Benefits Of Buying From a Reputable Hosta Nursery!

Well, we can answer this in one sentence. You are guaranteed to receive a correctly labelled plant that is not diseased! This is not to say that we are perfect but we stand behind our plants and will fix any problems you may have with your order! Of course we will go into greater detail with a description of this statement but that is the short of it.

Guaranteed True to Name!

We have seen numerous posts on multiple forums from unaware people posting hostas with the wrong name. This is not the consumers fault as most hosta growers don’t know the difference between all the hosta cultivars. You assume that if the label was in that plant container then that is what it is. The problem with this is that almost no one working in a local nursery or a big box store could identify hostas by name. They are all hostas to them and they all look alike. If a customer takes the label out and does not replace it or puts it back in the wrong container then the chances of this getting fixed are slim to none.

Hostas are notorious for mutating (sporting) as well and we see this happen here often. These plants should never be sold as the plant they are labelled as. An all green ‘Guacamole’ is not ‘Guacamole’. It’s not that anyone is at fault for this but when someone orders a ‘Guacamole’ they should feel comfortable that they received what they bought. Although there are some interesting and new sports to be found the majority of them are less valuable than the actual hosta for sale. If one of these plants are being sold at a garden center or box store it will never be corrected and someone is bound to buy it mistakenly.

New Hampshire Hostas guarantees that you will receive a true to name hosta and will fix any problems you may have with your order.

What’s Wrong With My Hosta?

As we mentioned in the opening statement, we guarantee that our plants are not diseased. There are a few viruses that hostas are susceptible of being infected with.

The most well-known and feared virus is Hosta Virus X (HVX).

This virus affects the appearance of the hosta usually with green blotching and spotting. This virus is transmitted primarily through cutting the plants. Contact of the infected plant’s sap with sap of a healthy plant will infect the new plant. This can happen whenever cuts are made and the instruments or hands are not disinfected afterwards. Dividing hostas, removing bloom scapes, removing leaves, stepping on them, even accidentally running the lawnmower over them can and will spread this virus. It survives only in living plant tissue and dies without a host. Plants in pots may be simply disposed of or burned. Plants in the ground should be dug carefully as to get as many roots as possible, and the spot should not be replanted until any remaining roots have died and rotted away.

We took this photo from a hosta forum in which an aware consumer noticed these affected ‘Sum and Substance’ being sold in a box store.

Hosta’Sum and Substance’ with HVX

Here lies the biggest problem with this virus. Most nurseries and box stores are not aware of the virus and therefore just sell them. Even worse is their suppliers do know of the virus but making their quota is more important than remedying the issue. Even if the hostas next to an affected hosta don’t show symptoms you can assume that the virus is there and just not showing it yet. If you see affected plants do not buy these hostas and more importantly let someone working there know so we can stop the spread of this virus.

New Hampshire Hostas and other hosta nurseries are very aware of this virus and only buy stock from reputable suppliers that offer clean unaffected stock.

A Healthy Hosta 'Sum & Substance' Growing in Our Garden.

A Healthy Hosta ‘Sum and Substance’ Growing in Our Garden.

We soak all propagated divisions in a hydrogen peroxide bath when we do our dividing. This kills any fungus, is a good overall cleanser and stimulates the roots. We clean all of our propagating and pruning tools in a bleach solution after every use. There is very little chance for the spread of diseases with our stock.

So hopefully you can see the importance of supporting the hosta nurseries and the tireless work they do to produce clean, true to name hostas for their customers.

Yes, you can get cheap hostas at other local nurseries and box stores, but do you really know what you’re getting? There is a reason for the low costs of these plants. Reputable hosta nurseries can justify a slightly higher cost of their plants because you are guaranteed to receive a true to name plant that is not diseased.

Growing White-Centered Hostas!

White Centered Hostas

Let’s face it, most of us are gravitated to white-centered hostas as the leaf contrast in usually very striking. We all think of hostas as the indestructible, easy, no care plant. The problem with the white-centered hostas is that there is no chlorophyll in the white tissue. The white part of the hosta cannot produce food for the roots and needs to be supported by the green parts of the leaf.

Hosta ‘White Christmas’

With that said you can imagine that the more white tissue in the leaf then the harder the plant is to grow. The fact is that these hostas don’t always perform as well as intended and sometimes they don’t survive. This does not mean that you should just give up on trying them but you need to understand that there are multiple factors that can aid you in your quest to grow them. The white-centered hostas will demand more light than other hostas but it wants to be indirect sun. What we mean by this is that morning sun is not as direct and hot as mid-day sun. If these hostas are sited in a bright morning sun location it helps the plant produce energy for the roots. A bright filtered sun during the day is also a good location. Too much direct sun can burn the white part of the leaf. If you have a mostly shaded location then white-centered hostas might not be what you want to plant there although there are exceptions. White-centered hostas with thicker leaves perform great in the shade garden. Examples for us are ‘American Sweetheart’, ‘Ann Kulpa’, ‘Lakeside Spellbinder’ and ‘Night Before Christmas’.

