WHICH shade PERENNIAL IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

Hosta is a shade gardener’s best friend. With thousands of cultivars to choose from in a wide range of sizes, shapes and foliage colors, it offers endless ways to keep your borders fresh and exciting.

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BLOOMS: White, lavender or purple trumpet-shaped flowers open in late spring to fall. Bloom stalks range from those barely clearing the foliage to those that tower 4 feet above it.

LEAVES: Long and narrow to heart-shaped green, blue, gold or variegated leaves are smooth with a glossy or matte surface. In addition, leaves may have a wavy edge, a heavily veined surface or red petioles (the stalk joining the leaf to the crown).

HABIT: Mounded, upright or vase-shaped plants grow 3 to 72 inches tall and 6 to 72 inches wide.

Hosta
Hosta spp. and hybrids

WHERE IT WORKS BEST

Most people grow hostas for their amazing leaves that make an eye-catching accent or subtle backdrop for shade-tolerant annuals and perennials. Hosta flowers have a lot to offer too. Their trumpetshaped blooms give hummingbirds a reliable food source, and some varieties even have a sweet fragrance.

BLOOMS: Clusters of blue forget-me-not-like flowers with white centers arrive in early to midspring.

EARLY SPRING Flowers grow on long stems with smaller leaves.

LEAVES: Bristly heart-shaped leaves are plain green, silvery or variegated.

HABIT: Mounded plants grow 12 to 18 inches tall and 12 to 30 inches wide.