When to plant a host and how to properly care for it?

You choose a beautiful decoration for your personal plot, then the host is the best suited for this purpose, planting and caring for it in the open field boils down to choosing the right place and following a number of agrotechnical rules. This is a herbaceous stemless plant that will perfectly fit into many landscape compositions.

Host flower: description

Hosta (Funkiya) is a herbaceous perennial of the Asparagus family. It is appreciated for its decorative foliage and variety of varieties. There are about 700 varieties and 40 host species that have taken root in Europe and Russia. It grows quickly, is easy to care for, resistant to heat, and feels great in the shade.

Hosta leaves are diverse:

• heart-shaped;
• elongated;
• pointed;
• rounded.

The color of the leaves is possible green, blue and yellow in all shades. Hosta is a decent backdrop for flowering crops.

Planting a flower in the garden: when, how and where?

It is important to choose the right permanent location for the function. Ideal conditions are partial shade, no downward wind. Plant varieties relate to sunlight in different ways: it all depends on the pattern on the leaves, their color. Bright colors, a large number of white and yellow fragments indicate that this species loves light.

Variegated plants will do well in an area illuminated only in the morning and evening.

At noon, the flower prefers to rest in the shade. It can be hidden from direct rays by planting a taller plant next to it. Blue hosts cannot stand the abundance of the sun. During the day, they like to hide in the shadows, only showing up for 2 hours. The minimum amount of light inhibits the development of the bush, which pays off with the formation of large foliage. Such a host stretches upward.

The choice of planting material

The main requirements for the selection of a seedling are that the seedlings are healthy, with clean leaves, without harmful insects and signs of fungal infection, with a developed root system.

There are three types of host on sale: with an open root system, in bags, in pots:

• With an open root system, the host is acquired in early spring. The roots should be light and elastic. Such planting material is obtained by dividing an adult bush. This is the best and most inexpensive type of seedling.
• The rhizomes of the host are sold in packages. As a rule, such packaging comes to us from Holland. You need to choose large specimens that are firm to the touch. Get a root that is already sprouting a little.
• Can be purchased in pots for hostu in spring and autumn. This seedling will be rooted with grown leaves. All characteristics of the variety will be visible. It is better to purchase just such bushes.

In general, the hosts take root well after transplantation, and in the very first year they begin to grow actively.

How to save the host until boarding?

If you purchased small host seedlings in the fall, then you do not need to plant them immediately in open ground. Such bushes have very delicate, fragile foliage. She will immediately attract the attention of slugs and other pests.

Therefore, for the winter, it is advisable to place these seedlings in pots with prepared nutrient soil. Send them for the winter in the winter garden or on the balcony. In these rooms, the air temperature must be above zero.

What to do after the seeds have sprouted

Immediately after the first small shoots have appeared, the container must be rearranged where there is more light, and then illuminate it with lamps for the correct formation of the shoots.

After a while, after the first leaves have appeared on the seedlings, the seedlings must be dived - in other words, plant them in small pots. They can be put on the balcony or even outside, as soon as you are sure that there will be no more night frosts.

At the same time, it is advisable to provide your plants with bottom watering by installing pots with seedlings (or a container with seedlings, if you were too lazy to make a dive) in a pan with water. With the help of small holes in the bottom of the containers, the plants will absorb the optimal amount of moisture for them and will never dry out.

It will be possible to plant small hosts directly into the ground only at the beginning of July, when they finally get stronger and hardened. After that, the plants need to be closely monitored, weeded and loosened thoroughly so that they quickly take root and feel good in your garden.

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Landing requirements

Let's figure out where to put the host in the country? The soil is needed loose, fertile. If there is a lot of sand and clay in the soil on the site, you need to add peat. Thanks to him, minerals will not be washed out when fertilizing.

Shade and partial shade are preferred by most representatives of this culture.

In the host, in the bright sun, the border fades, the blotches of color disappear, the shine fades and burns appear.

Although there are sun-tolerant varieties with thick green leaves.

These are the varieties:

• Sun Power (Sun Power);
• Christmas Candy;
• June Fever.

The soil

Hosts prefer to grow on sufficiently moist, humus-rich, drained soils. Neutral light loams are ideal for their development. Before planting this perennial, the depleted soil is enriched with humus, sand, fertilizers and preparations that activate the growth of flowers.

Hosting is permissible in areas with sandy soils. In this case, two features are noted in plants. They have stunted growth and poor bush development. But the foliage acquires a more intense color.

