HOSTA A first-class foliage plant, reliable and undemanding, Hosta deserves its reputation as the ‘King of the Shade Garden’. With over 7,000 named varieties - and hosta breeders the world over, hard at work trying for the next ‘big thing’ - gardeners can choose from a huge array of shapes, sizes and textures. Hosta flourish in fertile, moist, well-drained soil in sun to shade. The golden or yellow-leaved and variegated varieties are more sun tolerant. Blue varieties grow well, but turn green in too much sun. In general, hosta with thick substance and/or corrugated leaves are slug resistant. Flowers will appear in mid to late summer, on short to tall spikes and are bell-shaped. Some varieties have a fantastic, sweet perfume and are worth growing for the scent alone. Our choices are made after a long look at hosta collections in both public and private gardens, usually in late season, when the plants have been exposed to the wear and tear of the hot summer and the hungry slugs. We grow as many hosta varieties as we can in our own gardens tagged with the planting date so gardeners can get a good idea of how long they will take to grow to maturity. Soil is amended with compost and bone meal at the time of planting and the planting hole is soaked. We spray leaves once in early spring with a homemade hot pepper-ammonia solution to control slugs and marauding rabbits and deer. Our hosta receive no other amendments or attention, and we do not irrigate our display gardens. Hosta sometimes take a while to show their true colours and leaf shapes - what you see in the pot is rarely as good as what you’ll see in the garden. We sell multi-eyed hosta in gallon pots - a pleasant surprise for new customers who have bought from other nurseries. We base our choices for the nursery on the plant’s general garden worthiness, form, colour, growth rate and slug resistance. If we don’t want it in our own gardens, we don’t offer it. The gardens are also full of many new varieties which we trial, and then add to the catalogue or not, as we deem them worthy. We don’t aim to have the most - just the best. We’ve given our hosta a size rating by height. Dwarf: under 4" • Miniature: 4"- 6" • Small: 7"-10" • Medium 11"-18" • Large: 19"- 28" • Giant: over 28" ENCORE HOSTA: These are varieties that have exhibited superior performance in our gardens according to our very subjective trials. They have grown well, their colours stand out, they have good form and exhibit superior slug resistance. They are among the finest Hosta we grow. Most of the Encore Hosta series are fairly new releases but not the very latest. They represent excellent value. CLASSIC HOSTA: Those which have stood the test of time: in our own gardens and in the gardens of Hosta collectors and breeders. We purchase only Hosta Virus X Indexed stock, and we practice “safe Hosta” – using sterilized plant tools. Luckily, we began serious Hosta collecting after Hosta Virus X was discovered. Our stock is clean. For customers concerned about introducing Hosta Virus X into their gardens, a note of caution: buy from reputable sources. Be especially wary of box store Hosta – we have seen so many infected Hosta being sold at box stores and elsewhere. Remember: If They Don’t Grow It, They Don’t Know It. www.wild-things.ca 44 1-877-538-3228