt better than many other hosta varieties . Interestingly , the foliage of this extremely durable plant sports a matte , pastel tone in shady conditions but flaunts glossy , vivacious hues in sun . ‘ June ’ is so well well-thought-of in the gardening field that it has been used as a parent to a superfluity of new beautiful introductions , such as ‘ June Fever ’ .
Expert : Edward Lyon is the director of theReiman Gardensin Ames , Iowa .
Best Gold Variety
‘Curly Fries’
Size:10 inches marvelous and 20 inches all-inclusive
Though now a mainstay among hosta aficionados , this 2008 introduction illume up the shot with ridged , ruffled leaves in the most rakish shade of yellow green . Its virtually miniature proportions make ‘ Curly Fries ’ an easy selection for a shady container or a small urban secret plan and an electric jolt for dim backyard corners . Narrow , turgid , and delightfully wavy , its leaves do n’t grant to the stress of summer like other golden hostas , rather powering through fall to remain vivacious . fat violet scapes reveal lavender flowers in former summer . Mature clumps , occasionally outgrow their miniature dimensions , lean to have a greener refinement to their girthy foliage . Given all this , it ’s not surprising that it was a 2016 Hosta of the Year winner from the American Hosta Growers Association .
Expert : Kelly Norris is film director of gardening at theGreater Des Moines Botanical Gardenin Iowa .
Best Big Behemoth
‘Empress Wu’
Size:4 to 5 feet tall and 6 to 8 pes broad
When it comes to big girls , ‘ Empress Wu ’ is the biggest of them all . This giant shadowed lady has leaves that are 2 feet long and broad , take shape incredible , hulking mound . The attractive , lightly gurgle , middle - shaped foliage is bluish - green in spring , develop to a shiny green by summertime with bass teasing for well textural interest . The scapes of the pallid lavender prime rise just above the foliage in summer . ‘ Empress Wu ’ was the only female emperor of China and a formidable leader who greatly lucubrate Chinese district . Her namesake hosta offers a dominating presence as a focal point in the garden . If you have space to handle , a few plant can conquer a lot of solid ground .
Best Mini Option
‘Blue Mouse Ears’
Size:1 foot improbable and extensive
‘ Blue Mouse Ears ’ is one of the most distinctive genus Funka and the spokesmodel for vertically challenged industrial plant everywhere , winning Hosta of the Year in 2008 . ‘ Blue Mouse auricle ’ has fabulously thick , almost rubberlike , slug - tolerant powder blue foliage contain in tight , thick clod . If you squinch just aright , the cupped shape of each 2 - inch - long by 2 - column inch - wide folio kind of resembles the pinna of a cute small rodent . In summertime , short shaft rise just above the foliage ( 8 to 12 inches tall ) with buds that swell like balloon before opening to lavender flowers . utilise ‘ Blue Mouse Ears ’ in shady rock candy gardens , at the front of the delimitation , along pathways , or as a unique specimen in a manger or container .
Expert : Gary Lewis is the owner ofPhoenix Perennials , a metier nursery in Richmond , British Columbia .
Most Underrated Variety
‘Touch of Class’
Size:15 inches marvelous and 30 inches wide
I ’ll confess to being a bit wearied , having grow over 2,000 hosta cultivar , but of the several hundred truly unique Hosta , one that always rise to the top of my list is ‘ Touch of social class ’ . It was created by one of the existence ’s top hosta breeder , Hans Hansen of Michigan . He took one of the secure cultivars at the sentence , ‘ June ’ , and intentionally replicate the chromosome numeration . The result was much thicker leaves , a much more acute blue , and a much all-inclusive blue edge . ‘ trace of course of study ’ forms a medium - size clustering of dust-covered dreary leaves , each highlight by a minute strip of chartreuse flare , which narrows each season as the plant geezerhood . Unlike most blue hostas , which do n’t thrive in hot summertime climates , ‘ touching of course of instruction ’ is equally at house in central Canada as it is in the rut and humidity of the southeastern United States . The clunk are topped with 2 - foundation - tall stalks of light lavender flowers in late spring .
Expert : Tony Avent is the owner ofPlant Delights NurseryandJuniper Level Botanic Gardenin Raleigh , North Carolina .
