Shrubs
If you are struggling to by rights plant hostas in pots or containers this season , you ’ve come to the right place ! Hostas are a nuance garden favorite , and grow stunningly in pots or containers . In this clause , horticulture expert Laura Elsner provide her top tips for grow beautiful container hostas this season !
Contents
Hosta are one of themost democratic shadiness perennials . They areextremely versatileand total such a profuse feeling to gardens , whether planted in the terra firma or in garden beds . But have you considered lend them to containers ?
These leafy marvels seem great in pots and containers of all sorts . The thingabout hostasis that there areso many alone varietiesthat alter widely in shape , size , and color , that it is not a one size fits all approach to putting them in containers . They can look great by themselves , or with other container favorable associate flora .
So , when it comes to container planting your genus Hosta , where do you start ? I ’ve put together a comprehensive list of my top tips forsuccessfully planting your genus Funka in containersthis time of year . Ready to ascertain more ? rent ’s delve in !
Start With Soil
allow ’s start with the basics . The veracious soil is cardinal to getting genus Funka get in container . This one is in reality fairly simple . When uprise pretty much anything in container , potting land is the good bet . While hostas grow swell with the black solid ground in a garden , once they get into a container , they prefer lite potting commixture . This is especially true if you are combining them with other plants .
I like pot soil for containers because it is light and downlike and retains and drains moisture freely . This is authoritative for container environments .
I would also commix in some compost , ripened manure , orworm casting . I do n’t generally fertilize mess with hostas , they do n’t postulate it like flowering annuals do ( I will fertilize mixed containers with prime and hostas ) . By adding some organic matter , you give them a slow release cost increase .
Maintain a Balanced Watering Schedule
Water is the next important affair for any container industrial plant . They do not like dry out , but they do not care being swampy . Proper potting territory will aid keep this balance . But also , keep check of your container hostas . Stick a finger into the soil and see if it is equally moist .
Or look for signs that it is under or over water . Under watered plant will bedroopy and crispy . Overwatered plantswill have yellow leavesand finger bathetic .
Choose The Right Variety
When it comes to select a variety , color matters . Different colored hostas can take different amounts of lighting . So count where you are putting your container , you will want to select a specific color of hosta .
If your container is in thefull spook , a deep blue green hosta is your good bet . They have thicker foliage and a greyish blue hue . Abiqua drinking gourd , which is a down in the mouth color and features interesting retrousse farewell , is a good choice for container . Or hosta ‘ mouse ears ’ is a very dulcet and small variety ofblue hosta .
If your container is part shade / sun then most salmagundi will work in your container . pick out any of the green assortment . ‘ Francee ’ is a classic green hosta with a flimsy white perimeter , perfect forpart shade / sunlight conditions . ‘ August Moon ’ is an even green variety that will become more golden yellow if itgets more Dominicus .
If you have a cheery container , you’re able to in reality still have a hosta . verify you are watering your full sun varieties more than the 1 in the shade . The good hostas for sunlight are the light limey green and chartreuse varieties . Sum and Substance is a big lime gullible variety sure to attract care in a container . The light yellowish green colored‘Dancing Queen’features beautiful ruffled leaves .
Pick a Hosta-Friendly Container
you could play around with many types of containers for your potted Hosta . The only feature article your container must have is drainage . Make certain there arelarge enough drain holesin the hind end of the pot so excess water system can drain out . Rocks in the bottom of the pot are not enough .
When it come to the size of the container , the choice is yours . Just keep in mind that declamatory pots will need to be watered less often than smaller one .
I opine the container you prefer can really make all the remainder . Pick colorsthat will bet off the people of colour of the Funka . Perhaps a deep burgundy pot with a dusty dismal hosta . Or a navy blue pot with a Lime green hosta .
Pick The Right Planting Location
The location of your container is authoritative . As you just read , the colouring of your genus Hosta will determinehow much sun they can take . search for signs of crispy , bleach andcurling leavesif they are in too much sun . Yellowing and limp leaves are a star sign of not enough sun .