Heavy loams and wetlands are unsuitable for the cultivation of these flowers. In areas with stagnant water, the root system rots. Plants are affected by diseases.

Landing hosts in open ground

Adult bushes with developed roots are planted in the soil in an open area.

When is the best time to plant a host in the garden?

The host can be planted in a permanent place in spring and autumn:

1. Spring... The end of April and the first half of May is the optimal time for planting. In Siberia, the Urals and other regions with late spring frosts, it is not until the end of May to plant and divide hosts. It is advisable to prepare the soil in the designated place in the fall. In October, you need to add any organic fertilizer for digging.
2. Fall... Late August and mid-September are the autumn planting time for the hosts. The bushes will still have time to put down new roots, to gain strength. In the fall, you can transplant crops in the middle zone of the country, in the Moscow region, in the Volga region.

How to plant the host correctly?

Hostas should be planted in groups at a distance of 30 - 80 cm, depending on the variety. Plant the bush from the container and the cuttings into the ground to a depth of 2 - 4 cm deeper than it grew.

There is a host planting scheme with dark and light foliage:

1. Flowers with deep green and rich blue leaf color can be planted near trees with a small crown. Such hosts have enough sun 2 hours a day.
2. Hosts with white and golden veins plant in a more open area. Without the sun, these plants will lose their leaf pattern.

Why propagate hosta with seeds

This plant, in my opinion, has only one drawback - its seedlings are expensive.If you are the owner of a shady area, then you will need a large enough number of these flowers that will hit your pocket.

Growing hosts from seeds will solve this problem. It has a number of advantages:

• you can purchase host seeds of various varieties and solve the issue of decorating the shady corners of the garden once and for all;
• almost all host varieties, after flowering at the end of summer, tie seeds, which are not difficult to collect yourself - you just need to wait until the resulting seed pods turn dark and begin to open;
• planting seeds, you can be sure that your planting material will be properly grown and healthy - because its quality depends only on you.

As you can see, there are many advantages in growing seedlings from seeds, and we will now tell you how to do it correctly.

Growing from seed in a pot

Hosta bush can be germinated from seeds at home.

This method of obtaining a plant has disadvantages:

• Firstly, seedlings from seeds grow very slowly and require constant attention.
• Secondly, hosta, which was obtained from seeds, can lose the zest of the variety, change the color and size of the leaves.

Untreated seeds of this flower have poor germination, about 70%, so they need to be stimulated.

Let's consider the main stages of germination.

Preparing seeds at home:

• A month before planting, the seeds are stratified. In the apartment, for this purpose, for example, they are placed in a freezer.
• Next, the seeds need to be soaked in Zircon or Epin for two to three hours before landing in the ground.

Planting seeds:

• use purchased soil, it is clean, without fungal spores;
• pour drainage and prepared soil into the container, carefully spread the seeds and sprinkle with a thin layer of soil 5 mm;
• cover the container with film, remove it several times a day for two to three hours;
• when germinating seeds, spray the soil from a spray bottle, and not water;
• put the container in a darkened place, after the seedlings appear, transfer the container to a lighter place.

How to care for seedlings:

• make a pick of seedlings after the appearance of two true leaves;
• protect seedlings from direct sunlight;
• provide moderate watering at the root through the pan.

Hosta planting rules

As mentioned above, it is imperative to prepare the soil for planting seeds, otherwise they simply will not germinate. And soil preparation is not only about calcining or freezing it.

Hosta seeds require a substrate, which consists of three parts:

These components must be mixed with each other and filled with this nutrient mixture in a container for germinating seeds. You can simply purchase each of these components separately, and then combine them in equal proportions.

The finished nutrient mixture should be calcined in the oven or placed in the freezer for a day.

Next, you need to do the following:

• having prepared the mixture, take care of the container - it is best to take a shallow rectangular plastic container and make several holes in its bottom - this will help to avoid stagnant water;
• after pouring the prepared nutrient mixture into the container, level it and sprinkle the seeds on the surface. You do not need to deepen them, just sprinkle them with vermiculite on top. After that, simply moisten the seeds by spraying them with water from a spray bottle;
• after that, the container must be covered with a transparent bag or just ordinary glass, and then put in a dark room. The seeds germinate for about 15 days if they are kept in a warm room (at least 20 degrees). If the temperature is lower, the seed germination time will increase;
• the film must be lifted periodically to provide fresh air access to them.

