Sun or Shade: Finding a happy medium

By Bob Solberg

(From the November 2005 “Green Hill Gossip” Jr.)

Finding the perfect amounts of sun and shade in your hosta garden can be a difficult rational task. The sun moves throughout the growing season, the trees grow and all hostas are not created the same. Even a Ph. D. in backyard gardening may not be enough to help you pick the perfect spot for that new hosta that you just could not live without. Maybe it is not a left brain kind of thing, maybe we should turn to our artistic side.

Let’s ponder the philosophy of hosta aesthetics. Hosta beauty is in the eye of the collector. A hosta that appeals to you may not even catch my eye. As hosta collectors we may not put into words what we love about a hosta but we know true love when we see it.

Here is what I desire in a hosta. I have come to prefer pointed leaves to round ones. I like lots of veins and lots of wax, white or shiny. I like extreme color and if it doesn’t last but a month, that is okay. I want proportioned, straight scapes with large purple and white stripped flowers. Size really does not matter. That is what I want in my hosta, bet you prefer something else.

But really this is still too rational. Think art, think pastels, think impressionism, think Monet. Take your glasses off if you need to. How would you paint hostas? Are they stately, upright masses of H. nigrescens and ‘Krossa Regal’ with tall scapes filled with faint flowers? Maybe they are large mounds of perfectly round cupped and puckered saucers reaching upward to catch the morning dew or hold on to last night’s rain. They could be tiny urchins with many spiny arms sticking out from a hidden body. More than likely, they are perfect green hearts of all sizes rimmed in white lacy ruffles like a leprechaun valentine.

Do you have a prejudice for the serenity of mature hosta foliage or the vibrancy of youth? As hostas age, season after season, their demeanor changes from the rash exuberance of youth to the calm elegance of old age. Juvenile hostas tend to have many leaves, flushing again and again. They are small, narrow but frequently with flashy colors. They are busy little clumps full with adolescent scapes with few flowers. They may or may not hint at their ultimate end.

Mature hostas have wide leaves, larger but fewer. They stand tall and proud on long petioles. The leaves have all the wrinkles and crinkles of middle age, giving them character to be respected. Their scapes are tall, and thick, often drooping with a heavy load of seed pods. These mature hostas are the ultimate product of their 60 chromosomes and are worthy of respect from all who pass by.

Time to call the question! Do you like puppies or adult dogs? Do you like the young Elvis or the old Elvis? Do you want the look of juvenile or mature hostas in your garden? A little too much sun and your hostas will have that youthful glow. A little too much shade and they will take on the look of maturity. Most gardens age, become shadier, as a natural course of things. Hostas begin as juvenile clumps and after 5 years look mature. If you want your hostas to keep that youthful look, a chain saw is often necessary.

From my point of view, garden sun and shade should be constantly adjusted so that my hostas find that happy medium where they form mature leaves but still maintain the vigor of their youth. The leaves should look “normal”, round, heart-shaped or lanceolate. They should show all their subtleties of color and texture while maintaining good substance. The gold hostas should glow in moments of bright sunlight but not burn. The blues should be very waxy even with overhead watering. The clumps must increase well and they should bloom. You may or may not agree with me, after all it sounds like my left brain is talking again.