Hostas are wonderful herbaceous perennials that thrive in morning sun and dappled shade.
They prefer moist, slightly acidic, organically rich, well-drained soils.
Once established, they can tolerate dry shade for short periods of time.
Like most herbaceous perennials, the foliage dies back during the cold winter months, but new leaves emerge as soon as temperatures begin to warm in the spring.
The colorful leaves form mounding clumps as they emerge from the soil.
A hosta’s range greatly in size, from dwarf cultivars that grow less than 4 inches tall to miniature cultivars that reach 4–6 inches tall, medium cultivars that grow 6–10 inches tall, large cultivars that reach 18–28 inches tall, and giant cultivars that can grow more than 28 inches tall.
Dwarf and miniature hosta thrive in small gardens and are excellent for borders, edging, and rock gardens.
Small and medium-sized hosta make excellent ground covers, while large and giant hosta add depth, texture, and dramatic foliage to the shade garden.
Each cultivar can have distinctly colored leaves, including green, blue, gold, medio-variegated foliage with dark margins and lighter centers, or marginally variegated foliage with light margins surrounding darker centers.
The leaves also vary in shape and may be heart-shaped, rounded, narrow and oval with a pointed tip, or broadly oval.
Leaf margins can be smooth or wavy, while the texture may be waxy, smooth, glossy, or heavily textured.
All Hosta leaves have parallel veins, which can also vary in color from green and yellow to reddish purple.
Some popular cultivars include “Blue Mouse Ears,” a small Hosta that grows only about 8 inches tall and 19 inches wide.
It has blue green, slightly cupped, rounded leaves and produces pale purple flowers.
“Blue Cadet” is a medium-sized Hosta with rounded, heart-shaped blue-green to dark green leaves and lavender flowers.
“Bressingham Blue” has large blue foliage with a waxy coating on oval-shaped leaves that taper to a sharp point, along with fragrant white, bell-shaped flowers.
“Gold Standard” has large oval leaves that taper to a sharp point, with dark green edges surrounding yellow-gold centers.
It produces fragrant, pale lavender flowers on stems that can reach 30 inches tall.
“Patriot”’ has dark green leaves surrounded by an extra-wide creamy yellow margin that matures to pure white.
It also produces light lavender flowers on stems approximately 30 inches tall.
“Wide Brim” is a medium-sized Hosta with broad, oval, dark green, quilted leaves surrounded by wide, irregular, creamy white margins that may sometimes have a yellow tint.
Its flowers are pale lavender.
During the summer, hosta provide even more color when their fragrant, bell-shaped flowers emerge.
Flower colors can range from white to lavender and purple.
When in bloom, hosta can attract hummingbirds, butterflies, native bees, and other pollinators.
Although many gardeners, including myself, are not happy when it happens, both deer and rabbits are also attracted to the colorful foliage as a source of food.
Despite this challenge, the tremendous variety of leaf colors, sizes, shapes, and textures makes hosta an outstanding addition to almost any shade garden.
(Editor’s Note: Ginny Rosenkranz is a commercial horticulture specialist with the University of Maryland Extension.)