Hostas

Hosta's, Americas favorite shade loving plant. These plants are very carefree and once established they will rarely need you. You may think they all 'look alike,' until you see them together. The leaves in the above photo would be considered 'puckered.'  There have been some recent introductions that are more sun tolerant.

 The hosta above is Krossa Regal. A very blue hosta with what is called a 'vase' or upright shape. This plant can up to 40" tall, very large. These leaves are great in bouquets for fillers. The leaves will last a week or more in a vase. Blue hostas that are located in too much sun, can appear scorched and more green in color.

Hostas have a range of sizes from tiny plants called "Mouse Ears" to large plants that are 4' tall. Their leaves can be striped, multi-colored, yellowish or blue. 

The stems of hosta flowers are called 'scapes.' Often, plants will list the foliage height & the scape height. It is not unusual for the scapes to be 1-2 feet or more taller then the foliage base. Many flowers are very fragrant, including 'Fragrant Bouquet' which is one of the hosta Earthworks grows. Flowers are great in bouquets, but try to pick when they just starting to open. Once the flowers are 'spent,' (wore out & dead!) you can safely cut the stem back anytime of year. The flowers are white or some shade of lavendar. Even though  they can have broad leaves, they are not a 'broad leaved plant,' but actually are a grass plant - related to the lily. Several years ago, I did a 2 day internship at Shady Oaks Hosta Nursery in Waseca. I got to spend 2 lab days learning about tissue culture and cutting up tiny plants. At the time, in order to introduce a new hosta, the differences had to be noticeable with the naked eye from 9 feet away. Interesting standard!
Care of hostas: they love cool shady and moist soil. Keep in mind if planting under trees, the tree hogs most of the water, so watering 1-2" a week would be helpful. Slugs are the biggest insect issue. If you have long rippy holes - that is the work of slugs. The BEST remedy: slugs are out and about 30 mintues after dark. Take a flashlight and a salt shaker into the hosta bed, and when you see the slugs, sprinkle with salt and they almost disappear before your eyes. Gotcha.