Probably one of the most common landscaping plants used in our area and in many countries in the world is known by various names. The Plantain Lily or Hosta lancifolia is mostly referred to as simply a hosta. The official classification is Monocotyledon which also includes lilies and grasses. The American Hosta Society (yes there is a hosta society!) call it a “Friendship plant” since over the years many gardeners have dug their plants up, chopped it up and shared it with friends. I know I have shared some different varieties of hostas with friends and they shared with me. What is better than a free plant?
Over the centuries, hostas have interested many horticulturists. In 1690 a botanist observed and made drawings of the plants while in Japan, but at that time it was not allowed to take any plants out of Japan. In the 1700s seeds were brought from China and grown in western Europe. By 1812 a renowned horticulturist, Leopold Trattnick, studied this grouping of plants and named them Hosta after his collegue, Nicolaus Host. Host was a Croatian botanist that started gardens in the Belvedere Palace in Vienna in 1793. These gardens still exist today. By 1823 Phillip Von Siebold, a military physician in the Dutch Indies was also very interested in botany. After curing a Japanese officer, he was allowed to study the plants and built a glass house and collected over 1,000 plants and managed to send over 500 different plants to Holland before he got into trouble and was charged with treason and espionage in 1829. By the 1860s, the Japanese realized the economic value of the plants and started selling hostas and other kinds of plants to westerners.
One of the reasons this perennial is so popular is their great hardiness, low maintenance and their interesting foliage. Their leaves vary from as small as our fingernails to as large as dinner plates. The leaves can be round or lance shaped. Colors are in every shade of green; from yellow green to deep blue green and also striped with white. Hostas are generally known as shade lovers and can even tolerate the juglone in the soil under black walnut trees. Hostas do require 4-6 weeks of temperatures below 42 degrees so they are not a great houseplant.
All hostas get a flower from scape. Some plants may have just a few and some may get many, they vary in height and colors range from white to lavender. Each hosta flower is open only one day and only one variety actually has a lovely fragrance that attracts moths. Blooming starts in early July through September. I clip off the scapes when they are done blooming.
Hostas are long lived – forever actually once established. The best time to split and separate them is the early spring or in the late fall. You know it is time to split them is if you see a dead center in the plant. Dig the entire plant up and cut the living part into desired size chunks. Replant, move or share with friends. I have found that the more common varieties grow larger and faster than the new varieties.
Some of the common types of hostas many of us may have are the plain green, with lance shaped leaves is lancifolia and one of the green with white edges may be Undulata Albomarginata. There are new varieties being developed and there is a new hosta of the year available. Over the years there have been some very unique, fun names given to hostas. Some are; White Feather, Virginia Reel, Spilt Milk, Blue Angel, Fried Green Tomatoes and Komodo Dragon just to name a few.
— Kris Winkler is a master gardener with the University of Wisconsin-Extension. She can be reached at kriswink56@gmail.com.
