The hosta is a perennial herbaceous plant often used in landscape design today. Experts appreciate it for its adaptability to the landing site, disease resistance, unpretentious care, and high decorativeness. An adult bush in one place can grow up to 25 years without a transplant, while maintaining a rich color and leaf size.
This plant thrives in shady areas where other crops are uncomfortable. The International Registry today lists over 4,000 host species. And this is not the limit. Breeders annually add new names to the list. In this article we will tell you about this plant, how to grow a hosta from seeds at home, what kind of care it requires. The photos presented in the material will help you choose the type and variety that is suitable for your site.
Description of the hosta
Stemless herbaceous perennials belong to the asparagus family. The plant was named after the famous botanist from Austria - N. Host. It also hasone, less common name is function. The genus Khosta is represented by numerous species and varieties. The height of most of them ranges from 50cm to 1.20m.
Cord-like numerous roots grow 20-30 cm deep. A reliable support for the hosta is their intertwined branches. The decoration of the culture is a luxurious hat made of leaves. Heart-shaped, they are located on long petioles. In different species and varieties, they differ in shape and color.
At the very end of August, and in the southern regions at the end of July, the hosta blooms with purple, lilac and white flowers. Graceful brushes consist of funnel-bell-shaped or funnel-shaped flowers. Many flat seeds are in a leathery trihedral box. They are painted in black-brown or black. Planting material retains its properties throughout the year.
Landscape designers and gardeners appreciated this culture for its undeniable advantages: the ability to grow in the shade, cold resistance, decorativeness. In order for the host to demonstrate its beauty in full, you will have to wait about five years. With age, it becomes more and more colorful: it throws out large leaves of a characteristic shape and shade.
Types and varieties of host: white-bordered (Hosta albomarginata)
This beauty came to us from Japan. Attractive bright bushes have been grown in gardens for almost a century and a half. It is easy to understand why this species got its name - a white border adorns the perimeter of the leaf plate. This species prefers partial shade, welltolerates frost, thrives well on light soils.
Blue Angel
Blue Angel Hosta is a lush, domed, somewhat squat shrub with beautiful falling blue-green foliage that turns deep green in late season. The leaves of the plant are large: their length reaches 40 cm with a width of 30 cm. The ends are slightly curved downwards. The surface of the sheet plate is corrugated, covered with light parallel veins. The height of the bush varies between 70-80 cm, but under the most favorable conditions, the plant can grow up to a meter, and its diameter is about 1.2 m.
Fragrant flowers, resembling hyacinths, are on erect strong peduncles. They form cone-shaped racemes. The color of flowers can be different - from snow-white to fawn-lavender. Small leathery boxes filled with black achenes about three millimeters long are the fruits of this variety. It has a high growth rate. Continuous flowering begins at the end of July or in the first decade of August.
In nature, this plant grows in moist deciduous forests and near lakes. This explains the requirements for the landing site of the Blue Angel host and its care. The hybrid feels comfortable on drained, humus-rich, loose soils with good water and air permeability. The soil should always be moderately moist. These plants should not be planted on sandy, dry soils. If necessary, the composition can be slightly adjusted (for example,overly acidic soil can be fertilized with lime).
Hosta ventricosa
This type of hosta is native to northeast China. It has been cultivated since the second half of the 18th century. The bushes are powerful and wide. Their peduncles can grow up to 1.2 m in height. In this hosta, the leaves are heart-shaped, rounded at the base of the plate, and pointed above. They are not only monophonic, but also two-color. This variety needs good soil moisture and drainage.
Aureum Maculata
This newly bred hosta swollen is famous for its colorful leaves: the center of the leaf is a light yellowish green, with cream, green, yellow stripes. The edges of the plate are limited by a dark border. At the end of August, the bushes turn green. In full shade, they lose their variegated color.
Hosta undulata
To understand why the plant got its name, just look at its leaves. They are elliptical, oblong, rather long - about 20 cm, and wavy. Depending on the variety, the color can be either monochromatic green or multi-colored. This type of hosta comes from Japan. The plant was cultivated at the beginning of the 19th century.
Erromena
A surprisingly tenacious, unpretentious and resistant plant. It develops well in the shade, undemanding to the composition of the soil, does not need complicated care. Prefers moist areas. The light green leaves are heart-shaped, the flowers are a beautiful lavender hue.appear on fairly tall bushes (up to 80 cm) in late July or early August.