Funka are large - leafed plants . When those leave get damage and destroyed it deal a long time for them to flush out novel leave-taking . This depends on the diversity , little foliage varieties will farm new leaves quicker than those with gravid leaves .
Also , it depends on the metre of year . They will crusade outlots of new foliagein the bounce and it will sharpen off later in the time of year . This is why I like planting container genus Funka in shelter locations . specially the large leaf variety that can get shredded in hint and hail .
I am so lucky to live in the hail belt ( not ! ) so constitute under eaves or a cover porch will save up them from the sometimes golf game clump - sized chunks of ice ( I always keep tarpaulin on standby to cover my genus Funka planted in beds , hail ravage Hosta are a tragedy ) .
If you ca n’t keep your container hostas in a sheltered location , I urge sticking to the smaller leaf variety ( computer mouse ear , Marrakech , midget tears , etc ) . Or lower rise mixture ( mini skirt , slender and shipshape , etc ) . They seem to make out well in harsh air current and weather than the good large leaf varieties .
Find Your Transplants
you could purchase hostas as plant , or as a bare ascendant ball . If you buy bags of bleak ancestor genus Hosta in stores or in magazines you may carry through money and also recover some of the more rarefied and alien varietiesyou can transplantinto wad .
They will take longer to mature great , but it ’s a good place to pop out . Take your bare ascendant from the bag and plant it into your container . You will see little ‘ eyes ’ on the summit of the works where the roots fare together . implant those point at the soil line . pee on a regular basis and observe it grow .
you could also just go out and buy them from pretty much any garden center or nursery . They usually have a large pick to take from and you’re able to get them in diverge container sizes . You will tend to incur more of the common varieties , you’re able to find more exotic ones if you go to a speciality glasshouse .
Take your buy plant life and gently tip it out of its sens . If it is really base bound , deplumate apart the matted clod . Then engraft into somenice fluffy potting admixture . Plant it up to the crown , do n’t leave the ancestor orchis exposed . H2O well .
Take Leaf Size Into Account
Playing with texture in a garden is one of my best-loved thing to do . It is easy to play with leaf texture when it comes to Hosta . They are n’t just dark-green bombastic leaved plants . There are some really singular miscellany that you may play with .
Halycon has pointed grim leaves . Mouse ears havetiny small racy pinna - shaped leaves . Dancing Queen features ruffle frilly edge . pray workforce has small minute leave of absence that look like , well , praying hands . Curly shaver ’ foliage is tenacious and wavy and almost looks like grass . Putting some of these different texture give into sundry pots has a sensational effect .
Consider Plant Size
The actual size of your flora will be important when create a container . When you buy plant make certain to note the top and breadth of the industrial plant so you could gaugehow much quad it will take up in your wad . If you get a giant variety , like ‘ Empress Wu ‘ , which can spring up up to 6 feet wide , it might expect best in a container all on its own .
A tall Funka , like ‘ Sum and Substance ’ makes a great characteristic industrial plant in a container . The upright stems provide ample room to found other things underneath , like lobelia , begonias , or pansies .
Small miscellany make great makeweight plants in container . In a mixed container with maybe a dracena in the center and some begonia , adding alittle hosta adds some lushness .
Try ‘ mouse ears ’ which I mention often because it is comparatively easy to find and so various . It sport diminished little blue ear mould leaves . Or ‘ Pandora ’s Box ’ is a small sized variety with green allowance and s white interior . It adds a pop of smartness to a container .
Get Creative With Colors
This is the fun part of container genus Hosta , the colors ! I ascertain some of the really intricate and foetid varieties can get lost in a garden seam . When I plant them in a bed I usually adhere with big variety with just a bit of gloss variation . variety show like‘Frances Willams’look capital plant in a mass border .
I love intricate Funka , but they really need to be seen up tight to be appreciated . Many of the more intricate motley are smaller , form them the stark things to total to container .
‘ Raspberry Sundae’features bolshie halt that really brook out . It almost look like red pieplant stalks . But the leaf is the classic pointed folio contour and features a immature margin and ashen inside . Play with this hosta and red begonia to make an interesting container .
