Lovely Hostas – Perennials That Grow In Shade

Hostas – Stunning, Leafy Perennials That Grow In Shade

A lot of nurseries send bare root plants when you order them online. A lot of nurseries sell roses bare rooted too. That’s okay when the plants are dormant and can do without water for a while.

I bought a packet of bare rooted Hostas, perennials that grow in shade (not realizing that these were bare rooted until I opened the bag) and thought I’d take the opportunity to show anyone who has not done this before how to handle and plant bare root perennials. Hostas are wonderful perennials that grow in shade. They do like a bit of morning sun however. Vincas are shade ground covers which will grow anywhere and I’m going to plant them around the Hostas.

This is the shady bed I talked about in my previous article. At the moment it has some sun because the the maples are only just starting to get their leaves, but the shade under the Ceanothus is pretty dense. The Erigeron is thriving as are some self seeded Osteospernums (Blue Eyed Daisies is another term for them) and Forget Me Nots. I am going to plant Hostas and Vinca ground cover in amongst the other plants. This soil is very friable and has had compost added to it. The Hostas will receive some sunlight in the morning.

1. Make sure the plants are in good condition. If they look withered or diseased, return them. They will struggle to grow and probably won’t make it. These look good although, as you can see, they have already started growing and probably wouldn’t look so happy in a week’s time if I hadn’t opened them up.

2. Dig a hole large enough to spread the roots and then add some plant food. I am using organic plant food here. I usually then add a thin layer of soil over the fertilizer so as not to burn any roots. Just a precaution.

3. Spread the roots of your plant out and lay the plant in the hole. In this case the instructions say to place the growing tip just below the soil. That presumes that the plant has not yet shooted, so I have place it with the base of the new stalk just below the surface.

4. Gently refill the whole with soil, making sure that the soil goes in between the spread out roots. Firm down gently. Someone told me that I should firm plants in the way I tuck my daughters into bed, snugly but not so they can’t breathe!

5. Water the plant in well. Do this whenever you plant anything, even if the soil is already damp. This ensures that there are no air spaces around the roots and they start growing quicker. Another gardener said she never loses a seedling if she pops it into the hole and fills the hole with water before filling in, firming and sprinkling with water again.

6. Because snails just love Hostas, I sprinkled some snail bait around the plant so give them a chance to grow. I didn’t bother around the Vinca because it is indestructable! My sister went out one night and found more than 150 snails crawling over her poor Hostas.

One of my Hostas just five days later, looking happy and growing well. Although Hostas are perennials that bloom all summer, they are grown more for their flashy leaves.

The other day I planted by bare rooted Columbines using exactly the same method.  They had not yet sprouted so are completely buried at this point. I hope to see them popping out of the soil soon.

Happy gardening and don’t forget your sunscreen. There’s so much skin cancer about, you must protect your skin.

By the way, here is a link to a list of gopher resistant plants:http://www.groundcoversandgardening.com/gopher resistant plants and if you want to buy plants that deer probably won’t eat, look here.

Now is the time to buy hosta bulbs online or from the nursery.

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