Common Name : Hosta

Latin Name : Hosta

Description : Hosta are popular, and they will just get more popular as people discover the tremendous variety of hostas available, as well as the ease with which they can be grown.

There are hundreds of hostas on the market. There are hosta societies. The University of Minnesota Arboretum has a hosta glade which contains over three hundred varieties of hosta, ranching from ones which reach only two inches in height to some which exceed four feet. Leaves can be green, blue, yellow, even gray. Some are bred for the scent of the blooms, which can rival orange blossoms in sweetness.

To the more subtle eye, the shape of the hosta leaves, the habit of its growth and the pattern of the veins on the leaves all are of interest. Once you are hooked on hostas, plan on a lifetime addiction. But one doesn’t have to be hooked on hostas to find them useful in the landscape. Any shady spot is a candidate for a bed of hostas.

Hosta are a favorite meal for slugs, which are especially a problem in the smooth clay soil of the Red River Valley. To prevent the destruction of hosta leaves as the season progresses, spread slug bait on the ground underneath your hosta. An organic solution: Bury empty tuna fish cans even with the ground level and fill them with beer. The slugs will be drawn into the beer and drown, a sobering lesson for us all.

Divide hosta almost any time except for June, when their leaves are most fresh.