Hosta

A friend of mine visited today and commented on the size of one of my pot grown hostas. When I told her that this was only its third summer and that when first planted, it was so small that it shared a pot with several other plants, she could hardly believe it. That same pot is now housing the hosta alone and even that’s getting too small for it. Either it’s got to go in the ground this year or be transferred to a bigger pot. I’ve no idea what its name is and as there are over 2,000 varieties available, I probably never will. WHERE IN THE GARDEN SHOULD I PLANT HOSTAS? Hostas, otherwise known ... more

I don`t think a single year has passed that I haven`t introduced yet another new Hosta into one of my garden pots. Last year I bought two, one variegated green and one blue tinged, Hubby tidied the pots and decided that the sad looking stumps that remained at the end of the season were only fit for the bin and that is where they ended up! I love the Hosta plant but sadly the slugs seem to love them too and despite a nightly slug inspection they still find ways of climbing into the pots, wiggling across the mighty uncomfortable base of cracked egg shell that I have laid to deter them and then ... more

Hostas - one of the most underrated of plants. Slug bait, I hear you say. Of course they are but there are many ways around that one. Grow them in pots, putting vaseline around the rim. Grow them through gravel, bark or anything else that is sharp OR (and heres the secret), grow lettuces among them. Slugs and snails will go for them long before the hostas, and by the time they get to them, they will be too tall. Anyway, back to the plant itself. The ideal plant for shade and moist and if you have shade and not moist, then thats easy too. Put in a lot of leaf mould or humus that will retain ... more

Hostas, or Plantain Lilies, are clump-forming perennials. There are around 70 species. Although they originate in the far East, they are fully hardy in our climate, and I find them addictive! They are grown primarily for their foliage, and come in a range of greens, blues and variegations. They have the added bonus of producing clusters of flowers in summer, on leafless stems. They prefer moist situations, and are very effective by a pond or in a bog garden. However, hostas are very adaptable plants, and will do equally well as ground cover in difficult situations, such as beneath deciduous ... more

Hostas also known as ( plantain lily )are manor from heaven for the gardeners worst enemy the slug. These slimy creatures will munch their way through all varieties of Hosta and give the plants a rather undesirable appearance. for this reason I would not grow them in any garden that has an obvious slug problem. One of the fundamental problems is that to thrive Hosta's require moisture at the roots . Slugs love soil containing moisture and so there is the problem .Also I suspect they taste nice to the molluscs. I have grown Hosta's on heavy slug infested soil over the years and frankly it just ... more