The Empress is on her way

The Empress is on her way home.  Today we purchased an empress wu hosta from better homes and gardens garden store (http://www.bhg.com/garden-store/).  She should be arriving in the next few weeks.  I have waited for her for about 6 months now.  We are so excited for her arrival!

Compliments of www.besthostas.com

HOSTAS.              

For those of you not familiar with this anchor of most gardens, please take a few moments to acquaint yourself.  Hostas are some of the most forgiving plants that you can invest in.  They are easy to grow, vigorous, and thrive in shade.   In fact, no shady garden is complete without hostas.  Hostas are primarily grown for their foliage, however some varieties do have fragrant flowers.

Hostas grow in zones 3-9, which means chances are YOU can grow this plant.  If you are not sure what your zone is... look at the bottom of our blog.  Most hosta are shade plants, however some types of hosta can tolerate part sun.  Hostas will thrive in just about any soil type that you have, provided it is well drained.  As a matter of fact, just a few years back we dug up a hosta from our yard and carelessly discarded it on our dirt mound.  It was spring, so it was just starting to grow, its leaves were just emerging from the soil.  It sat there on the mound uncovered for about 3 weeks; let me clarify.. NO DIRT COVERED ITS ROOTS.  Still, despite the neglect this little plant had the will to live... and grew.  Its leaves came in nicely! After seeing that this plant was a fighter, we found a home for it in our garden.  It was this little trooper that made me discover that I had a soft spot for hosta.

 Hostas require very little care.  They are relatively drought tolerant, however make sure that you keep any newbies watered.  Because they live in the shade, the ground stays pretty damp.  They do get hungry in the spring so make sure to fertilize; BUT NEVER FEED THEM AFTER MIDNIGHT.  My bad, I was thinking about gremlins not hosta.  Seriously, never fertilize hosta after midsummer or you can compromise their winter hardiness.

Slugs and snails are primarily the only pests that affect hosta.  They feed at night, leaving smooth-edged holes in the leaves.  If you find that they are a problem, you can collect them in shallow containers baited with beer.  Place these containers in the mulch between the plants, buried almost up to the rims.  The pests will go after the golden goodness, fall in (get drunk) and drown.  Ahhh, the power of beer.