^ 



-*». 



tions in my dream garden, I'll keep the large woodland 

 area because, after all, that is where many hostas do 

 best However, it should not be solid shade Having 

 found out that some hostas iii<e the sun, I'm going to 

 continue them in stronger light Moving the yellows into 

 the sun still gives me a palette of greens and variega- 

 tions with which to paint a picture Between yellow- 

 green, blue-green and all the variegated forms, any artist 

 could be kept busy Also, it is in this partially shaded 

 area where hostas really shine as minimum maintenance 

 plants, shading out all but the tree seedling weeds. A 

 little attention to watering, a yearly fertilization, a slug 

 program — and the work is done. 



After all this discussion on leaves, one has to be re- 

 minded that there are also flowers Some hosta have 

 spectacular bloom, starting with H. sieboldiana in the 

 spring and ending with the plantaginea group, for ex- 

 ample, 'Royal Standard', in the fall Some are fragrant 

 and add a pleasant aroma to the garden and all add 

 bright spots of color 1 extend my garden flower se- 

 quence even further by adding crocus to the hosta beds. 

 I know that some people object to bulbs mixed with 

 hostas because the yellowing bulb foliage can detract 

 from the spring freshness of the emerging hosta. On the 

 other hand, I believe that the bright crocus colors are 

 wonderful season lengtheners while I'm waiting for the 

 hosta to come up. I push the crocus foliage down under 

 the hosta leaves and it is hardly visible. 



In a short article, it is impossible to include all the 



available hosta information For the person who wants to 

 go on, there are three major references that all devotees 

 should have 



The HosUj Book, 2nd Edition, by Paul Aden 



Hosla, The Flowering Foliage Plant, by Diana Grenfell 



The Cenus Hosta, by W George Schmid 

 All three are published by Timber Press at 9999 S W. 

 Wilshire, Portland, Oregon 97225 Of the three, Schmid's 

 is the most complete because it includes a very long list 

 of both English and Japanese cultivars It is also the 

 most controversial because he reduces all species not 

 known in the wild to the level of cultivars, eg, Hosta 

 lancifolia becomes Hosta 'Lancifolia' and Hosta tokudama be- 

 comes Hosta 'Tokudama' It will be interesting to see if 

 his taxonomic concepts hold Remember, we would be 

 calling our hostas A/f(ris if the International Botanical 

 Congress didn't decide to conserve the name Hosta in 

 1905. 



So, hostas are old plants that have been in garden 

 use for a very long time; hostas are new plants and the 

 spring catalogs each year present a panoply of new 

 goodies; and hostas are the plants for the future as 

 people find new uses for them and try them in different 

 spots. You can be part of this exciting parade You have 

 a place for Hosta in your garden. 



Dr Owen M Rogers is Professor of Plant Biology at the University 

 of Uew Hampshire His address is Department of Plant Biology. 

 Nesmith Hall, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824- 

 3597 His phone number is (603) 862-3222 't 



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16 



The Plantsman 



