Date: Fri 31-May-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A-10

Quick Words:

Subruban-Gardener-Hostas

Full Text:

(Suburban Gardener column on Hostas, 5/31/96(

Suburban Gardener-

Hostas: The Aristocrats Among Perennials

By Anthony C. Bleach

I never knew Hostas until I came to Philadelphia to meet my wife's family.

They were known as funka lilies then. I brought some divisions to our garden

in Watertown.

Wayne Winterrowd calls them the aristocrats among perennials, "endlessly

adaptable, accepting dry shade, bright light, deep gloom, soils sweet and

sour." They can be as tall as four feet, like "Krossa Regal," the seersuckered

H. sieboldiana "Elegans," or the enormous golden H. "Sum and Substance," to

the tiny three-inch forms of H. venusta , like "Tiny Tears."

They bloom from early summer, when H. sleboldiana comes, to almost October,

when H. tardiflora completes the season. Though the genus is usually not

perfumed, H. plantaginia has a sweet, lily-like fragrance. Any Hosta, either

as leaves or as leaves and flowers, make excellent arrangements for the table.

Some Hostas, like the H. plantaginia species which includes "Royal Standard"

or "Honeybells," are very easy to propagate. Cut up a clump and spread it

around. If you throw them into the woods, they still thrive. You can give them

away like tomatoes and still have more than you want.

But some, like H. tokudama , seem to sit and sulk.

Henry A. Ross, writing in the Journal of the Perennial Plant Association , has

"A Foolproof Method of Propagating Hostas." Stick a sharp knife through the

stem of the plant, starting about an inch or two above the basal plate and out

straight through the base, into the roots. If the stem is thin, one cut is all

you will be able to manage. With a thick stem, however, it is possible to make

two, three or even four cuts.

After performing the operation, tuck the soil back around the plant and leave

it alone, except for fertilizing and keeping the plant well watered. You have

actually divided the plant into several sections without disturbing it in any

way so there is virtually no shock. The worst that can happen is there may be

a slight yellowing of the leaves.

Since the foliage has not been cut and does not realize it is now feeding

several pieces of plant instead of just one, it continues to send down

nutrients to the crown and roots. The divided crown will immediately begin

initiating new growth, which will grow the following spring.

If you do this early in the year, the buds will be big and fat and the

resulting crowns will be of good size next year. If you do it late in the

season, the resulting buds will not have had as much time to develop, so

resulting crowns will be smaller next year.

The following year, when the plant begins to grow, fertilize it and keep it

watered. Toward the end of the season dig up the plant, separate into

individual crowns, and replant. The next year, this procedure can be repeated,

only this time you will have several pups to play with.

Do not expect that multiple crowns will appear at once on a single crown

plant. Multiple crowns may not appear until the spring of the following year,

when multiple shoots appear at the base of the plant.

So buy a good knife and get working. Let's flood the world with these

treasures so all can enjoy them.

(Anthony C. Bleach coordinates the horticulture degree program at Naugatuck

Valley Community-Technical College in Waterbury.)