Other ways of breeding hosts

And also the hosta reproduces by dividing the bush and cuttings:

1. Dividing the bush in the spring after warming up the summer cottage soil... This is the most common way to plant this flower. You can share a healthy adult 3-4 year old bush. 50% of the root system of the bush must be left intact. After dividing, the mother bush and new seedlings are recommended to be shed with a rooting agent.
2. Cutting is a less used method... Rosette shoots without young roots, but with a piece of old root, are suitable for him. Such a stalk can be planted under a plastic bottle. Roots appear within a month.

Description

Hosta belongs to the asparagus family. Previously, it was believed that this flower belongs to the lily flowers. It owes its name to the Austrian physician and botanist N. Host. This plant also has another name - function. It was received in honor of G. Funk, a botanist from Germany.

The homeland of the hosts is considered to be East Asia. It grows in the wild, for example, in Korea and Japan.

Hosta is a bush-shaped plant. It usually grows up to 80 cm, but there are giant (up to 1 m 30 cm) and dwarf (up to 15 cm) varieties.

The flower is distinguished by large heart-shaped basal leaves. They are crinkled, wrinkled, with a metallic sheen, waxy, matte and glossy.

Shades of leaves are varied: white, yellow, blue, green. Moreover, they can be combined on one sheet in the form of strokes, stripes, spots, etc.

Khosta has a root system consisting of thick rhizomes with many roots in the form of filaments.

Its flowers, located on high peduncles, are collected in a brush. They can be white, purple or pink. The fruit of the funkia is a leathery box with 3 edges. It contains many seeds that germinate well throughout the year.

The most beautiful hosta at the age of five. In the same place, it can grow for more than 15 years.

Hosta endures the winter. Its underground part does not suffer even when the soil freezes deeply. So, this flower really deserves the attention of real gardeners.

Hosta care

Taking good care of your host is easy. She is very unpretentious to growing conditions.

Consider the features of caring for a host:

1. Doesn't need frequent transplants... In one area it can grow up to 10 years.
2. Add fertilizers with microelements after rain. You can also wet the soil around the roots in advance. When applying fertilizer granules, try not to get on the leaves. They can get burned.
3. Maintain soil moisture under the seedlings, as large leaves evaporate a lot of moisture. Water the seedlings in the morning or evening without directing a stream of water to the greenery.
4. Cut off the peduncle immediately after flowering.
5. Regularly inspect the bushes for insects and fungal diseases... In case of infestation, carry out treatment using insecticides and fungicides.

Learn how to properly care for the host from the video:

Hosts - care and cultivation

The plant cannot be called demanding, but at the same time, for proper development, it is necessary to take into account a number of rules:

1. Caring for hosts necessarily includes regular weeding and periodic loosening of the soil to ensure oxygen is available.
2. To make the bush look neater, remove yellowed foliage and young flower arrows.
3. In one place, the host in the open field can grow up to 20 years, but so that the bush does not grow too much, in 3-4 years after planting, young daughter roots should be separated.

Taking care of hosts in spring

After wintering, new shoots of hosts are difficult to notice even in May, so it is important to carefully weed and water. Be sure to remove the shelter to allow sun and heat to reach the plant. Caring for the host in the spring in the country requires top dressing, so you can use fertilizers for flower and decorative deciduous crops.To speed up the process of growing greenery, you can water the bushes with a solution of nitrophoska, so for every 1 m2 there should be 30-40 g.

Hosta care in summer

In hot weather, it is important to ensure that the earth does not dry out too much, so watering is carried out once a week. It should be abundant, but neat, so that the strong stream does not wash out the ground and break the leaves. Until mid-July, it is useful to feed using a mullein solution or complex fertilizers. Caring for hosts in summer in the open field means removing young peduncles, otherwise the leaves will diverge and the bushes will turn out to be loose. Fragrant peduncles can be left.

Hosta care in autumn

To protect the plant from severe winter frosts, it is necessary to cover the bushes. First you need to cut off all the foliage, so it is a big mistake to decide to leave it so that it serves as mulch, because in the end you get a breeding ground for diseases that can destroy the bushes. In order for the hosta to survive, planting and care in the open field means cutting off the sheets, but it must definitely dry out completely.

Use spruce branches or peat as shelter for the winter. It is recommended to first disinfect the selected organic matter for mulching, for example, using tobacco dust or Fitosporin-M. Growing hosts in the open field prohibits autumn feeding, as the plant may freeze out. Another tip - after flowering, be sure to remove the peduncles so that the seeds do not have time to form, and the plant has time to restore strength for wintering.