Hosta ‘American Sweetheart’

The white-centered hostas also want an adequate amount of water to help them perform. The only way some of the white-centered hostas will reach their potential size is if they receive a sufficient amount of sun and water in a location with good fertile soil. New Hampshire Hostas always lists the largest size each hosta could possibly reach at maturity, but this is very dependent on location and more important with the white-centered hostas. White-centered hostas will generally be much smaller than the listed sizes because of the the factors listed above.

For the casual gardener these hostas can be quite a disappointment if not sited correctly but for the avid hosta grower these are treasured plants that we try multiple times in multiple locations until we get it right. We have noticed with a few white-centered hostas that patience is a virtue. We stopped selling ‘Lakeside Love Affaire’ and ‘My Child Insook’ because they performed so badly in the container and in the garden. They did not die in the ground but also did not perform well enough to demand a location in the garden. We decided to leave them in the garden and gave them extra care (water and fertilizer), by the fourth year both of them performed pretty well. The ‘Lakeside Love Affaire’ was so nice that we have brought it back into production. This picture is from our garden this year (2014).

Hosta ‘Lakeside Love Affaire’

Another type of white-centered hostas that perform well are viridescent types. These hostas emerge with white but will add more green in the leaf as the season progresses which helps the plant perform better. Hostas that are viridescent are ‘Allegan Fog’, ‘Dancing Stars’, ‘Guardian Angel’, ‘Midnight at the Oasis’, ‘Whirlwind’, ‘White Christmas’, ‘White Elephant’ and ‘Zebra Stripes’.

Hosta ‘Guardian Angel’

In closing, we don’t want you to be discouraged if you were thinking about growing white-centered hostas but rather be educated on what you can do to have better success. You might get a little frustrated and you might have to try multiple times but everyone should own a successful clump of Hosta ‘Andrew’!

Hosta ‘Andrew’

Why Grow Hardy Ferns?

Most ferns are not going to add a lot of color to your garden. So why grow them, you ask? For texture, form and contrast.

I know I have a soft spot for ferns because there were everywhere in the woods and swamps I loved spending time in as a child. But my love of ferns is more than that. I rank them as one of the best companion plants for hosta in the shade garden.

Most fine floral arrangements use fern foliage for contrast and texture. The fern provides a back drop for the colorful flowers. Ferns make the colors stand out. They are the Vanna White of the floral world. They can do the same in a hosta garden. Tall ones, short ones, flat ones or vertical ones – there is a lot of variety in the hardy ferns.

The Christmas fern and the Painted ferns can be used in the foreground of the taller hostas or to the side of the shorter hostas. The Ostrich and Royal ferns can stand tall in the background or to the side of the larger hosta.

The Painted ferns have the most color to offer of any of the hardy ferns. Painted ferns are very easy to grow so long as they do not go dry in the summer. Most of the painted ferns are in the 18 to 24 inch height range. Godzilla is a new painted fern that grows to 3 feet! Almost twice the size of the other cultivars. I can’t wait to see it in the garden in 2-3 yrs.

Any of the ferns can be used for massing if you have the room. Some of my favorite for specimen planting are those with dark green leathery foliage. The Shield Fern when it matures really stands out and draws your eye. To me they make a statement.

Different ferns speak to different gardeners. Take a look at all the variety of hardy ferns. Try putting some in that constantly moist area. Spice up your garden with hardy ferns!

Planting Hostas In The Summertime

Planting in Summer is a No-No?? Not So!

The rule of thumb has always been to never plant in summer, but rather plant in spring and fall when the weather is cooler. As this is a good rule, it is not set in stone. We do the majority of our planting in the summer months as the plants root in very quickly with the warm soil temperatures. It is not a good idea to plant new plantings in the beating sun, but most of the hostas are being placed in shade so that is not an issue.

Two Rules About Planting In Summer

You need to keep everything you plant well watered, especially during dry periods. So, if you are going on vacation for a week after you planted some new hostas, your results may not be gratifying.
It is also not a good idea to plant bare root plants in the heat of summer as the roots have been disturbed and it takes time for them to redevelop. Our plants are shipped to you in their container with soil (except for AK, AZ, CA and OR), so you don’t have that issue.

My Hostas Are Thirsty!

The most important ingredient to any garden is water. As we have seen in the news, some of you have an excess of water right now. However, up here in New Hampshire we have not seen rain in quite awhile and we have started to run sprinklers on our hosta beds. Extreme dry periods can stress the hostas and they will actually become smaller the following year.

Early morning is the best time to water as there is less evaporation and the plants dry during the day which helps against fungus and rot. A sprinkler left on for an hour once or twice a week will help the hostas through the dry periods. Don’t always rely on a rain storm as it is difficult to judge how much water was actually absorbed by the ground. We use a rain gauge to know how much rain we got with each storm. We like to see an inch of rain a week to keep the gardens flourishing. Check out our blog post on rain gauges.

