Ornamental · Asparagaceae
Hosta
Hosta
Give it shade, steady moisture, and rich soil, and this forgiving plant rewards you with bold leaves that come back fuller every year.
Partial shade
Every 3–7 days
USDA 3–9
0–3 ft · 0.1–0.9 m
Overview
If you are nervous about your first hosta, you can relax, because this is one of the most forgiving plants in the shade garden, grown for its leaves far more than its blooms. Each spring it pushes up as tight little spears, then opens into broad mounds of foliage in greens, blues, golds, and neat white-edged patterns. As tough, long-lived perennials, hostas settle in happily across much of the country and ask remarkably little of you once they are rooted.
There is a hosta for every spot, and the range of sizes is part of the fun. A miniature may hold at just 4 inches (10 cm) tall while a giant spreads a full 4 feet (122 cm) across, so you can edge a bed with one and fill a whole shady corner with another. Come summer they raise tall scapes of pale, sometimes fragrant flowers, but the real reason to grow them is those bold, layered leaves that carry the display all season long.
Their only real wish is shade and steady moisture, and both are easy to give. Set them in rich, damp soil away from harsh afternoon sun, and they will thrive for years with almost no fuss from you. The two things to keep a gentle eye on are slugs, which chew the leaves ragged, and a crown that can rot in soggy ground, and both are easy to head off once you know to look.
Care
The short version: give your hosta filtered or dappled shade, rich soil kept evenly moist with about an inch of water a week, and a comfortable mulch to hold that moisture in, just keeping it clear of the crown.
Light
Aim to give your hosta filtered or dappled shade rather than full sun or deep gloom. Gold and yellow types enjoy a touch of morning sun to bring out their color, while blue-leaved kinds need the deepest shade to hold their hue and stay free of scorch.
Water
Offer about an inch of water a week, poured deep and even, keeping the soil moist but never waterlogged. A 2 to 4 inch (5 to 10 cm) layer of mulch locks that moisture in and saves you a good deal of watering through dry spells.
Soil
Settle your hosta into rich, well-drained soil full of organic matter, since it drinks up moisture and nutrients happily. Any pH from 6.0 to 7.5 suits it just fine, so most garden ground will do once you work in a little compost.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor air is all your hosta needs, so there is no number to fret over. What counts more is gentle airflow around crowded clumps, which keeps the leaves drier and holds back the pests and rots that lurk in stale, damp corners.
Feeding
A balanced garden fertilizer in spring as the leaves unfurl is plenty for most hostas, and only when a soil test says they want it. Stop feeding by late July so the plant can settle down and keep its winter hardiness.
Pruning
Snip the spent flower scapes away once the blooms fade, and tidy back yellowed foliage in late fall or early spring. Clearing off those dead leaves is a two-for-one, since it also removes the damp cover slugs like to hide beneath.
Size & spacing
Grown plants range from 4 to 36 inches (10 to 91 cm) tall and spread 6 to 48 inches (15 to 122 cm) across, all depending on the type. Space each one to match its eventual width, and the mounds will fill in beautifully without crowding.
When to plant
Hostas are hardy perennials that return on their own each year, so timing is really about getting them settled rather than racing toward a harvest. Set new plants out in spring once the soil warms and the growing tips appear, or in early fall, and enjoy watching the flower scapes rise above the leaves through summer.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: Seed is not recommended as cultivars do not come true; not typically started indoors
- Plant: Spring after the soil warms and growing tips emerge, or early fall
- Harvest: Flowers in summer on tall scapes above the foliage
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–9
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
Most of what troubles a hosta shows up right on the leaves, whether something is chewing them or the sun is scorching them, and a few problems reach a little deeper to the crown. Look for what matches below and step in early, and you will almost always turn a small blemish back into a healthy plant.
A wilting plant with yellowing leaves and a soft, mushy base
A soft, darkened crown is the plant telling you it has crown and root rot, which takes hold when the base stays wet or gets smothered under piled mulch. It follows soggy ground and mulch mounded against the stem. In spring, gently rake that extra mulch away, improve how the water drains, and lift out any plant that is already collapsing, because a rotted crown cannot be nursed back. The good news is that the fix is simple, and drier footing keeps the rest of your hostas safe.
