Hostas

Bold foliage forms orderly mounds with dependable sprays of fragrant bell-shaped flowers on tall stalks. Valuable and cherished low-maintenance border plant provides shade-loving groundcover from spring to frost. With their varying colors, textures and clump sizes, hostas alone under trees can make a woodland garden.

Hostas tolerate a wide range of soil conditions but need moisture. Those with blue and variegated leaves develop their best color in shade. Deep shade gives fewer flowers but better leaf colors. Plant 2–4' apart in rich soil with adequate humus. Divide every 4–5 years, or leave them alone; they will improve with age as they spread and establish. Native to eastern Asia.

Days in parentheses after a variety indicate days to first bloom.