Hostas

These perennials come in a great range of colours and sizes, with everything from glaucous blue, to forest green, to yellow tonings and lots of different varigations/leaf markings. Many of the hostas available in our country today have stemmed from the U.S.A. which has a real fascination for the hosta family. Breeders are continually trying to come up with some new hosta leaf shape or foliage colour markings. If you follow a few basic steps,then hostas are one of the easiest perennials to grow.

1. Put slug bait on the soil in close proximity to the plants BEFORE they emerge from the ground.
2. Most varieties prefer to have light shade, especially over the hot summer months,to protect the foliage from sunburn.
3. Keep the soil/roots moist over the Jan/Feb time of year, even a good water once a week would be very beneficial. A good layer of garden mulch over the top of the roots is certainly worthwhile if your soil is subject to drying out.
4. If you haven't already, get out there now and give them a feed of slow release fertiliser - this will help give more vigour to the plant which in turn will give you a better display of foliage and flowers.