• Shade to Part Sun
• Somewhat drought tolerant once established.
• Plant in fertile, moist but well-drained soil
• Can be divided in late summer or early spring

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Looking for a tough yet beautiful, easy to care for, lush perennial… then look no further than hostas as your garden staple!

The Facts:

Hostas are a leafy perennial that come in a wide variety of colors, textures, shapes and sizes! They are an excellent choice for patios, borders, rock gardens, and containers! Hostas range in color from bright greens to cooler blues, with smooth to more rigid textured, narrow to heart shaped leaves. Most varieties tend to grow between 1 to 3 feet tall as well as extend 1 to 3 feet wide. Mainly known for their fun and bright leafy foliage, hostas also produce long stems topped with light colored flowers from early summer to early fall. Expect to see pollinators such as bees and hummingbirds after they bloom.

Our Favorites:

While the variety of hostas is vast, we’re going to focus on a few of our favorites that we carry and love! To check our stock before you come out and shop, click on the following link to see our current inventory catalog: https://shop.thegoodearthgarden.com/departments/hosta

Guacamole Hosta

Named fondly for its resemblance to a sliced avocado, the Guacamole hosta has large textured, bright neon green leaves with accents of a darker green touching the edges. While no hosta should be planted in direct sunlight (especially with our Arkansas summers), what makes the Guacamole hosta so desirable by many gardeners is that it can withstand more sun, up to 4 hours a day, and hotter temperatures. The Guacamole hosta adds a pop of color to your beds without much fuss. We keep this variety well stocked in 1 and 3 gallon sizes.

Blue Angel Hosta

Also known as the “Plantation Lily”, the Blue Angel hosta is beloved by gardeners everywhere for its lush look! This variety grows very large dark green-blue toned, ridged leaves and long-lasting funnel shaped, pale white flowers. The Blue Angel is great for mixing with other perennials in shadier beds, as its heavily textured, oval to wedge shaped leaves are great background coverage. Fully grown, the foliage can reach roughly 3 feet in height and 5 feet wide, making it an inexpensive investment to cover larger areas of your garden. The Blue Angel hosta is a recipient of the prestigious Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society, and a very popular one for us too! We carry this variety in 1 and 3 gallon sizes.

The Care:

When first planting your hostas:

1. Pick a location that receives partial sun to shade.
2. When planting potted hostas, plant at the soil level of the original pot. Make sure to plant in fertile and moist, yet well drained soil.
3. Add a balanced, slow release fertilizer when planting. Good Earth’s professional grade plant food, Jump Start, is an excellent choice for this.

Maintenance:

1. Keep the soil moist, but not soaked. Hostas are drought resistant and fairly forgiving of the forgetful gardener, but will thrive better when properly watered on a regular basis.
2. Add mulch around your beds to help retain moisture.
3. Remove flower stalks after their blooming period to promote new foliage growth.
4. Cut back your hostas after the first or second frost, typically late fall, in order to prevent slugs and fungus from appearing due to mushy and dead leaves.

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Every year brings opportunities for new plants, and this year is no exception!  I have poured over the catalogs, reviewed plant trials and talked to other growers.  Here is just some of the goodies available this year.

Dianthus ‘Paint the Town Fuchsia’

What a pretty color this is!  There is a bunch of breeding in the Dianthus category, and the options were numerous!  This variety will bloom earlier than other Dianthus varieties. It only grows 6-8” tall.

Yarrow ‘Sassy Summer Sunset’

Last year we had Yarrow ‘Sassy Summer Sangria’ which was gorgeous, and yes, we will have it again for 2020.  This year there is a new color in the series called ‘Sassy Summer Sunset’.  It has a very nice shade of orange, that made me super excited when I saw it. The flowers will fade to yellow, so really you are getting a two-color bonus. Grows 30-36” tall.

Baptisia ‘Vanilla Cream’

You may have the purple or better yet the ‘Lemon Meringue’ variety, but may I introduce you to ‘Vanilla Cream’!  Yep, a cream white flowering Baptisia.  I thought y’all would enjoy this, especially those who may have the other colors.  For those who might be seeing Baptisia for the first time, get one!  Being oh soo pretty and easy to grow, this is a great plant for newbies to the gardening world.  The variety grows 2-3′ tall.