Fix:
- Remove excess mulch from around the crown in spring
- Improve drainage
- Remove and destroy badly affected plants
Brown wedges of dead tissue boxed in by the leaf veins
When dead patches sit in neat brown streaks fenced in by the veins, you are looking at foliar nematodes, tiny worms that travel through a film of water on wet leaves. The browning stops short right at each vein, which gives the leaf its banded, striped look by mid to late season. Pick off and destroy the affected leaves, water down at the base so you are not carrying the pest from leaf to leaf, and lift out any plant that is truly overrun. None of this is your fault, and clean plants next time keep it from returning.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infested leaves
- Avoid overhead watering that spreads nematodes
- Remove and discard severely infested plants
Ragged holes low on the leaves, with a telltale silvery trail
Take heart, because those chewed leaves and shiny trails just mean slugs and snails have found your plant, and you can handle them. Step out after dark, lift them off by hand, and drop them into a little soapy water, or set a shallow trap or two to empty each morning. A ring of copper keeps them at bay, and easing the mulch back from the crown removes the cool, damp corner they love to shelter in.
Fix:
- Hand-pick at night and drown in soapy water
- Set traps and remove slugs each morning
- Use copper barriers to deter slugs
- Pull mulch back from the crown
Brown, scorched patches where the sun hits hardest
Those brown, crisp patches are simply sunscald, a sign the leaves are getting more direct sun or less water than they would like. You will notice it most on the side that faces the sun through a hot, dry stretch, and it is easy to put right. Ease the plant into cooler shade, water a bit more when the heat climbs, and lay down mulch to keep the soil damp. Blue-leaved kinds are the fussiest here and will thank you for an especially shady home.
Fix:
- Move or transplant the hosta to a shadier location
- Increase watering during heat
- Mulch to retain soil moisture
Toxicity
It helps to know that hostas are toxic to animals. Every part carries a natural compound called saponins, and the ASPCA lists the plant as poisonous to cats, dogs, and horses. You come to no harm growing or handling it yourself, so the simple care is to keep the leaves and trimmings well away from pets and grazing animals.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Mild
If a cat takes a nibble, you can expect some drooling, then vomiting, with loose stools and a quiet, tired mood settling in afterward.
Dogs Mild
A dog that chews the foliage tends to get an upset tummy, so watch for vomiting, diarrhea, and a bit less pep than usual for a day or so.
Horses Mild
In a grazing horse the saponins bring on stomach upset, softer droppings, and a dull, low mood that should pass with rest.
Rabbits Toxic
Those same saponins make the leaves a bad snack for rabbits, upsetting their digestion and leaving them sluggish, so it helps to keep the plant out of their reach.
Livestock Toxic
Goats, sheep, and cattle that browse the leaves can end up with digestive trouble from the saponins, so a fence between them and your plantings is the kind thing to do.
Birds Caution
Birds rarely bother with hosta, but since every part carries saponins, it is safest to gently steer a curious pet bird away from picking at it.
People Low
No part is meant to be eaten, and the saponins make it a poor thing to chew, though you can handle and plant it with no worry. The real care goes to keeping pets and grazing animals from the leaves.
No special skin handling precautions are required for people, but keep plants and trimmings away from pets and grazing animals.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
United Kingdom
Animal PoisonLine: 01202 509000 (fee applies)
Australia
Animal Poisons Helpline: 1300 869 738
Varieties
There are thousands of hostas out there, which can feel overwhelming, but a handful of classics show up again and again for their size, color, or markings. These are the friendly few worth learning by name.
Sum and Substance
This is one of the biggest hostas you can grow, carrying enormous chartreuse-gold leaves that shrug off more sun than most of its cousins.
Halcyon
Its heart-shaped blue-gray leaves keep their soft color best when you tuck it into a deeper, shadier spot.
Blue Mouse Ears
A charming little miniature whose thick, rounded blue-green leaves really do look like tiny mouse ears.
Patriot
Its dark green leaves come edged in wide, crisp white margins that light up a shady bed with clean contrast.
How to propagate
Hostas are a joy to multiply, and happily there is just one reliable method to learn: lift a settled clump and split it into brand new plants.
DivisionEasy
Early spring as the eyes or growing tips emerge (can also divide in early fall) · One to two growing seasons to fill back in
Making more hostas is wonderfully simple, and division is the way to do it, best done in early spring as the eyes push up, though early fall is fine too. Lift the whole clump, then cut it into sections, taking care that each piece keeps a few growing tips and a fair share of roots before you replant it at the same depth and water it in well. Be patient and give the new divisions one to two growing seasons to fill back out into full, handsome clumps.
Myths
Hostas need full shade and will not grow where any sun reaches them.
Rest easy, because most hostas simply want filtered or dappled light, not total darkness. Gold and yellow types actually welcome 2 to 3 hours of morning sun to bring their color forward, and it is only the blue-leaved ones that truly ask for the deepest shade.
Hostas are completely harmless to pets.
Sadly this one is not true, since every part of a hosta holds saponins and the ASPCA lists it as toxic to cats, dogs, and horses. A pet that eats a bit may end up vomiting, with diarrhea and a low, subdued mood, so it is worth keeping curious animals away.