There are over 70 different hosta species and many hundreds of varieties, and with one or two exceptions, they grow very well in British gardens as they are best suited to a temperate climate with a high rainfall. Whilst the foliage is much more luxuriant when grown in semi-shade and moist conditions, their water-retaining root system enables them to withstand drought and strong sunlight. Some of the gold leafed varieties will tend to scorch if grown in direct sunlight but others with gold leaves actually need sunlight in order to achieve the best colouring.

Hostas will grow in virtually any good soil but do best in neutral to acid loam, treated with humus and well mulched with leaf mould every autumn. To attain the most spectacular foliage effects a regular foliar feed throughout the growing season is recommended. Hostas should be planted with their roots teased gently apart and spread over a mound of earth and the hole filled in with compost and leaf mould Newly planted Hostas should be carefully watered with a fine spray every day for at least two weeks; the best time for planting being early spring just as the tips of the crowns are showing.

Hostas are easily increased by division of the clump in early spring but ideally new plants should be left undisturbed for about 5 years. Hostas can be grown from seed, but as the male parent is often unknown, the naming of the resulting seedlings is unreliable. For this reason, vegetative propagation is always advised for true offspring of the parent.

Hostas are not prone to many diseases, their worst enemies are slugs and snails which proliferate in dark corners, shady areas and moist soil conditions. There are many proprietary brands of slug and snail repellent on the market and a watchful eye should be kept on emerging plants as damaged 1eaves will ruin the appearance of the plant for the whole growing season.

Information supplied by the British Hosta And Hemerocalis Society

For the Mini Hostas they require additional care if pot growing then use a John Innes based compost No3 mixed 50:50 compost:horticultural grit make sure not to use too big a container when re potting your "minis". You can plant more than one hosta in an apline trough allowing at least 4-5 inches between each plant depending on growth rate of hostas chosen. If in doubt please feel free to email me for advice.

Growing hostas from seed can be real fun to bring on your own unique plant as every seedling will be different.
Before starting be sure to use well sterilised seed trays make sure the container is dry before filling with a good seed compost use fresh seed compost or make your own. To each 10 litres of peat add one teaspoon of phostogen powder fertiliser then add 1 litre of fine vermiculite and mix well add water to make the mix moist lift a handfull of compost in your hand and squeeze no water should come out. Overfill the seed tray, tap the tray once on the bench to settle the compost, then take a piece of flat timber on its side and with a sawing action across the tray level the compost of. Use a flat piece of timber and firm the compost down level gently. Sow the hosta seed evenly over the tray and sieve some peat over the seed just enough to cover the seed. Water the tray in with luke warm water using a fine rose on your watering can. Place the seed tray cover over the tray or use newspaper. This will help keep the heat in the compost. The seeds need 20 degrees celsius to germinate and 10 degrees c. at night air temperature. After two weeks the seeds will start to germinate remove the newspaper and water well each day during warm spells. Prick out your seedlings into 7cm pots and grow on using a half strength potting compost. Hosta seeds are best sown from March to mid July but you can winter sow and provide extra light by fluorescent lamps at a height of 1 metre over the seedlings for 16 hours per day.
Hosta seed is available by request at £1.65 for 20 seeds to UK £2.00 to Europe and £2.50 to USA prices include postage. Email

Hostas in particular suffer greatly from attacks by slugs and snails; hemerocallis (daylilies) are less susceptible, but can still be damaged. Consequently many methods have been devised to prevent or minimise such damage. There is no one guaranteed method, but most have something to offer. They fall into several categories.

Garden Husbandry Slugs and snails love to shelter in untidy corners, and under stones, flowerpots, etc. Keep such hiding-places to a minimum; alternatively, check them regularly and destroy any slugs and snails you find there. They usually venture forth at night, so go round the garden with a torch, and pick off and kill any that you find; check the undersides of plants especially.