‘ White Feather’Hosta is a pure ashen sort . I have to say , I was very skeptical of this plant . I picked one up and it is lovely . But it is very small and sluggish growing . I think this makes it a good container plant . The unadulterated white hosta is soft as a feathering . It will be pure white in deep shade and will get green veins if it is in more sunshine . It make a gravid , unique , filler plant life that is sure to be commented on .
‘ June’is one of my all prison term favorites . I love it in garden beds , but I cerebrate its intricate foliage would really stand out in container . It has dark bluish green margins and a light immature Interior Department that looks like it has brush strokes of various shade of green . It is a work of art .
Do Plant With Companions
Hostas take care groovy in a stool on their own , but they also act gracious inmixed container with other plant . Here are some of my favoritecompanions for implant with hostas .
If you are into foliage over flowers , this is the combination for you . Use a magnanimous coleus as the thriller plant in thecenter or back of the containerand then layer some small hostas underneath .
Maybe‘Big Red Judy ’ coleuswith a dusty dreary ‘ computer mouse ears ’ underneath . There are so many combinations and possibility with these two plant . I commend going to the garden center and using your cart as your pallette . Place various coleus and hostas together and see which I pop together .
There aremany varieties of begoniasand they all love being beside hostas . It ’s a match made in heaven . judge largetuberous begoniaswith them . The big sheer flowers really pour down against a Funka with child green leaves .
Or imbed a tall variety , like‘Sum and Substance’in themiddle of a containerand use small wax begonia underneath such as Olympic White . The genus Hosta will look to rise up from the downlike hill of flowers .
If foliage is your thing , interlard rex begonia in between genus Funka for a real pop . Hosta ‘ June ’ mixed in with ‘ panther ’s Palette ’ male monarch begonia would be stunning .
Ferns are a great selection for mixing with hosta . The feathery fern fronds at a gentle airy grain against the large solid pear-shaped hosta leaves . There aremany varieties of fern to fiddle with . Nipponese painted fern have silver foliage and sum up interest to green and blue hostas .
The delicate leafage of maiden haircloth fern really digest out against a hosta ’s wide leaves . Or a tall ostrich fern can be a thriller in a tidy sum , develop marvelous out the pith with hostas all around .
I opine one of the best companions is other genus Funka . Mixing andmatching unlike varieties in a containercreates a endearing tapestry of foliage . These are some of my favorite combination .
‘ Patriot ’ and ‘ Reverse Patriot ’ genus Hosta search with child together . They are opposites and really make a statement . Patriots have green Department of the Interior with blank margins , inverse patriot has blanched interior with a green security deposit . Putting these two varieties together create a mesmerise effect of white and green .
‘ Strip Tease’and‘Frances Williams’together have a similar gist as the patriot jazz band . ‘ Strip Tease ’ has light-green margins and a single yellowish streak through the middle , ‘ Frances Williams ’ has xanthous margins and a blueish unripe perimeter .
I also hump a assorted grip of hostas together , they produce a jumble of colors . I see this done in garden bed , but it can be a huge chore that requires a lot of plants to create the consequence . But in the unaired confines of a container , you’re able to achieve this patchwork using only 3 - 5 varieties .
A blue genus Hosta , such as ‘ Halycon ’ , mixed with a green and snowy variety ‘ Fire and Ice . Then add a vary yellow with gullible margin variety like ‘ Great Expectations ’ . I would n’t get too caught up in finding specific miscellany for this combination . Just go to the garden gist and play with the compounding in your handcart . Your middle will differentiate you what combinations are appeal .
Keep up With Routine Maintenance
Thankfully hostas are pretty low maintenance . They are not the deadheading incubus of some fussy container flush . All they need is any wear out ordamaged leaves snipped off .
I also like to snip off the flowers . This is totally optional . I prefer to focus on the lovely foliage , but some masses really delight the lilac flower that rises out . If you do take to trim them cut them down to the base of the plant .
