Year of the Hosta

Hosta are the most popular and well-recognized perennial in North America.
Hostas are among the most popular and recognizable perennials in North America. Hosta plants are grown for their fantastic foliage in shady spots, with tens of thousands of varieties in a wide range of colors, shapes and sizes. Here’s what to know about types of hostas, popular varieties, and how to grow hostas.

Types of Hostas: Colors, Variegation and Sizes

Most Hostas on the market today are complex crosses of multiple species. These crosses are best recognized by size and color. Savvy gardeners may recognize species of hosta like sieboldiana, H. elegans, or H. montana, but most Hosta varieties on the market are complex hybrids of two or more species.

Hosta leaf variegation terminology. Medio-variegation is variegation in the center of the leaf. Marginal variegation is variegation on the edge of the leaf. Hostas are one of the few plants where it is common to have both.

Hosta Colors and Variegation

The American Hosta Society identifies five major color categories:

• Green
• Blue
• Gold
• Medio-variegated (light center, dark margin)
• Marginal Variegated (dark center, light margin)

Hosta Sizes: Mini to Giant

Hostas are also classified into five defined sizes:

• Mini (less than 6” tall)
• Small (7-10” tall)
• Medium (11-18” tall)
• Large (19-28” tall)
• Giant (More than 28” tall)

Popular Hosta Varieties

Diamond Lake – This large blue Hosta has a thick waxy coating and excellent slug resistance. It is among the best for holding its blue coloration late into summer.

Miss America – A large variety of multiple shades of green. Medium green margins jet into cream centers with light green streaking. Near white flowers are held high above the foliage on five-foot flowerscapes.

Empress Wu – This giant green variety is among the largest Hostas currently available. Leaves are individually giant to match the size of the plant. Use this variety as a space filler in the landscape.

Blue Mouse Ears – This mini blue variety is one of the best-known mini Hostas. Vigorous despite its small size, this variety is perfect for use along the front of the border. Lavender flowers are proportionate to the size of the plant.

Brother Stefan – A nicely variegated large hosta known for its crinkled leaf texture. Heavily puckered leaves have apple-green margins and chartreuse centers.

Touch of Class – The first tetraploid elevation of a Hosta, with added vigor compared to diploid varieties. ‘Touch of Class’ impresses with intense blue leaves and chartreuse centers.

Dancing Queen – One of the most popular large gold varieties, emerging yellow from the start in spring.

Silly String – This unique hosta has narrow blue leaves with intensely wavy margins. Pale purple flowers top the plant for a perfect package. Great for containers or the front of the shade garden.

How to Grow and Care for Hosta Plants

Hosta are among the easiest perennials to put in your garden. They are durable, long-lived, and generally maintenance-free.

1. Do Hostas Need Shade? Choosing the Right Location

   • Hostas can be planted in most shady spaces in the garden.
   • Placing in the morning sun or dappled shade will usually bring out the most intense foliage colors without causing leaf burn.
   • Gardeners in southern zones will want to make sure they are placing their hosta in full shade.
   • Growers in northern zones may find that some hosta, such as ‘Guacamole’, ‘Paradigm’, or ‘Guardian Angel’ are capable of being grown in full sun with adequate moisture.

2. Best Soil for Hosta Plants

   • High soil fertility certainly helps Hosta grow bigger, and faster, but is not ultimately necessary to have beautiful specimens. Plant in fertile soils or compost for the largest, fastest-growing plants.
   • Hosta can grow in a variety of soils, from loose sand to heavy clay. In sandier soils, plants will need more frequent watering. Poor and sandy soils can be amended with compost or organic matter to increase fertility.

3. Hosta Leaf Color and Flowers

   • Hosta have traditionally been selected as a foliage plant first, with flowers as an afterthought. Flowers can be trimmed from the plant at any time without harming it.
   • The blue color on Hostas is actually from a waxy coating called blum. This coating develops as the plant emerges in spring and fades through the summer. Rain will wash the blum off and cause blue hostas to go green faster, as will direct sun exposure which melts the wax off. To keep your hostas blue, plant them in partial shade and avoid overhead watering. This wax coating provides additional protection from burning under the sun.
   • Gold hostas gain the most intense color when best planted in filtered shade or morning sun. Planting in deep shade will result in more chartreuse or green color, planting in full sun will typically cause leaf scorch.
   • Some Hosta varieties have been selected for unique, floriferous, or fragrant flowerscapes. A few examples are ‘Silly String’, ‘Royal Standard’, ‘Royal Wedding’, ‘Time in a Bottle’, and ‘Wrinkle in Time’.
   • Hosta flowers are attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees.

4. Protecting Hostas from Deer

   • The primary detractor for Hosta is they tend to be a highly desired food source for deer, particularly when they are emerging in spring.
   • If deer are an issue in your neighborhood, sitting them near entryways to the house, within a fenced or obstructed enclosure, or behind deer tape may be necessary for them to thrive.

5. How to Keep Slugs Off Hostas

   • Slugs tend to overwinter in hosta foliage. If you have a slug problem, cutting them back in the fall can help reduce slug damage.
   • Bait for slugs in spring as the foliage is emerging to prevent leaf damage later in the year.
   • Hostas with thicker or crinkled leaves tend to be more resistant to slug damage

6. Dividing Hostas: The “Friendship Plant”

   • Hostas can be easily divided and shared with friends.
   • Digging them up and dividing them every 5-10 years will also improve the vigor of the main plant.

Hosta FAQs

Unveiling the Secrets of Hostas: Ask the Experts Webinar Recording

Learn more about Hostas

• Hosta Roots Planting Guide by Eden Brothers
• Growing Guide: How to Grow Hostas by Dutch Grown
• Hosta Pictures by National Garden Bureau
• Understanding Shade: How to Create the Ultimate Shade Garden by National Garden Bureau
• Quick and Easy Summer Shade Containers 1-2-3 by National Garden Bureau
• Lovely Leaves: Using Fabulous Foliage Plants by National Garden Bureau

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The National Garden Bureau recognizes and thanks the human experts at Walters Gardens, Inc., an NGB member, as the author and contributor to this fact sheet. 

This fact sheet is provided as an educational service of the National Garden Bureau. There are no limitations on the use. Please credit National Garden Bureau, and link to this page, when using all or parts of this article or referencing the Year of the program.

Each state in the U.S. has its own list of invasive species. Before trying a new plant in your garden, refer to the USDA’s National Invasive Species Information website or check with local agencies such as an Extension specialist.

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