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Growing Hostas. Why ?

© Kenneth Joergensen

Hostas are plants which grow from a perennial root system and which forms round clumps of leaves which comes directly out of the ground (from the crown of the plant).

They have in recent years become extremely popular because they are very easy to grow, they are very shade tolerant, and they will grow where other plants languish. While most will flower and some have fragrance, they are typically grown for their foliage.

What is the point ?
When I first got interested in gardening, I frankly did not understand what the great fuss was all about? After all, what is the attraction of "foliage plants" with no flowers? I have always loved flowers and having to grow "green plants" because of shade was not an exciting proposition. Would I have to give up the view of waves of color and the opportunity to take in the sweet fragrance adored by man and bees a like?

The truth is that hostas do have color and fragrance, like a sunny flower garden, manifested in another but no less impressive way. For all you flower lovers out there: don't despair. You will have to take a stroll in a hosta garden to fully understand, but once you do, you will be hooked. Try to take a walk through your local botanical garden in spring and keep and eye out for the hostas. I can almost assure you that they will be there.

The color of shade
Hostas comes in sizes from dwarfs (a few inches wide) to Very Large (6-8 feet wide). It can take a young hosta 3-6 years to mature and attain its round, full appearence. A newly planted hosta garden often looks better in its second and third years and beyond.

Hostas have different sizes and grow habits. Most leaves are heart shaped and form a symmetrical round clump, but some hosta plants produce wider clumps whereas others will be taller than they are wide (vase-shaped). You can also find lance shaped leaves and even twisting leaves. Some leaves are puckered which gives them great textures when viewed from a distance.

The real difference is in the color schemes. Yes color!!!. Hostas will have various shades of solid colors ranging from green, gold to yellow. There are also "blue" hostas (actually green hostas with a blue wax coating). The most interesting hostas are those with variegated leaf coloring with some combination of lighter and darker shades of the above colors in the leaves. "Medio variegated" leaves have a darker colors on the outside, and "Marginally variegated" leaves have a band of lighter colors along the edge of the leaves.

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