Hosta
Made for the Shade.

Everything you need to know about the hardy, low maintenance plants that thrive where the sun doesn't shine.

No matter how many times you try, there are some places where grass just won't grow. Like the shady spots under mature trees. Or the damp, dark corner in the back of the yard.

Where growing conditions don't favor lush strands of grass, trade your rake and grass seed for a spade and a few pots of hostas. These no-fail, no-fuss perennials skirt the dirt beneath trees with complete ease. All you have to do is plant them, water them until they're established and forget about them. It's really that easy.

The one major difference between hostas and lawn is that you can't walk on hostas. Other than that, these sturdy plants stand up to just about anything. Different leaf colors, sizes and shapes make blending and designing hosta gardens fun for the most discriminating eye. Some hostas are so bright they unfurl living pools of light in the shade. Other hostas boast large, stunningly fragrant flowers.

Play with Color

Hostas grow in neat, attractive clumps. Their heart-shaped leaves are perfect for mass plantings. Green hostas have long been taken for granted, but be sure to explore the many leaf hues and shading available.

Blue hostas add an interesting new tone to shaded planting beds. Look for 'Blue Blush,' 'Hadspen Blue' or ' Halcyon.' Hostas can unfurl bright yellow leaves, too, as in 'Golden Prayers,' 'Lemon Lime' and 'Zounds.'

You've probably seen variegated green and white varieties, but even this well-known color combo has been vastly improved with such stunners as 'Patriot' and 'Minuteman.' If these dynamic-hue duos catch your eye, you can choose other twin-toned varieties: 'Great Expectations' (blue edge leaves centered in clear, bright yellow) or 'June' (a wondrous wash of blue, blue gray, yellow and yellow green). It may be a mouthful to say, but hosta 'Tokudama Aureonebulosa' unfurls leaves brushed with sumptuous swirls of dark blues to light greens.

From Large to Small

If color isn't your garden design focus, try gathering a collection of oversized hostas with tremendously large leaves that create a decidedly tropical look. 'Sum and Substance' is a widely available garden stalwart with puckered 20-inch leaves. It's not unusual for the chartreuse behemoth to achieve a 4-foot spread. Less widely known is the slightly larger 'Solar Flare,' whose mammoth leaves unfold in a striking bold gold.

Several hostas with small, slender leaves can be equally impressive. 'Kabitan,' which tops out at 8 inches max, almost glows with bright yellow leaves. 'Vera Verde,' even shorter but a tad wider, sports olive-green leaves edged in cream.

Savor the Scents

For a fragrant showstopper, set your sites on Hosta plantaginea. It bears large white flowers on a plant that can take the sun. To stage an even showier display of sweetly perfumed blooms, seek out the 'Aphrodite' or ' Venus' cultivars, which have double-petaled flowers. Each flower stalk is almost a bouquet in itself.

In late summer or early autumn, when H. plantaginea flowers are at their peak, go for a stroll through your new hosta garden. Since you won't have to spend that time of year reseeding the grass under all your trees, you'll have more free time to enjoy the yard.

Hosta Planting Tips

Planting hostas is just about as easy as growing them. You don't need to be a master gardener to tuck these perennials into a planting bed. Follow our advice and your hosta garden will soon be in the ground and growing in no time.

Dig a hole about twice as wide as the plant pot and set aside that dirt in a wheelbarrow or on a plastic tarp. Check the depth of the planting hole from time to time as you dig by placing the potted hosta in the hole. You want the soil level in the pot to match the soil level of your yard.

When you've reached the appropriate depth, place your hand palm down on the potted soil, with fingers spread around the spot where the plant emerges. Turn the pot upside down; the plant should fall into your hands. If the hosta refuses to slide from its pot, push the middle of the container bottom with your thumb or tap the pot against your hand.

Check the root ball to make sure the plant hasn't spent too long in the pot. When that happens, roots grow around in the container, and the plant can eventually strangle itself. If the hosta is pot-bound, tease the ends of roots away from the root ball, or just slice into the root mass with your pruning shears three or four times.

Rest the hosta in the hole and replace the dirt you just removed. Tamp the soil down gently. When you're done planting, don't forget to mulch and water.

Surround your hosta bed with brick, pavers or stone set at soil level to create a mowing strip that minimizes trimming. With this mowing strip, you won't need to take three or four passes around the tree with your mower and risk nicking the trunk. Instead, set your mower or lawn tractor's inside wheels on the hard surface as you mow around your hosta bed. You'll never have to clip or edge the lawn.