Hosts: Species And Cultivation In The Garden

2023 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-26 20:34

Hosts are the decoration of our gardens

Hosts, known to some gardeners as funkii, were quite rare guests on garden plots some time ago. Having admired beautifully flowering plants, Russian gardeners turned their attention to decorative deciduous plants, among which hosta is perhaps the best.

This plant came to Europe from Japan. Unpretentious, shade-tolerant, disease-free and extremely showy - what else does it take to rise to the catwalk of floral fashion?

However, for a long time the botanical gardens were its only refuge. And only when the florists drew attention to the plant, using textured foliage to arrange bouquets, the host moved to private gardens and summer cottages.

Hosts are versatile plants, they are equally pleasant to see in curbs, in groups on lawns, in flower beds, and in rocky gardens. The hosts are especially good on the shores of garden ponds, where lush clumps of large leaves look the most advantageous.

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Hosta plantain

If you decide to write a garden composition in a calm rhythm, "large strokes", hosts become completely irreplaceable.

Bell-shaped host flowers, collected in a brush, are quite decorative, but these plants are bred primarily for the sake of lush greenery: large leaves, of different colors and shapes, sometimes with a waxy coating, of different textures and with a different density of the bush, are certainly capable of decorating any garden.

Now about 40 host species are known, originating from East Asia, including more than two thousand cultivars, differing both in the color of the leaves (can be green, white, golden-pinnate, blue, lettuce, gray, with edging along the edge of the leaf), so and by their texture (glossy, wrinkled or yellow with a waxy coating), the height of the peduncle and the color of the flowers. A separate pleasure for amateurs - varieties with a wavy edge of the leaf blade.

Khosta curly

The hosts can be distinguished by the height of the peduncle and the color of the flowers, but most often the peduncles are removed in order to keep the curtain more compact (with the exception of those specimens that are grown for the scent of flowers, for example, plantain hosta and its varieties).

Among the hosts, there are real giants up to 120 cm in height, having the appearance of exotic plants from the tropics. On the other hand, the fashion for dwarf plants has spawned varieties that do not grow taller than 5 cm.

Most hosts are very unpretentious perennials, which is especially valuable in our time, because not everyone has the opportunity to take care of the garden from morning to evening. Thick, shortened rhizomes with strong, cord-like roots provide hosts with considerable resistance to the vicissitudes of garden life. They are not demanding on soils, prefer humus loams, sufficiently provided with moisture, but without its stagnation.

Hosta lanceolate

These plants are also good in that they do not require transplanting for many years, they are ready to spend up to ten years or more in one place. However, the transplants that happened are easily tolerated. Hosts are very moisture-loving during the survival period, however, well-rooted forms can even be called drought-resistant. They prefer partial shade, but with abundant watering they also grow in the sun, however, it is best to ask about their varietal properties when buying.

In our harsh climate, such quality as frost resistance becomes important: hosts winter well in our area, but preventive mulching will not harm them.

Hosta white-bordered

Some of their varieties are quite expensive - such are the whims of floral fashion! In addition, not all of them grow as quickly as gardeners would like. The more beautiful a varietal plant, the more difficult it is to grow it - an immutable botanical truth!

You can buy hosts at garden centers or get their seeds and cuttings from those who have already taken possession of this garden treasure.

For propagation by host seeds, fresh planting material should be taken. Cold stratification of seeds within 1-3 months promotes friendly germination. Seedlings are unpretentious, but develop slowly, a full-fledged bush appears only for 3-5 years.

Hosta Siebold and Fortchun

The best and most frequently chosen breeding method is division at the beginning of spring growth and at the end of flowering (second half of summer). It is better to keep the strips small as they grow quickly.

In addition, hosts are propagated by cuttings, choosing young shoots with a "heel" for this. The leaf for cuttings should not be too large; young host rosettes with small leaves are best suited for this role. The cuttings are planted in the ground and watered abundantly. It is advisable to shade them and, if possible, spray them for the first time.

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And now - in more detail about some popular host types.

Khosta crispula (Hosta crispula) - the most common, originally from Japan. Large, dense, broadly oval leaves on weakly winged petioles, up to 50 cm long, green with a wide uneven white edging; blooms in the middle of summer with lilac flowers; unpretentious, hibernates without shelter.

Hosta lanceolate (Hosta lancifolia) - found in the wild on rocks in Primorye, Korea, China. Leaves are lanceolate, dense, smooth, green, up to 15 cm. Forms sprawling curtains. Blooms in late summer with purple flowers, peduncles up to 40 cm tall.

Hosta white-bordered (Hosta albo-marginata) - thin, broadly lanceolate leaves of its green color with a white border. The plant itself is relatively small, the peduncle is up to 30 cm, the inflorescence is loose, with funnel-shaped flowers 5-6 cm in length. The color of the flowers is lilac with strongly bent back edges of white.

Hosta wavy

Plantaginaceae host (Hosta plantaginea) - a native of China and Japan, light-green leaves, round, heart-shaped at the base, smooth. It blooms in autumn, the flowers are white, the peduncle is low; prized for their flavor.

Hosta Siebold and H. fortunei (Hosta sieboldiana and H. fortunei) are close relatives from Japan, the leaves are heart-ovate, dense, glaucous, from 20 to 60 cm long. They bloom in mid-summer with light lilac flowers in a dense multi-flowered inflorescence, on a low peduncle. Freezing in snowless winters.

Wavy host (Hosta undulata) - does not occur in the wild. The leaves are wavy, broadly oval lanceolate, dense, on a winged petiole, about 30 cm long. Blossoms in mid-summer. The flowers are lilac, the peduncle is high.

Swollen host (Hosta ventricosa) - origin - China, Korea, leaves are wide, ovate-heart-shaped, large, dark green, up to 50 cm. Blossoms in mid-summer, purple flowers, numerous, on high peduncles.