I have just in the past week or so posted a new article on the website on using Hostas as Borders in Perennial Beds so if you go into the Favorite Perennials site you can read what varieties I wrote about. To bring out and maintain its color, plant in an area with morning sun and afternoon shade. See our TOS for more details. My love for Hostas started a long time ago before I knew anything about growing anything, and Hostas were not in vogue. If you were lucky enough to spend a good chunk of your childhood in a beautifully and lovingly landscaped garden like I did, with hand-built stone borders and slate paths, shaded by mature tulip poplar trees and filled with birdsong and butterflies, perhaps you’re no stranger to the dappled sunlight and full forested shade that’s perfect for growing bleeding hearts, astilbe, and hostas. #hostagoals. Shadowland® ‘Empress Wu’ bare root plants are available from Burpee. Green leaves with deep blue-green centers and irregular cream and gold margins are the main feature of this attractive cultivar, with lavender summertime flowers. These mutants are our friends, beloved among members of the worldwide hosta fan club, and they are responsible for the development of new cultivars – sometimes. Whatever color you see personally when you look at these, or whatever memory you associate it with, there’s no doubt about it – ‘Halcyon’ is truly something special. There is the added bonus of nice purple flowers in early July. For the best color, a space that offers some morning sunshine during the growing season, with dappled to full shade for protection in the heat of the afternoon, is ideal. Her work led to the formation of the American Hosta Society. The hosta on the right of the picture is Satisfaction. We all do, sometimes. The leaves have a thick substance and it is a joy to grow. Hostas With Ferns. Which hosta cultivar is your favorite? Mostly white leaves or pale yellow-green leaves, with yellow accents and dark green margins, provide colorful interest in the garden. With a clumping habit and a compact form, this cutie is also tinier in stature, reaching a height of just 6-12 inches at maturity with a spread of 24-36 inches. Visit Us In South Hampton, New Hampshire Call us on 603-879-0085 Wish Lists She’s more diminutive in size than ‘Empress Wu,’ but her story is another one for the ages. Provide a little extra protection for this and similar cultivars during unexpected springtime cold spells to ensure healthy foliage later in the season. Please log in again. It has been a very nice border, the plants mounding higher in the middle and lower on the edges. There were many, many plants as this multiplies readily, and so the divisions were quite large. So much information out there on the web doesn’t apply to our colder growing climate, so I thought I would share my own findings here on this site. The name is ‘June Fever’.and because of the sun and heat the leaves turned brown a bit and it lost it’ nice lime color.Should I leave it where it is or move it the shade at the back of the house.Also, could you please recommend another hosta for this area and one that doesn’t grow really huge,Thanks,Sharon. These hostas usually have a touch of Hosta plantaginea in their family tree. I created this website specifically for zone 4 Northern gardeners that need help finding perennials specific to their growing area. The foliage is thick with a cupped shape, and lavender flowers bloom in the summer. Taught to read and write as a child, which was particularly unusual for young girls at the time, she was known for her beauty and joined the royal court as a concubine to Emperor Taizong as a young teenager. Lancifolia have a nice floral display late in the season and long narrow green leaves. I had a question asked to me about using the old green Lancifolia for a border. I’d much prefer to guard my garden with more peaceful sentries, ones with heart-shaped, gently cupped green leaves bordered in white. This cultivar reaches 18-24 inches in height at maturity with a spread of 24 inches, and a quick growth rate. COPYRIGHT © 2020 ASK THE EXPERTS LLC. They carry plenty of historical significance with them as well, in name at least! The best combinations feature hostas different enough to be interesting yet similar enough to look like they belong together. I have been asked many times about some of my perennial beds that have one variety of Hosta planted as a border … A couple of inches of organic mulch, such as small bark … With a height and spread on the smaller side of the scale, this type will reach 16-18 inches in height at maturity, with a spread of 12-16 inches. It is elegant looking with the large blueish leaves. Pixie Vamp - My Favorite Of All. The soil is clay. The Hosta  in the border is called Dew Drop that is a tiny little thing, with a very narrow white edge on small green leaves that will mound up in the center as they grow. Instead, plant a few of these and you can gaze off into the middle distance while the spiky blue-green edged, creamy yellow leaves of ‘Magic Island’ wave in the breeze. These colors become more vibrant… The foliage fades to yellow in the fall. Plants like hostas will … 12 Perfect Plants for East Facing Borders Garden Design Containers Garden Tips Plant Perfect Edibles Life & Style View All While some plants love and need full sun and others require deep shade, many more blur these distinctive requirements by doing their best … The above picture has a border of Dew Drop that goes around to the house. Live plants or bare roots ready for planting are available from Burpee. They can also intertwine between other Hostas too. Many hostas with fragrant flowers fall into the sun tolerant hostas group. Want to run away to a magic island? You’ll have to be the judge when you purchase this one for your own garden. This is a pretty thorough compendium, but if you have a big enough garden, you don’t have to choose just one type like my grandparents did. They are not so blue in full sun however. White Feather – small-sized Hosta … This picture was taken at the end of June, 2015, and by the end of August, the plants had grown much more. The photo below has a border of Vanilla Cream entwining through and contrasting with the darker greens in the bed, and Blue Mouse Ears in center front which is filling out real nice, and Touch of Class on the right edge of this bed. Spring Is In The Air…But Stay Out Of The Flowerbeds! The ones on the south bank of the sign do burn somewhat, but not so much that I would take them out. If you live in a growing zone that they like to call home, don’t you think it’s about time that you pick out the perfect shaded spot and plant a few? That’s per plant. Williams once discovered a variety that she thought was particularly special at a nursery in Connecticut in 1936. With thick, spear-shaped, textured leaves that are purportedly slug resistant, pale lavender flowers known to attract hummingbirds, and a mounding shape reminiscent of a spilling fountain, Nature Hills Nursery claims this is “one of the best hostas available.”. I created this website specifically for zone 4 Northern gardeners that need help finding perennials specific to their growing area. by bluegrassmom: May 9, 2017 3:26 PM: 16: Daily Hosta #122 - 'Pixie Vamp' by ViolaAnn: Mar 26, 2017 2:55 PM: 2: And yet more from Ottawa, ON in May: G-L by ViolaAnn: May 22, 2015 9:49 PM: 6: A few from Ottawa, ON in May: A-C by ViolaAnn: May 18, 2015 9:23 AM: 3: Essential and recommended hostas… This plant grows slowly and is best suited to Zones 3-9, perfect for filling in a large empty space in your garden. I have always admired beds that have hostas as borders! Most hostas do well in full to partial shade, and they’re not suited to hotter areas of the US. Buy Hostas direct from the grower / breeder...Best Hosta Nursery in the US. Hosta ‘Fire and Ice’ ©Sunshine – stock.adobe.com. Hi Judi, This is one cultivar that I can’t say with certainty that I ever recall seeing in person (I’ve known a lot of hostas in my day, but I’m bad with names, and they have a tendency to mumble). These small Hostas are between 8″ and 14″ tall and are the perfect size for containers, raised beds and the front of the border. Easy-to-grow, these attractive shade loving plants include flamboyant Tiger Lilies (Lilium lancifolium), the brilliant crimson … A sport of ‘Elegans,’ this is one of the best-known hosta cultivars. Paradigm Hosta has bright chartreuse streaked foliage with rich blue green margins. I have grown them in almost full sun and they had very little burning. 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