Monitor Daily For Pests & Diseases
I think the act one pest for hostas is the icky sticky slug and snail . you could forbid them from getting into your pots in the first seat by using large tall pile that they ca n’t climb up to . If they do become a bother in your lower containers I sprinkle them withslug and snail bait .
I ’ve tried all the other methods with beer and salt rings and have incur this stuff works the good . you could purchase it from your local garden substance and sprinkle the pellets on . It ’s prosperous , no mess , and it works .
Deer and rabbitare also big pesterer . Tall pots will deter the rabbits , butdeer will happily crunch a big pot of hostas . Try spraying a deer hinderance on your container hostas . This is much easy to keep up with in a container setting , rather than an intact garden bed .
For disease , the primary one Hosta will get ispowdery mold . This is a signaling the conditions are too moist . mould expand in dark wet moribund areas . So to avoid this check that you are not overwatering . When you do water it is also beneficial to avoid spraying the foliage as much as possible .
ensure your hostas are getting tolerable light . Also , ensure there is adequate airflow between plants . I will dispatch the soggy and crammed leaves . But if you already have powdery mold , prevention is n’t on your mind . Use a copper fungicide spray to deal with mildew .
Plan to Overwinter
The general normal for overwintering plants in container is they have to be two zones above your zone . Hostas are zone 3 , so they shouldoverwinter in a container in zone 5 and up . Using larger containers will have better winner in the margin line zones .
Like a large half barrel planter . Make indisputable they are well watered when going into wintertime . The Funka will break down back all . Cut or lightly draw the drained leaves in spring .
I live in zone 3 . So for me , I will comprehend out my genus Hosta and other perennials from their container and sink them into the ground . The next year I will either buy a new hosta for a container , or travail up the one I sunk into the land and put it back in the pot .
If you dig it up early enough in the season , as it ’s just begin to emerge , the hosta does n’t even seem to notice it ’s been moved and will grow large and beautiful . The other option for container hostas in cold geographical zone is to dig the entire container into the priming .
Do this with plastic container , ceramic and terracottawill break . Dig a cakehole and lapse the whole pot into the terra firma . tear up again in the spring . This is a great trick to utilise of you are using a pliant liner that can be plopped back into a more ornamental container every spring .
Some Tips For Design Inspiration
To finish off this list I wanted to share some of my idea for integrate hostas into container arrangement . Here are a few ideas to try , expand on , and/or bring with this gardening season .
Try embed a container with ahosta ‘ Curly Fries’as the independent feature . Then constitute minor prime underneath such as lobelia or bacopa . Finish the look off with some ivy spilling out .
‘ Sum and Substance ’ genus Hosta are my favorite because of their encroachment and versatility . They have magniloquent stems and large even pea green leaves . The tall stems make it perfect to employ as the thriller or feature plant .
Then stratum tuberous begonias and creeping Jenny underneath for an easy shade spirit . It ’s a great choice to a medallion or other annual plant . Enjoy the hosta all summer and then sink it into your repeated bottom at the end of the season .
I remember creating a summertime potbelly one year that feature alarge lemon cypress as the thriller . Then below was a turgid deep purple genus Heuchera and a bright yellow and light-green ‘ Whirlwind ’ hosta and some bacopa and ivy spilling out . The genus Hosta was big and made an impact as a makeweight plant . Alongside the recondite over-embellished heuchera and bright green cypress , it really protrude .
Another unsubdivided combo I like is a big blueish hosta , like‘Big dada ‘ in a expectant container , like a half barrel . Then spilling out from underneath is deep purple Lycopus virginicus . It ’s a perfectly dewy-eyed spectre combination .
Final Thoughts
It ’s so gracious to be capable to bring a perennial dearie into container . Whether you ’re short on space , or a full fledged foliation fanatic like me , bring genus Hosta into containers is a no brainer . They are a tidy perennial that stays in their place , it has a sheer presence , and is promptly available to purchase . Consideradding a hosta or two ( or more ! ) into your container arrangementthis season .
