4 reasons gardeners love hostas

With their handsome foliage that lasts all season long, it's no wonder hostas are popular plants. These are just a few reasons that you may want a hosta in your garden.

• Hostas make a strong statement in a border or woodland garden, as a ground cover beneath trees or as edging along a walk or driveway.
• Hostas don't unfurl their leaves until late in spring, making them ideal for interplanting with spring bulbs.
• As they emerge, they quickly and effectively hide the unsightly spent leaves of daffodils and crocus.
• Hostas send up long, slender flower stalks lined with white or lavender flowers, often fragrant, that linger for several weeks.

• If you like plain green leaves, there are a number of hostas that fit the bill, ranging from pale lime to deep forest.
• There are also alternatives, including hostas with solid blue leaves, like 'Krossa Regal,' or golden ones, such as 'August Moon.'
• The leaves may also be variegated: marked with edging, marbling or centre splotches in white or yellow that appear luminous in shade.
• Some hostas have softly ribbed leaves. Others, like the 'Frances Williams,' are puckered or quilted.
• Hostas come in large and small, varying from the demure, 15-centimetre-high (six-inch-high) 'Little Aurora' to the immense, 75-centimetre-tall (30-inch-tall) and wide 'Sum and Substance'.

• The secret to growing spectacular, low-maintenance hostas is good soil.
• In early spring, or fall in mild areas, plant in organically rich, well-drained soil.
• Be careful to not over-water, or to neglect them in a drought.
• They thrive in good but indirect light. For sunnier spots, select a more light-tolerant hosta, such as 'Sun Power.'
• Shady spots that welcome hostas are often damp as well. This saves you the trouble of regular watering.

• While planting hostas in the shade helps with watering, it also means that slugs and snails may be lurking.
• Slugs and snails can deface the leaves with holes, although new foliage quickly fills the gaps.
• To keep these pests at bay, water only in the morning. This makes the plants less temptingly moist to nighttime feeders.
• Don't fertilize hostas as it encourages succulent but vulnerable growth.
• Set out slug traps, like saucers of beer, or use copper barriers that give a shock. Another option is sprinkling the area with diatomaceous earth, which forms a barrier that cuts slugs' skin.
• Varieties with thick, quilted leaves, such as 'Frances Williams', are less appealing to slugs.
• Deer may also dine on hostas. To dissuade them, tuck a bar of deodorant soap among your hostas, or spray plants with a commercial deer deterrent as directed on the label.

Beautiful and relatively easy to grow, hostas can make a nice addition to most gardens. Once they're planted, your main concern will be keeping pests at bay. But if you care for these plants properly, the reward could be well worth it.