Welcome to the Hosta Garden

by Anita K

1 Material

I have been gardening for about 20 years - back in the days when Internet was not as developed as it is today. Most of what I have learned has been by trial and error. Although Hostas are hearty plants, some species are more likely to attract slugs. UGH.
1. Shade and Sun Exposure - The average hosta thrives in a shady garden, with only filtered light. New varieties are considered more sun tolerant - although my garden spot is still a little too sunny for those varieties. As the summer season progresses in New Jersey, USA, the hostas have shown me that they are not as sun tolerant as I had hoped. I plan to set up a garden umbrella to protect my plants for the remainder of this season, until I am able to to transplant them when the weather is more temperate.

2. Slug Repellents - I have tried beer traps, but the slugs that invade my garden at night are not thwarted by my traps! Likely because I have very large plants....and I prefer not to use beer as it attracts other unwelcome activity. I prefer to use a store-bought slug repellent from my local garden center. In the warmer summer months....I have noticed that my prize Hostas faced attack overnight!

Rain must have washed away the repellent's efficacy - so my Hostas were attacked overnight this week. Sigh..... I cut down the holey leaves, and reapplied the repellent.

3. Avoid Soaker Hoses - Hostas do not like overly very damp soil - so avoid using soaker hoses where they are planted. This encourages the damp, dark conditions in which slugs thrive.

4. Keep low lying leaves elevated - Gently tie twine around the base of your precious hostas to keep low-lying, heavy leaves off the soil level. Slugs easily climb onto the low-lying leaves and invade. Keep an eye on your plants as they grow larger throughout the season - save those gorgeous leaves!

5. Moles and Voles! - I encourage you to please share your tips for humanely getting rid of these critters from my garden. It's been a busy week of thunderstorms daily, high humidity and new tenants in my garden. All are enemies of the Hostas. Help!

The bottom line is - pay attention to your garden - vigilance is key!

Hope I made you smile and Happy Hometalking!

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3 of 11 comments

PK on Jun 04, 2017

I love Hostas. However we too have moles and voles. Thankfully no slugs. I have a hostas garden and I noticed that some of my hostas didn't come back this year. The reason is I think the Moles and Voles got to them. Those that are came back, were because I planted them in a hardware cloth (wire) basket I made. That is the only difference between those that survived and those that didn't. I hope that helps with those little varmints.

4 Reply
COLLEEN CRISTEL on Aug 02, 2022

I love my Hostas and consider them the easiest of all my plants. I just water and feed. Separate is the hardest thing and finding new spots for them. I think I could be and will be over run with them before much longer. I did notice they do not like much sun. This year we had way too much sun so I hope they were not damaged.

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- Karen Hyde on Aug 20, 2022
  
  One particular corner gets the sun longer. The hosta leaves there are yellowed and brown/baked. I'm in the process of planting a row of Rose of Sharon across from the hosta but still may need to put a small pergola over the area. There used to be 25' of trees shading the area which were taken down for new construction. Pretty hard to replace no matter what goes in.
  
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