Hostas - they're so ............. fussy!
Dovefromabove
Posts: 88,138
I'm trying to get to grips with my hostas, in order to get the best out of them.
It all started with Hosta Stained Glass - I realised that although it was growing very happily in its pot, grouped in the shady corner of the terrace with the other hostas, its lovely markings were much less pronounced than when I first had it.
I looked it up and apparently it likes more sun than most, but not hot afternoon sun, just morning sun - fussy or what? So now H. Stained Glass has been moved to the south-east facing corner of the terrace and we await improvement.
But what of the other hostas - would some of them do better in the sun than in the shade?
And to help me when purchasing more hostas (which may happen any day now) is there a 'rule of thumb' as to which hostas like shade, which like sun, and which like some sun, but ........... not a lot 
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
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Am I right in thinking variegated forms of most plants prefer a bit more sunlight?
That's always been my understanding Matt - but then I find that some of the very white/cream/green variegated hostas burn in bright sunlight - and my H. Stained Glass is yellow and green - does that need more or less than the green and cream ones?
And then I read that the blue ones need shade, but the thick blue ones need more sun, or was it more shade
than the thinner leaved ones - I'm trying to make sense of it all ...........
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
My variegated and plain are all growing well in the border facing north west.and have been for years.
I have two others in full sun, all day, all equally happy, no need to fuss them.
I do know Hostas do great in Full Sun as long as they have constant wet feet.
I hope 'Sum and Substance' can take some sun, it had its shade cut down in the winter.
In the sticks near Peterborough
my whole garden is on south facing slope, so very little shade.
My general rule of thumb is that yellow variegations will take more sun than white, indeed in too much shade the yellow can become green.
I'd certainly agree with Mattbeer regarding cool wet feet.
Well, Stained Glass is getting more sun now - let's see if the yellow comes back
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
When I researched hostas a few years back I was surprised to learn that a hosta has a *set* of sun or shade leaves depending upon light levels the previous year, so for this year Dove's example plant will be using it's shade leaves in sun. Next year's set of leaves will have adapted to more sunlight
Saying that, I don't know what to believe after watching Christine Walkden bust those myths at Chelsea