Hostas require no special cultivation which is one of the reasons they are so popular. They have become known as the lazy gardener's plant! They produce a display for approximately 7-8 months of the year from the early spring and die back naturally as the winter approaches. The following spring they will come back again, normally bigger and better.

As with all plants they will benefit from good compost dug in and around the plant when planting out. Bowdens recommend Levingtons M2 compost, known as the 'Rolls Royce' of composts. We repot all our hostas every year and at this time introduce fresh compost and slow release fertilizer.

All hostas flower, with colours ranging from deep purple through to white. Some are particularly floriferous, or have red scapes (flower stalks), some flowers are fragrant. A number of gardeners like to cut off the flowers when they appear, to keep the leaves looking good for longer. Others enjoy their hostas blooming. It's a matter of personal preference.

The main pests tend to be slugs and snails and much of the damage can be prevented by being proactive with slug control early in the season. See our Slug Control page for more information.

Hostas only come true from division. Should you grow hostas from seed, remember that the result will often be a pretty blue or green hosta (occasionally a variegated one), but it will not be true to its parentage.