Tips > Spencer's Tips Tip: All Building A New Lawn General Lawn Aerating Lawn Bugs & Weeds Lawn Construction Overview Lawn Dethatcing Lawn Fertilizing Lawn Liming Lawn Maintenance Overview Lawn Mowing Lawn Overseeding Lawn Soil Test Our Secret to Success Refurbishing Your Lawn Roses Spencer's Tips Tomato Varieties Fact Sheet #: #2 Hostas Hosta is one of the most popular of the shade perennials. This no-care plant is most known for the beautiful foliage from spring until frost. Hostas comes in all sizes: from tiny to huge, many colors, and designs of the leaves. Hostas have shiny leaves, wavy edges, strong veins, smooth edges to their leaves. They come in solid colors, or combined colors of green, gold, yellow, white, and blue. The leaves can be lance-shaped, heart-shaped, and round and broad. The lily-like flower blooms in mid-summer and rises above the foliage. They range in size from 6” tall to 30” tall. Most Hostas are susceptible to slug damage and also from deer. Hostas prefers moist, fertile soil in full to partial shade. Most prefer light shade to get strong color from the leaves. Hostas are slow to emerge in the spring, because of the shaded areas where they grow. They work well with ferns, Solomon’s Seal, and Meadow Rue. Can be planted as accent plants, groundcovers, and at the front or edge of the garden. They look good planted in odd numbers, especially groups of three. Hostas can be divided in the early spring before the buds appear or late fall. They don’t like to be disturbed as they are a slow growing plant. If you do wish to start another Hosta, do your cutting in the spring. Take a shovel, and cut out a pie-shaped wedge from the center out to the edge of the rootball. Transplant this piece into a new plant. The original plant and leaves will spread out to cover the hole. Grows Zones 3-8. Frances Williams is a showy Hosta that has large, blue-green leaves with greenish margins. The leaves are heart-shaped. It has pale lavender flowers in the summer. Grows 12-18” tall and grows 36” wide. Sum and Substance is one of the larger Hosta. It grows 24-30” tall and wide. Has huge, chartreuse, golden leaves with a quilted texture. The leaves can grow 9” across. Produces lavender flowers in the summer. Sum and Substance needs some sun for good golden color in the leaves. Product: All Building A New Lawn General Lawn Aerating Lawn Bugs & Weeds Lawn Construction Overview Lawn Dethatcing Lawn Fertilizing Lawn Liming Lawn Maintenance Overview Lawn Mowing Lawn Overseeding Lawn Soil Test Our Secret to Success Refurbishing Your Lawn Roses Spencer's Tips Tomato Varieties Pond In Summer Pond In Fall Rock Garden 5 Ohio Road, Shelburne, Nova Scotia, B0T 1W0 Tel: 1-877-870-3055 | 902-875-3055 | Fax: 902-875-3023 info@novascotiagardening.com