Caring for hosts in the garden - feeding

In order for the bush to delight the leaves with a riot and not get sick, it is recommended to apply fertilizers. Experienced gardeners are advised to carry out mandatory feeding during the period of active growth, during flowering and after its end. When caring for a host, top dressing in spring and summer should contain nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Compost and humus are useful for the plant, but it is better to apply them when planting. It is important not to overdo it with fertilizers.

Growing hosts - watering

To maintain beauty and good growth, it is necessary to water abundantly. In the open field, irrigation is recommended in the morning, so as not to scorch the leaves. Watering the hosta and caring for her in hot weather changes, so it is recommended to increase the amount of liquid. It is best to use settled water, which should not be cold. Learn if the tips of the leaves of the plant have darkened, this indicates insufficient moisture.

Growing hosts in the open field - reproduction

In order to increase the number of plantings on your site, you can use seeds and rhizomes, and how to do this correctly is indicated above. Reproduction of hosts, planting and caring for it is carried out in accordance with agrotechnical standards, so you can use two more options:

1. Propagation by cuttings. They start work from mid-May to August. It is necessary to use young shoots with small leaves and small roots. After cutting the cutting, remove the leaves and can be planted in a prepared pot. At first, it may turn white, but thanks to regular watering and spraying, it will begin to develop in a few days.



2. Reproduction by dividing the bush. The hosta grows well, planting and care in the open field, which is carried out after the separation of the bush. The procedure should be implemented in early spring or early September. Divide into small parts, the main thing is that there are 1-2 rosettes of leaves. Place new plants in holes, previously moistened, with a depth of 20-25 cm. The distance between plantings should be 30-35 cm. At first, be sure to water the bushes abundantly.

Diseases

Growing hosts in the garden - diseases and pests

The plant has good immunity against various diseases and pests, but with improper care in the open field, the following problems may appear:

1. Phylosticosis. This fungal disease can be detected by red spots. The problem is spreading rapidly. Caring for the host in the country involves removing the affected parts, and spray the bushes with Vectra or Abiga-Peak.
2. Gray rot. First, rotting of the tips of the leaves is observed, and then, the lesion spreads to the entire plate. You can fight the disease with Bordeaux liquid.
3. Rot of the root collar. With an excess of moisture, the roots begin to rot. The affected plant must be dug up, the roots must be rinsed and the problem parts must be removed, and then, treated in a weak solution of potassium permanganate and planted in another place.
4. Slugs. The parasites infect the leaves, which leave traces of dried mucus and small holes. It is difficult to deal with them, so put the "Thunderstorm" bait under the plant and cover the host with plywood for the night. Collect the slugs in the morning.
5. Deciduous nematodes. The parasites multiply rapidly and leave light brown stripes on the leaves. The contaminated areas must be removed and the soil must be disinfected using a formalin solution.

Pests

How to prepare your host for winter

Hosta is a frost-hardy plant and it easily tolerates our harsh winters. However, young plants that you have grown from seeds and have just rooted in your area must be covered for at least the first year.

It is not difficult to do this, no special shelter is required for the host - it is enough just to pour dry foliage or peat on top, this is more than enough.

In the spring, as soon as the snow has melted and the frost has receded slightly, simply rake the shelter from your plants and give them the opportunity to receive sufficient sunlight and fresh air for them. The hosts will start to release young shoots very soon. In the second year, the hosta will already start producing its beautiful leaves.

You need to take care of young plants in the same way as last year - weeding, watering and loosening are loved by all garden flowers without exception.

Hosts after flowering

After the flowers have dried, the stem is removed where the flower was. This is necessary so that the plant does not expend energy on the formation of seeds. After the hosts have faded, it is time for transplanting, dividing the bush and preparing it for frost.

Dividing the bush and replanting at the end of August, so that the seedlings can put down roots in the new site. Do not plant in another part of the flower garden and do not propagate bushes that were sick in the summer and lagged behind in growth.

Preparing for winter:

1. Feed the plant with complex fertilizer until mid-August.
2. Insulate the roots with a thin layer of mulch (sawdust, peat).
3. Do not remove dead leaves.
4. Cover the bushes with spruce branches or agrofibre. Do not use a film for cover, as vole mice can settle under it.

