Pilchuck Pollinator

Thus, the amount and type of shade and the geographical area will affect the selection, placement and performance of hostas, something that is not sufficiently recognized by many gardeners and garden designers. In general, yellow or gold-leaved hostas need some sun to develop their brightest coloring. It is frequently stated that a yellow hosta will brighten up a dark spot. This is true, but they often don't do well in such locations, finding them too shady.

The blue coloring of some hosta leaves, called pruinose or glaucous--given by a waxy, silvery coating that develops in the spring--will last longer if the plants are grown in light shade. It will also last longer in the North (because of the cooler weather) than in the South.

In general, green-leaved hostas can take a fair amount of sunlight, although in too much direct sun leaf coloring will be dulled considerably. For any hosta, too much sun, combined with lack of water, will scorch the leaves, especially in July and August.

The more sun, the more profuse the flowering. It comes as a surprise to many gardeners that there are several hostas with outstanding fragrance. H. plantaginea and the double-flowered H. p. 'Aphrodite', considered by many to have the most beautiful hosta flower, need considerable sun (and also hot weather and plenty of water) to bloom well. Their flowers are pure white with long trumpets. On the other hand, H. 'Royal Standard', with smaller, white, fragrant flowers, blooms well in fairly shady sites in both the North and South.

For variegated-leaf hostas, placement will depend on the most dominant leaf color, usually the centre coloring. H. 'Gold Standard', with a dark green border, needs sunlight in mid-season to have its chartreuse centre change to a handsome parchment gold. In a very shady site, it becomes just a yellowish-green; given too much sun, the centre turns first to a gold and then to a light creamy white or even a near white, a less attractive color in my opinion than the parchment gold.

H. 'June', the popular British hosta with a blue-green border, should not be grown in a very shady location. It needs considerable sun in early season to develop its brightly colored yellow centre, and good sunlight throughout the season to help retain it.

The green-edged H. 'On Stage' also needs bright sunlight to develop and retain its yellow centre. In the South, for example Raleigh, North Carolina, this is morning sun. Further north, near Philadelphia, where I live, strong afternoon sun is required and almost all-day sun is better, provided it is kept well watered.

The axiom is: experiment in placing your hostas. If one doesn't do well in a certain location, move it to another, or replace it with a different variety. Do not be too categorical about placing a specific hosta in a specific location.

One point to bear in mind is that if your shade is from trees, the amount of shade will become more dense over the years and your hostas will not be as luxuriant; they may even decrease in size each year. Another is that some trees have greedy surface roots and will compete with the hostas for water and nutrients. Hostas don't like such competition, so if possible, plant your hostas far enough away from trees to avoid this problem.