Bum
Information Number 12: Your hostas will grow and look just fine...even if they're
planted in the sun!
"Well, at least they'll look just fine in the spring," they
might say if pressed." Yeah, but they might get a few little brown spots in the middle of
summer...but that's not a problem."
Hmmmm. Not
a problem, huh?
Fine! You
go right ahead. After you've paid out some hard-earned cash for your hostas in a nursery or
got them a little cheaper in one of the doubtful-quality-and-labeling
big-box stores, do your own thing....stick them out in the hot sun. And if
you'd like to know what they'll look like from about the middle of July until
first frost...click on each of the pictures below. Is
this what you really want? Is this what you call looking just
fine? (Photos were taken in Southern Maine during September, 2005.)
No, I didn't
think so.
It
is true that a few varieties of hosta will, indeed, flourish when planted
in nearly all-day sun -- usually those with solid green leaves. Trouble
is, they aren't the ones most gardeners would buy for their hosta beds.
They want the really pretty ones -- colorful ones -- those special ones
with huge golden or pale green leaves or delicate leaf patterns --
varieties that'll impress their friends.
Misinformed and
profit-motivated big box stores and local supermarkets (and quite a few
equally misinformed "pop-up-in-the- middle-of-the-night" so-called
"nurseries") who want to increase their bottom line
("bottom line" is a business phrase that translates into we-want-to-make-money-at-any-cost) might
display their
shade-loving inventory out on the sunny sidewalk or asphalt parking lot, but
any well-trained and well-informed landscaper (there are precious few of those!)
or truly qualified nurseryperson will tell you that hostas need shade - especially
in the afternoon - to really look and perform their best. Some will
even admit that there are only a few that can handle the long, intense heat
of the Deep South, let alone the bright sunlight. Box stores and
supermarkets won't tell you that. Fact of the matter, most of those
"plant specialist" employees will bark, "Oh they'll grow
just fine anywhere!"
"Grow in the sun?...maybe. Truly prosper and remain attractive all
season long? The odds of that happening are really slim.
I suggest you read the article, "All
You Need To Know About Hostas"
before you break out
your wallet or credit card. I also suggest you carefully consider sun angle
and light intensity in your garden before you run off to purchase hostas.
And here are four additional articles that'll come in handy if you've
planted hostas in your garden: "Slugs
& Snails"
-- "Soil
pH"
-- "Tree
Roots in the Garden"
and "Repelling
the Rascals"
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