Hosta is a beautiful ornamental plant that grows rapidly and delights not only with its greenery, but also with beautiful flowering. Different varieties differ in foliage and flowers. For gardeners, the plant has long been fond of unpretentiousness in care and beauty. In our article, we want to talk about how to grow a host on your site whose flowers will decorate any flower bed.
Queen of shadow
Hosta is a unique flower. Its greens look much more spectacular than flowers. But the combination of foliage with inflorescences makes the plant very attractive. Recently, the host (photo is given in the article) has become very popular among gardeners. In Europe, the plant was imported from southeast Asia. At first, it did not take root too well in the flower beds. However, later the culture received public recognition for its simple care and incredible decorativeness. Now it is very actively used by landscape designers to design personal plots. The mysterious flower received the title of Queen of the Shadow.
And it’s hard to argue, because the plant really adores shady places. The bell-shaped hosta flowers do not differ in amazing beauty; the main advantage of the plant is the leaves: light green, green, golden yellow, bluish-gray, spotty and striped. They can be long and narrow, large and small, round and heart-shaped. Hosts resemble green fountains decorated with modest flowers. And yet they are so beautiful that they adorn many gardens and personal plots.
Types and varieties of flowers
The host has many types (about 40). Some of them:
- High hosta has large leaves, painted in dark green, oval in shape. Plant height can reach one meter. The flowering period is June and July. Hosta flowers are painted in a light lilac hue.
- Fortune boasts green leaves with a creamy rim. It blooms in June with lilac flowers. The bushes are small, their height does not exceed 50 centimeters.
- The curly hosta has oval dark green leaves. It grows in height up to 60 centimeters. The plant begins to bloom in late spring.
- Hosta Siebold is a perennial plant with bluish foliage. The beginning of flowering occurs in early June and lasts almost a month. Peduncles of this variety reach a height of 40 centimeters. Feature is special shade tolerance.
- A wavy hosta is a medium-sized plant with oblong foliage. The unique color of the leaves resembles watercolor painting. The middle of the leaf is painted white, and bright greens surround it. A wavy hosta blooms with purple flowers from July to late August.
- Swollen hosta has dark shiny, heart-shaped leaves . It blooms in July and delights with flowers until the end of August.
- The plantain hosta is quite impressive in size and wrinkled foliage with corrugated structure.
Varieties of hosts are even more - more than 600. Different varieties of hosts differ in size. Among them there are tall, medium and dwarf forms. The latter are considered the most capricious and demanding in care. But the least whimsical and hardy are tall forms. The most interesting variety is Royal Standard. Its peculiarity is that plants of this type give abundant flowering even in very dense shade. Varieties Elegans, Hercules and others are used by breeders for landscape design. The miniature Teaspoon variety is interesting. He, unlike most dwarfs, is very stable. First Frost is a very popular chameleon variety. During the season, the plant changes color from gray-blue to green. Lakeside Dragonfly - a compact variety with narrow leaves of green-blue hue and cream border. Ti Rex is a giant hosta with stunning greenish-blue leaves.
Plant description
Hosts are multifaceted plants, striking in their diversity. Each gardener has the opportunity to choose for himself the most interesting variety, which will become a real decoration of the garden. It was the spectacular appearance of the hosta flower that made it so popular. The plant grows very quickly and turns shaded areas into blooming green plantations. They love the culture for its bright and unique foliage, painted in the most bizarre way. The plant tolerates cold and drought well, feels great in the shade and is a great backdrop for other flowers. Over the years, the plant becomes more beautiful. However, the peak falls on the fifth year of the flower's life.
Description hosts should start with what to say that all varieties of plants are herbaceous forms. The thickened rhizome of the bush has a large number of cord-shaped branches. Thanks to them, the plant is tightly fixed on the surface of the soil. Flower stalks hosts are devoid of foliage and rise above a green outlet. Inflorescences are racemose with simple or double flowers. A host on a flower bed always stands out favorably due to its greenery, even if it does not bloom.
Most varieties of plants have light lilac flowers. This is the most common shade. But there are pink and white varieties, as well as purple. The plant differs from other shade-loving forms in pretty beautiful flowers.
The average height of the hosta bushes is in the range of 50-80 centimeters. But among them there are real giants, whose height reaches 1.2 meters. But dwarf varieties in height do not exceed 15 centimeters.
Plant propagation
A garden plant does not require special skills for growing it. Therefore, every gardener can plant such a flower in his garden. Host replication is not a big deal. You can get a young plant in three ways - dividing the bush, seeds and cuttings. Before planting, you need to choose the right variety for your site, which is suitable for you in terms of illumination, soil fertility, soil moisture.
Hosts older than four years are used to propagate the plant by dividing the existing bush. If you try to divide the young flower into parts, you can slow down its further development. It is believed that in this way the plant can be propagated in the spring. However, practice shows that gardeners use this method throughout the growing season, and very successfully.
Its essence is quite simple. An adult bush is dug and removed from the ground in whole or in part. Shoots with roots are taken out of it. You can use a knife or something sharp. At first glance it seems that this method is very traumatic. But this is not so, since a place for growth is freed up for an adult plant. The appeared space is filled with fertile soil, not forgetting to add fertilizers. New seedlings are planted in another area.