Agastache ‘Blue Boa’

I grew this for you!  I was asked quite often for more of the blue/purple taller Anise Hyssop and here is a great one!  Featured in Fine Gardening magazine last year, it brings up a great point which is if you like Salvia ‘May Night’ then you would love ‘Blue Boa’.  I agree.  The Agastache has a much longer bloom time.  Attracts Pollinators! Grows 30-36” tall.

Agastache ‘Poquito Butter Yellow’

Ok, truth time: this one I grew for me!  It won the “Classic City Award” from the trial gardens at UGA (University of Georgia) last September.  This variety has been applauded by many horticulturists so of course we need this one too! Grows only 13” tall.

Iris ‘Social Graces’

This Iris was given the award of Merit from the American Iris Society.  I think that is one of those colors that would enhance any flower bed.  Fragrant.

Hosta ‘Rainbow’s End’

There is a lot of Hostas out there guys!  It takes a special one for me to turn my head, but sure enough ‘Rainbow’s End’ had me looking and then ordering them for us.  Hard to describe, better seen in person, it is the combination of variegation, saturation of color, and the shiny leaf that sets it apart from other Hostas.  Grows 11” tall.

High Roller Red Hot Poker

Jackpot Red Hot Poker

Kniphofia ‘High Roller’ and ‘Jackpot’  (Red Hot Poker)

We have had Red Hot Poker plants in the past, and we even had them planted on the property.  Entrancing everyone, it is the combination of color and just being uniquely different that makes these plants a nice addition to a flower bed.  These two varieties are brand new and both grow pretty big.  ‘Jackpot’ grows 32-36” tall and ‘High Roller’ grows 36-48” tall.  Deer and rabbit resistant.

Daylily ‘Primal Scream’

Huge 7 ½ to 8 ½” brilliant orange flowers that are classified officially as “unusual form”, this name fits it well!  In the same series is ‘Ruby Red Spider’ daylily which is absolutely amazing!

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Heuchera/ Coral Bells

Lovely, colorful Heuchera come in so many colors it is truly hard to choose. There are many different kinds of Heuchera out there, but did you know that some are better than others? Heuchera that has villosa breeding in them have been known to be the best heat and humidity tolerant. Most of our selections indeed have this breeding, so all you have to do is pick your favorite ones.

New varieties we are growing this year include Heuchera ‘Lava Lamp’, Heuchera ‘Zipper’ and Heuchera ‘Peach Melba’.

Heuchera ‘Peach Melba’

Heuchera ‘Lava Lamp’

Heuchera ‘Zipper’

Ajuga ‘Black Scallop’

Ajuga/ Bugleweed

Bugleweed was popular in 2016 for good reason. Being an easy, low maintenance ground cover that also flowers makes this an excellent choice.

New this year is Ajuga ‘Black Scallop’

Pro tip: Use the dark varieties along light colored stones, and concrete for greater contrast of color.

Lamium ‘Red Nancy’

Lamium/ Dead Nettle

The white leaves of Lamium brighten up any shady spot, and can be used in containers or as a ground cover. New this year is Lamium ‘Red Nancy’.

Brunnera/ Siberian Bugloss

Looking for something a bit different for your shady beds, Brunnera adds a nice silver/white color and texture with light blue flowers. Likes moist soils.

Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ and Brunnera ‘Looking Glass’ are new this year.

Brunnera ‘Looking Glass’

Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’

Tricyrtis ‘Autumn Glow’

Tricyrtis/ Toad Lily

Shade gardeners are pleased to discover Toad Lilies because the flowers are unusual and bloom late summer to fall just in time when a point of interest is needed most.

New this year is Tricyrtis ‘Autumn Glow’.

Tradescantia ‘Zwanenburg’

Tradescantia/ Spiderwort

Spiderworts love moist shady spots, and will have two bloom cycles if you cut them back after flowering.

New this year is Tradescantia ‘Zwanenburg Blue’.

Hosta

Tried and true Hosta’s do not disappoint.

Here are a few new varieties this year or ones we haven’t had in awhile: Hosta ‘Wheee!’, Hosta ‘Maui Buttercups’, and Hosta ‘Praying Hands’.

Hosta ‘Praying Hands’

Hosta ‘Maui Buttercups’

Hosta ‘Wheee!!’

Stylophorum diphyllum

Stylophorum diphyllum/ Celandine Poppy

Native to parts of Arkansas this plant is a long blooming wildflower. Likes moist, humus-y soil, and grows 12”-16” tall.

We hope you enjoyed learning about these new shade perennials!  We look forward to seeing you soon!

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