What To Plant Now

If you do want to plant now, may we recommend some fragrant hostas? The fragrant hostas start to look their best when the summer heat arrives. Soon these beauties will adorn us with their sweet smelling fragrant flowers.

Why Gardeners Need A Rain Gauge!

The most important ingredient to any garden is water. We amend and condition our soils in order to manage the water content. We mulch in order to retain water. Water is so essential to a successful hosta garden. It would only make sense that an instrument to measure the daily rainfall is a very valuable tool.

For several years I have had a very simple and inexpensive rain gauge near my side entrance in front of a clump of Hosta ‘Olive Bailey Langdon‘. It is mounted on a short post pounded into the ground in a bed of Thorndale English Ivy. The gauge is not mounted under any dripping trees or roof line. These would interfere with the accuracy.

Hosta ‘Olive Bailey Langdon‘

When there is more than ample rain in the spring to make the gardens flourish it is still interesting to know how much rain is falling from the sky. In the summer it is more valuable to know what fell on my garden that day. Do I need to water that new tree or hosta or lawn to insure survival?

Summer rains are frequently widely variable over a very short distance. This makes a gauge all the more valuable. You cannot rely on the local weather man to tell you the rainfall on your garden. Even a friend 10 miles away could experience a very different result from that last thunderstorm.

Think about where you could mount this great gardening tool in your garden.

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, our gardens are sleeping for the winter and it is definitely cold every morning when we let the dogs out. We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and a great start to the holiday season.

Happy Holidays from Abby!

The Hosta Sizes We Sell

PJ’s Yorkshire Terrier, Chloe, showcases the sizes we sell.

The start up plugs from left to right:
65MM – Rare Breed, Wishing Well, Sparkler, Rockets Red Glare, Mr Blue
35MM – Blonde Impressions, Victory, Thunderbolt, Sugar Plum, Curly Fries

The 3 inch pots from left to right:
Mouse Trap (with ruler), Sugar Babe, Tiny Bubbles, Dixie Chick Green, Dixie Chickadee

4 inch pots from left to right:
Dick Ward, Tick Tock, Grand Tiara (behind Tick Tock), Grand Slam, Pathfinder, Pewterware, Autumn Frost

The four two gallon hostas behind the 4 inch from left to right:
Alligator Shoes, Striptease, Climax, Earth Angel

The Orioles Are Here In New Hampshire!

The orioles showed up in the gardens last week.

For those of you that do not see them, but would like to, it is very easy. Cut an orange in half (I use the Navel oranges) and place it up off the ground atop a fence post or such.

If you remember my blog post about feeding wood peckers under my pergola, I have nails with the heads removed hammered into the top of the pergola. I slam the orange half on top of the nail to hold it in place. This is in view from inside where I can look down and see these colorful birds when they come to feed. The orioles are also visible and audible in the tree tops from time to time.

Our Eastern species of orioles winter in Central America and the top of South America. Seeing and hearing them is like having a piece of the tropics in your backyard for the summer!

For those of you in the West, I would imagine that the Bullocks Oriole would feed on oranges as well as our Baltimore and Orchard orioles do.

I also screw a six inch plastic jar lid to the same area atop the pergola. In this I place tablespoons of grape jelly or grape jam. They feed on this as well. Oranges seem to be the most popular and the jelly washes away in the rain. The orange halves are there until they are empty.

The oranges were in place this year prior to the oriole’s arrival. I noticed the week before they came that the Cat Birds were here – and feeding on the orange halves! If only I could get the Catbirds to stick with the oranges and leave the blueberries to me.

Meet Our Staff

Meet our amazing New Hampshire Hostas staff!

From left to right: P.J., Sherri, Jean, Richard..and of course Chloe and Abby: the wonder dogs!

Which Are The Largest Of The Giant Hostas?

Empress Wu Hosta

Empress Wu Hosta (40″T x 70″W) and Gentle Giant Hosta (46″ T x 70″W) have been two of our biggest sellers of the giant hosta varieties that we grow over the last two growing seasons.

Hosta gardeners are clearly obsessed with size and I can understand this from my own gardening experience. A four foot tall Gentle Giant sitting out in, or standing out in, a hosta bed is a tantalizing thought.

Sum and Substance Hosta (32″T x 72″W) and Blue Angel Hosta (32″T x 70″W) were the big two in popularity among the hosta giants for a long time. And they still are popular. No hosta garden should be without them.

The Hosta Victory (35″T x 70″W) and Dream Weaver Hosta (30″T x 72″W) are also very popular and have the added feature of being variegated.

Dream Weaver Hosta

The giant hosta Dream Weaver is a personal favorite due to the contrast of the blue-green border and the creamy-white center.

How large a hosta can reach in size is not only determined by the cultivar you choose.

Location has a great deal to do with its ultimate size. Giant hosta plants need unlimited water and a deep rich soil, more so than the smaller cultivars of hosta.

You need to select a site away from competing tree roots to get a giant hosta plant to achieve its maximum potential.

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