Best Variegated Variety
‘Whirlwind’
Size:20 inches improbable and 40 inches wide
In the dark-green / white motley category of hosta , the cultivar ‘ Whirlwind ’ is hard to beat . It has been advert a favorite in polls conducted by the American Hosta Association in late years , and it ’s easy to see why . ‘ Whirlwind ’ is quite tolerant of sun , is swig resistant , and like many hostas , sport leave that change color ceaselessly throughout the time of year . In springtime , the bright green leafage issue with a creamy lily-white center . By midsummer , they have transfer to soft green , which eventually deepens to a dark super acid late in the season . This cultivar also has a unequalled and distinctive growth wont . Its leaves are more or less curl and place upward in a crinkly mound . This military strength make ‘ Whirlwind ’ ideal to work in and around other plants in a bed and also lend a sense of move and dynamism . Though a vigorous raiser , its modest size allows it to be incorporated into shady garden of almost any square footage .
Expert : Daniel Robarts is the industrial plant stock breeder and disseminator for theCoastal Maine Botanical Gardensin Boothbay .
Most Slug Resistant
‘Sagae’
Size:2 to 3 foot marvelous and wide
Originally found as a variation ofH. fluctuans , the robust use , excellent sum , and pest opposition of ‘ Sagae ’ earn it Hosta of the Year in 2000 and a Great Plant Picks Award in 2012 . This large - grow hosta emerge in leap with bold unsloped growth before unfurl deeply corrugated leaves of pale blue - park with a slimly ruffle , variegated sharpness of primrose yellow . This sharpness eventually matures to cream . The beautiful diversification is easy to work into a garden ; burnished but not gaudy , it pass the center without scream for attention . fledged clumps form graciously superimposed mounds . The just drug abuse keeps the thick leathery leaves ( which are the trait that make them stagnate resistant ) off the ground , making them less prone to splashing grunge and tattering wear . In midsummer , magniloquent efflorescence spikes rise high up above the leaves , sporting pale lavender , horn - shaped blooms that hummingbirds love .
Expert : Richie Steffen is conservator at theElisabeth C. Miller Botanical Gardenin Seattle .
Most Beautiful Blue Variety
‘Krossa Regal’
Size:3 to 5 feet tall and 3 to 6 feet wide
With so many pick , something special has to adjust one blue hosta apart from another . While the powdery blue leaves of ‘ Krossa Regal ’ are beautiful on their own , it ’s the typical vase - work habit and willowy flower stems that offer something extra . The architecture of the frosty leafage — closely perpendicular leafstalk and smooth , cupped leaf — well severalize it from other Funka . On the practical side , the thick leaves keep slugs somewhat at bay . As the sonority of the leaf colour dims a bit in midsummer , graceful lilac bells open up on lofty 5 - animal foot stems . Although this hosta pairs well with an dateless number of shade perennial , nestled with bleeding hearts — radiant ‘ Gold centre ’ ( Dicentra spectabilis‘Gold Heart ’ , Zones 3–9 ) or fiery ‘ Burning heart and soul ’ ( D.‘Burning Hearts ’ , Zones 3–9)—might just be perfection .
Expert : Richard Hawke is the plant life - valuation manager at theChicago Botanic Gardenin Glencoe , Illinois .
Step-by-Step Hosta Division
Most hostas don’tneedto be carve up , but if you want to make more of your beloved plant , division is a billfold - friendly style to do so . you could divide hostas in bound or descent . There is no advantage or disadvantage to choosing one time over the other — just be sure the weather is coolheaded and moist .
Step1
habituate a spade to slue around the outdoor boundary of the hosta clump . Then , disturbing the roots as little as possible , lightly pry and lift the entire clump out of the earth .
Step 2
Depending on the size of your cluster , use the spade or a reciprocating saw to hack off smaller chunks . A universal rule of thumb is to not make any partition diminished than 5 inches in diameter .
Step 3
Replant the divisions at the same deepness as they were when still a part of the mother clump . Water well , but do not fecundate , as this can burn the already sensitive ( due to being disturbed ) root .
pic : millettephotomedia.com ; Bill Johnson ; good manners of Edward Lyon ; courtesy of perennialresource.com ; Michelle Gervais ; courtesy of Plant Delights Nursery Inc. ; Doreen Wynja / Monrovia Nursery ; Steve Aitken
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