Meet the MVP of shade. Hostas do best in dappled or indirect sun, but can tolerate full shade. Because they tend to grow low and wide, hostas are incredible “filler” plants and thrive under trees, between taller perennials, and along buildings and walkways. Hostas don’t mind wet feet, which makes them an unfussy and accommodating choice for that shady, damp corner of the garden you just can’t seem to keep anything alive in.
Most hostas send up small white, pink, or purple bell-shaped flowers on tall, thin stalks, but their real glory lies in the yellows, blues, whites, and greens that pattern their broad leaves. When hosta’s flowers die back in late summer, you can prune the stalks back for a quick refresh, but no pruning is necessary for these low-maintenance wonders. Hostas range in size from plants with miniature foliage to over six feet across (wow!), so there’s almost certainly an option that will fit perfectly in your garden.
Hosta ‘Autumn Frost’ sports blue/green leaves heavily outlined in a thick yellow margin that will fade to a creamy white over the course of each season.
Hosta ‘August Moon’ is, like most of its yellow-hued hosta siblings, more sun-tolerant than most hosta varieties. Its heavily ribbed leaves start out light green and lighten further to a beautiful gold by the end of the season.
Hosta ‘Big Daddy’ has the blues, in the best way possible. His large, rounded leaves are a striking blue-green with a heavy texture that makes him stand out from the crowd.
Hosta ‘Francee’ sports kelly green leaves that are outlined in white, which put on quite a show when layered over one another in the plant’s mounded shape.?
Hosta ‘Golden Tiara’ is more tolerant of drier growing conditions than her counterparts, and sets herself apart even more with green leaves outlines with a light green, irregular margin.
Hosta ‘June’ is stunning with bluish-green margins surrounding light green interior margins surrounding a green/gold leaf center. This fashion-forward color combo is only made better by ‘June’s’ tendency to wait until the very last minute to go dormant at the end of season (basically, this gal put on her party dress and she’s not leaving ‘til the sun comes up!)
Hosta ‘Krossa Regal’realllllly wants to be the star of the show. Not only does he grow up to six feet tall and six feet across, he’s an absolutely beautiful gray/blue color you don’t often see in other plants. Ok, Krossa Regal. We see you. (And we like what we see.)
Hosta ‘Patriot’ flaunts deep green leaves with thick, irregular white outlines, a contrast that is hard to miss no matter where this beauty puts down roots.
Hosta ‘Sum and Substance’ has what might be the best name out there, grows pretty enormous (3-5 feet wide!), and starts out as a lime green that becomes yellow-green as the season progresses.?
Pros
Thrive in part shade to part sun, but can survive in full shade
Make great “filler” plants
No pruning required
Don’t mind “wet feet”
Come in many colors, patterns, and size
Aren’t picky about soil or moisture conditions
Cons
Deer LOVE to snack on hosta and rabbits love spring emerging leaves
Will not thrive in full sun
Dead flower stalks are unattractive if unpruned
Are susceptible to slugs
Plant Data
Sun Exposure
Full Shade - Partial Shade
Moisture Tolerance
- Wet
Tags
Attracts Butterflies, Attracts Hummingbirds, Attracts Pollinators, Attracts Wildlife, Container, Deciduous, For a Shady Spot, Formal Garden, Full Shade, Good for Borders, Good for Mass Planting, Good for Rock Garden, Groundcover, Grown For Attractive Foliage, Low Maintenance, Non-Allergenic, Normal Soil, Partial Shade, Perennial, Rabbit Resistant, Shade Tolerant, Showy Flowers, Tolerant of Clay Soil, Tolerant of Loamy Soil, Tolerant of Moist Soil, Tolerant of Sandy Soil, Well-Drained Soil, Wet, Wet Site Tolerant, Woodland Garden
We try very hard to source exactly what you’d like, but sometimes growers run out of plants! While this variety is a great deal at the price shown, we know that it has limited availability. If you want the plant even if it might be more expensive, or in a different size or quantity -- after you place your order, just send us a quick note at help@northshoreplantclub.com. Then, we’ll try to get you some version of this from one of our growers. And if we can’t get it from anywhere, of course, we’ll send a refund!
Field-Grown vs. Greenhouse-Grown Plants
Plants which are well-adapted to our local climate are most often field-grown (outside). Field-grown plants are generally cheaper and have the advantage of already somewhat acclimated to our cold winters, but that means they’re not artificially far along in the spring and tend to bloom at the normal time in our area.
Spring annuals and tender perennials are typically grown in Greenhouses so they can be ready and luxurious exactly when customers want them. Some perennials are also “forced” into early bloom in greenhouses. In May, there can be a very big difference between field-grown and greenhouse-grown plants of the same type. The latter typically look good right away (so they’re a great choice where that’s important), but we typically pay a premium for it.
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About Ordering From The Plant Club
To secure the best prices for club members and make sure we know the current plants available from each nursery, we take orders only a couple of times a month.
Shoot us an email at help@northshoreplantclub.com, and we'll be happy to talk about plants or let you know when it's time to buy them!
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We order from a rotating cast of the best nurseries in the Great Lakes region.
It looks like we've offered this plant in the past, but the nurseries we're working with this week don't appear to have it in stock at the moment.
Our goal is to bring as many plants together under "one roof" as possible, so we'll try hard to make it available again in the future!
North Shore Plant Club