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Hosta alternative
Hi guys,
I've recently fallen in love with hostas and want to fill a border with them. Unfortunately I can't have them as the garden is full sun.
What can I grow for permanent foliage that looks similar to a hosta/ has equal amounts of charm... but isn't?
I've never ventured beyond the world of flowering/edible before so I'm clueless.
Thanks!
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Emma28 Only a beginner at this gardening lark but I am sure that I have read on here that there are some hostas that grow in full sun. Perhaps Hostafan will look in he would know for sure.
Having followed Hostafans advice I find that Variegated Hostas are happy in full sun providing that their feet are in permanently damp soil.
Those with yellowish or bright green leaves need some sun, and those with blueish leaves need more shade.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I started my first major hosta plantings in full sun, buying specimens from Diana Grenfell who was an expert on hostas and hemerocallis. They did so well that after just 2 or 3 years I had to lift and divide the lot.
There is a small hosta called Gold Edger which is happy in sunshine and, as the name suggests, good for edging beds. Sum and Substance is a large leaved gold coloured hosta that needs sun to keep its foliage yellow, rather than green. Gold Regal, Gold Standard and Sundance are other possibilities for a sunny site.
The hostas with fragrant flowers need sun to develop the perfume - Fragrant Bouquet, Royal Standard, Honeybells. Invincible has glossy green leaves and perfumed flowers and is supposed to be slug resistant but in my garden it's the first one they go for, whether in the ground or in a pot.
As Dove says, you do need to make sure your soil is beefed up with plenty of organic matter - garden compost, well rotted manure etc - for moisture retention. Avoid white and cream variegations as these scorch in the sun.
I'll echo what the others have said - lots of them are very happy in sun as long as their feet are happy in some damp soil.
If you can ensure they have enough moisture, you can have your hostas - no problem, Emma
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
For once the heavy soil and frequent rain is a blessing then!
Thank you all for the advice!!
Spread the word, Hostas will grow in full sun.
My avatar photo shows where most of mine grow and it's a south facing slope with no shade whatsoever.
Obelixx, I too have a few from Diana, when she was in the New Forest, but I think she's in Gloucestershire or somewhere around there now.
Hosta - Years ago she came and gave a talk on hemerocallis to a gardeners' club in Brussels and cunningly left catalogues about. I found myself ordering so many hostas and some of her husband's grasses that it was cheaper to drive to Apple Court and collect than pay the postage. Then, having thus saved on the postage I squeezed in some extra plants..............
The hostas have nearly all thrived and spread and been swapped and offered but the only grass I have left is Ice Dance. The others were either too invasive or too wussy.