Propagation by cuttings
Hosta flower planting is possible in another way. If you have an shoot with a small part of the rhizome, then you can also get a young plant from it. To do this, it is planted in a small greenhouse in the shade. Shelter can be made from an ordinary plastic bottle. In this case, the green part of the shoot must be removed. The rooting process will last for several weeks. During this period, the seedling will have to be watered regularly.
Seed propagation
The host can also be propagated by seed. But this method is not used for all varieties of plants. Most often, plants obtained using seeds do not have the same varietal properties as the mother bush. Therefore, gardeners do not use this method of propagation of a flower. Planting hosts by dividing a bush is much simpler and more efficient.
Reproduction by seeds is actively used by breeders, as this allows them to obtain varieties with properties that have not been repeated previously. This method is very long. With its help, a full-fledged plant can be obtained in four to five years. Of course, hosta seeds have a very high germination capacity, but still it is much easier and faster to get ready-made bushes or cuttings.
Crop care
What conditions need to be created for the flower hosts? Caring for it is quite simple. The plant must periodically weed and loosen the soil near it. It is also worth applying fertilizers suitable for the flower. It is necessary to water the host regularly, especially during hot periods, increasing the amount of water. It is better to do this in the morning, so as not to leave burns on the foliage of the plant.
If the bushes are planted in a nutrient medium, top dressing can be omitted for three to four years. In autumn, the ground near the plant is mulched with humus or compost, thereby feeding the flower. The host does not need a large amount of fertilizer, but if necessary, they can be distributed around the bush. Top dressing is scattered on moist soil. Liquid fertilizers are applied up to twice a month until about mid-summer. Further feeding should be stopped, otherwise the plant will not have time to prepare for winter.
The soil near the bushes, especially young ones, should always be wet. For the plant, morning watering is recommended. Moreover, it should be organized in such a way that water does not fall on the foliage, since it leaves traces and spoils the decorative look of the host. The pressure of water during irrigation should be very weak, so as not to clog the soil near the bush. Lack of moisture affects the condition of the foliage, its tips become brown.
To preserve the beautiful appearance of the plant, it is necessary to remove faded peduncles. Weeding bushes is carried out only at the beginning of cultivation. Subsequently, the plants grow so much that they drown out the weeds. After three to four years, the bush can be easily divided and planted. For a healthy plant, this procedure is not harmful.
Winter preparations
All varieties of hosts (photos are not able to convey all their beauty) are very resistant to cold. Nevertheless, experienced gardeners recommend preparing plants for wintering. One of the best methods is mulching. As a material for shelter, such substances are used that simultaneously protect the plant from freezing and at the same time enrich the soil. So, for example, for mulching, you can use shavings or sawdust of fruit trees, mowed grass, straw, pine needles, peat, rotted manure, compost. In late autumn, hosta greens lose their appeal. At this time, you can prepare it for wintering. For this, plantings are covered with needles or non-woven material. In snowy winter, the plant does not require shelter.
Pests
Hosta is resistant to disease. And yet, the plant kills such a fungal ailment as phylosticosis. The disease manifests itself by the appearance on the foliage of brownish spots, which subsequently cover the entire green part. No less dangerous is another fungus that affects peduncles. Unfortunately, infected plants must be removed from the site and destroyed.
Quite dangerous for the hosts and gray rot. To combat it, fungicides are used. If you notice whitish cotton wool on a plant, it’s sclerotinia. Affected bushes must be treated with dichloran.
The main enemy of the plant can safely be called slugs. Their presence can be recognized by the appearance of large holes in the foliage. Slugs can be removed in a fairly simple way. Near the bushes, you need to arrange the vessels with beer. After a day, they can be removed along with slugs that crawled into the smell of the drink.
Much more dangerous than all previous diseases and parasites of the nematode. Their appearance is indicated by yellow spots between leaf veins. In order to make sure that the plant is infected with parasites, you need to finely tear one leaf and put it in a glass with water. After half an hour, you need to look at the liquid. In it you will probably see small worms. These are nematodes. It is impossible to fight them, because there is no means that can kill his larvae. The infected plant and all other crops next to it will have to be dug up and destroyed.
Caterpillars may appear on the bushes. They quickly eat foliage. But dealing with them is quite simple. All kinds of insecticides will help.
Room hosts
It is worth noting that in general, as a houseplant, the host may well exist. Although it is not. Many plant varieties can be grown at home before planting in the ground. Young plants need to get stronger before they get to the flowerbed. At home, with proper care, the host is even able to please flowering. To transplant a hosta flower, you need to pick a pot of a suitable size. It should fit enough soil and the entire root system. For the hosts, the drainage system is very important so that there is no stagnation of water.
When growing a culture in a container, frequent watering and top dressing are necessary, since all useful substances are washed out of the soil by water. Shrubs in pots can not be kept in the sun, they can simply burn out. If you decide to grow the host in a container, then you can’t leave it outside for the winter. A host can winter only when it grows in open ground. In the pot, its roots simply freeze. It is worth remembering and cleaning the plant for the winter in the room.
The main condition for keeping hosts at home is regular watering, since the culture is water-loving. And in pots, plant roots are at risk of drying out. With proper care, the bush grows quickly enough and requires transplanting into the ground.