Univittata
One of the most common and popular varieties that can be grown in shady areas of the garden. Bushes up to 90 cm high in spring or autumn lend themselves perfectly to division, although they can grow in one place for a long time without transplanting. Univittata blooms in June-July with purple-lilac flowers that look great against white in the center, with a green border and pale green leaf stripes.
White Feathers
The nobility and beauty of the leaves of this hosta can be appreciated in the shady corners of the garden. On young white leaves up to 15 cm long, bright green stripes appear as they grow. Over time, they fill almost the entire plate. The height of the bush grows up to 55 cm.
Flowers, painted in soft lavender, almost white, appear on the bushes from July to September. This hosta is cold-resistant, unpretentious, shade-tolerant, decorative, practically not susceptible to diseases. Hosta "white feathers" prefers well-moistened fertile soils, but stagnant moisture is detrimental to her.
Hostas are among the few plants that can be propagated in a variety of ways: dividing the bush, seed.
How to grow a hosta from seed?
Specialists estimate the germination of hostas at 80%. Planting seeds pre-soaked in a growth stimulator begins in early April. Experienced flower growers advise using a sterile substrate, which guarantees successfulseed cultivation. It should include perlite, vermiculite and peat. A mixture that meets these parameters should be purchased from specialized stores.
Small plastic flower pots with holes in the bottom to drain excess moisture are suitable for planting. Before planting, they must be treated with ethyl alcohol or a solution of manganese. Drainage is laid out at the bottom of the pot, then a moistened substrate. Hosta seeds are scattered on the surface of the soil mixture and sprinkled with a thin layer (no more than 5-7 mm).
To preserve moisture and create a greenhouse effect, containers are covered with foil and placed in a warm place (about +25 °C). The first shoots will appear three weeks after sowing the seeds. After that, the container with seedlings should be rearranged to a well-lit place.
Seedling dive
If you want to grow a hosta from seeds, you can not ignore the agrotechnical measures aimed at strengthening the seedlings. After the appearance of the first two leaves, you can start diving seedlings. One plant is planted in separate pots with a diameter of not more than 10 cm, filled with soil. They are installed on pallets filled with water, which provides bottom watering.
Pots must be covered with a sheet of glass or film. After two weeks, the shelter can be removed. Seedlings must be hardened by taking them outside for 10 minutes at first, and then increasing the “walk” time.
Landing in open ground
When the threat of return frosts has passed, hosta is transplanted, more precisely, stronger andgrown seedlings, in open ground. When planting young plants, it should be borne in mind that their roots grow horizontally, so the holes must be made wide.
Before planting, water the seedlings abundantly and immerse the bushes in the holes along with the earthen clod.
Hosta Care
It is important not only to know how to grow a hosta from seeds, but also to follow the rules for caring for plants. They include traditional activities for ornamental plants: weeding, regular watering, loosening, top dressing. To make your bushes look beautiful and neat, you need to cut young flower arrows in a timely manner. This will prevent the leaves from developing sideways.
The owners of these plants believe that the more white and yellow stripes on the leaf plates, the more demanding the plant is for light. But even when the hosta is planted in a sunny place, at noon it should be covered from direct rays.
Irrigation
From the wide leaves of the hosta in the summer heat, too much moisture evaporates, which often becomes the main problem in care. Dark spots appearing on the tips of the leaves indicate that the plant lacks moisture. In summer, the plant is watered every day. In this case, waterlogging of the soil should not be allowed. After watering, the soil is loosened and fed with mineral and organic fertilizers.
Feeding
The host receives its main nutrition from organic fertilizers. They are brought in during mulching. To do this, you can use one part of the infusion of mullein with potassium sulfate,ammonium nitrate and two parts of superphosphate. In April, May and July, plants are fed with phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen. Top dressing is carried out at the beginning of the growing season, before the formation of flowers, and after flowering is completed.
Mulching
Hosta is usually planted in the shade of large trees or shrubs, which take a lot of useful substances from the plant. Mulching will help solve this problem. For this, it is desirable to use compost, freshly cut grass.
Preparing plants for winter
We figured out how to grow hostas from seeds. It's time to figure out how to winterize your plant. Hosta is a frost-resistant plant, so it does not need special shelter. Sometimes, especially in the northern regions, fallen leaves are not removed from the soil around the bushes and they are made sure that they are covered with a layer of snow. If you follow all the rules for caring for a plant, it retains its attractiveness for 15 years.
Beautiful host bushes of various types will become a bright and original accent in the design of your summer cottage or garden plot. These pretty plants are easy to care for, and the showy blooms and unusual leaf color will bring even the most remote corners of the garden to life.