Natural Predators Thrushes love to eat snails, so encourage them by providing shelter, nesting places and food. Make sure also that there are hard flat surfaces on which the thrushes can break the snail shells. Discourage cats, as these will scare away the birds. Frogs and toads will eat slugs, and a pond (however small) will encourage these amphibians to take up residence. Hedgehogs also eat slugs, so encourage them by putting out food such as dog or cat food (but bear in mind that this might also attract dogs, cats and foxes). Hens, ducks and geese will eat slugs; unfortunately they sometimes eat everything else in the garden, and are noisy ? not ideal for the small urban garden!

Physical Deterrents Slugs and snails do not like crawling over rough, sharp surfaces, or over material that clings tenaciously to the slime on their foot. Such material as gravel, coarse sand, clinker, soot, chipped bark, crushed eggshells, hair-clippings from the barber's and cocoa-shell mulch have all been recommended; they seem to work for some people but not for others. You can put sections of plastic bottles round young plants, and use longer strips of plastic or metal (copper and aluminium seem particularly effective), wire mesh or plywood around larger plants. Some people use thorny twigs such as pyracantha or berberis, or holly leaves, but these are potentially painful barriers. Putting hostas in pots also deters slugs and snails, especially if the pots are placed well away from places where the beasts congregate; it helps if you smear vaseline around the tops of the pots.

Chemical Attack Most commercial slug and snail killers are based on metaldehyde, which, contrary to popular belief, is not very toxic to other species; Gardening from Which? reported in August 1988 that a hedgehog would have to eat 2000 slugs poisoned with metaldehyde in one night to be killed. The blue colour of the pellets is also claimed to deter birds from eating them. If you are still worried, then there are slug-pellet containers that children and animals cannot reach into, or you can use a liquid formulation. Liquids penetrate to slugs underground, but they are shorterlasting than the pellets. A number of products contain aluminium sulphate, and these are usually claimed to be harmless to other species; however, aluminium sulphate does not seem to be quite so effective as metaldehyde. A third chemical, methiocarb, is, according to Gardening from Which? (August 1988), " a more effective slug killer than metaldehyde, but it is also more poisonous to pets and wildlife ". Alcohol must be included in the list of chemicals; a saucer of beer placed in the garden will cause slugs to become intoxicated and drown. However, milk seems to work as well! There are one or two new products on the market which work by absorbing the molluscs' slime; one such is Snail-Ban, an Australian product based on kaolinite and opal, and another is Molbar: yet another is Sluggo, which is claimed to work by stopping the molluscs from feeding, and is based on iron phosphate. Other chemicals that can be used are salt (sprinkled on the ground or directly on the slugs) ammonia (a 1 in 4 dilution of household ammonia sprayed on the plants or directly on the slugs), vinegar (diluted 1:1 and sprayed on) and potassium permanganate (1 teaspoonful per gallon, watered on). Some plant-based deterrents that are claimed to work are: a hot pepper spray (blend hot chilli peppers with water and a few drops of washing-up liquid), interplanting with prostrate rosemary or Artemesia absinthium, and spreading powdered ginger or short lengths of fresh-cut fennel or hyssop. Extracts of Phytolacca americana, garlic and ragwort are also believed to have a deterrent effect. Very recently, ground-up horse-chestnuts have been claimed to deter slugs effectively.

Nematodes Biological control is increasing in popularity, and one company (Defenders) markets nematodes which are claimed to be effective against slugs and young snails. They have to be ordered by post (you should be able to pick up an order form at garden centres) as they have a limited shelf-life. They are watered on, and should last for at least six weeks. They are expensive, but are reported to work well, especially in warm, moist weather.

Slug- and Snail-Resistant Hostas Hostas with thicker, more leathery leaves tend to suffer less slug and snail damage. One British hosta nursery's catalogue lists 20 less susceptible hostas. Diana Grenfell in her book Hosta: The Flowering Foliage Plant (Batsford 1990) lists both vulnerable and resistant hostas, and Sandra Bond in her book Hostas (Ward Lock 1992) also has an extensive list of hostas least damaged by slugs and snails. There is even a hosta called Silvery Slugproof!

Information supplied by the British Hosta And Hemerocalis Society