Growing hosts from seeds - preparation and planting

As mentioned earlier, hosts are of different types, and the vast majority of them lend themselves to seed propagation, which must be prepared in advance. How to collect hosta seeds? In order to get planting material, you should wait for the pollination of the plant, which occurs around the middle of summer. Toward the end of August or the beginning of September, the seed pods come to the stage of opening. This can be determined by their characteristic brown color, which is a definite signal that planting material can soon be stocked up.

Collecting small grains is not difficult, but more ornate procedures follow. The seeds are dried at a temperature of about 30 degrees Celsius until the moisture has completely evaporated from them, and stored until April - May of the next year. It is during this period that the process of direct cultivation of hosts begins. It is divided into the following stages:

a previously prepared pot is treated with a solution of potassium permanganate;

Hosta varieties

Views

Host species by leaf shape:

1. Wavy... The size of the bush is 75 cm. The leaves are slightly rounded. The center of the leaf is white, the edges are greenish.
2. Curly... It grows up to 60 cm. Massive greenish leaves with a white edging.
3. Plantain... Flower size - up to 50 cm. Unpretentious look, leaf is light green.
4. Bloated... The size of the bush is 50 cm. The leaves are rich green with sharp tips.
5. Fortune... Grows up to 50 cm. Leaves are green with a beige border.
6. Siebold... Plant growth - 60 cm.The leaves are wide, rounded, with visible veins.
7. High... The size of the bush is up to 90 cm. The leaves are glossy, dark green.
8. Hybrid... The growth, width and color of the foliage differ in different varieties of this species.
9. Lanceolate... It grows up to 50 cm. The leaf is elongated, dark green.

Host species by leaf color:

• blue - gray-blue color of foliage;
• yellow - all varieties with yellow leaves;
• green - all shades of green;
• variegata - varieties with variegated shoots with a white border;
• media choice - varieties with light leaves and a green edge.

Varieties

Consider the popular varieties:

1. White Feather... The height of the bush is 50 cm, beige and white leaves with bright green stripes. The flowers are almost white.
2. Blue Angel. A tall, spreading bush up to 80 cm in height and up to 2 meters in width. Large, blue-green leaves. Flowers are white.
3. Brim Cup (Brim Cup). Height - 30 cm. The leaves are compressed, with a green center and a beige border.
4. Royal... Height - 80 cm. Leaves are bright green, elongated, flowers - white bells.
5. Undulata Mediovariegata... Height - up to 70 cm. The leaf is slightly curled, green in color with white veins.
6. October Sky. Height - 40 cm. Leaves are thick, blue-blue with a curly edge. Flowers are lilac.
7. Patriot... Shiny, rich green leaves. The flowers are pinkish.

Undulata Mediovariegata

White feathers

Blue angel

Brim Cap

Royal

Oktober Sky

Patriot
Other interesting varieties:

• Albopicta;
• Alvatine Taylor;
• American Halo;
• Avocado;
• Brenda's Beauty;
• Cameo;
• Carolina Blue;
• El Nino;
• Great Arrival;
• Halcyon (halcyon);
• Albopicta or Chameleon;
• Cherry Berry (Cherry Berry);
• Sharmon (Sharman).

Albopicta

Alvatine taylor

American halo

Avokado

Cherry berry

El Nino

Halcion

Sharmon
In general, it can take a long time to list all the varieties. In nature, there are already about 2500 host varieties. And every year breeders develop new varieties. I must say that even for the most sophisticated gardener there is a variety to their liking, which is not yet in his collection.

Hosta - a fashionable element of garden decor

Hosta is a unique flower, one of the most popular among landscape designers. The unrelenting interest in the plant over the years is understandable. It is difficult to find a flower that can replace the hostu in terms of decorating shady areas of backyards. The culture comes from the East. Naturally occurs in Japan, China and Korea. Familiar to European gardeners since the 19th century.

To date, more than 4000 host species are listed in the International Register.

This is by no means the limit. Through the efforts of breeders, new names are added to the list every year. Hosta belongs to the Liliaceae family. All plant species are herbaceous, stemless perennials. The height of the flowers ranges from 5 cm to 1m 20 cm. Numerous cord-like roots grow in depth up to 20-30 cm. The densely intertwined branches are a reliable support for the hosts.

The main decoration of culture is a gorgeous hat made of leaves. Heart-shaped, on a long petiole, they differ in shape and color. Veins stand out on the blue, yellow, green fringed foliage.

Quite late (at the very end of summer), the hosta adds purple, pink, lilac and white colors to the garden. The graceful brush consists of funnel-shaped or funnel-bell-shaped flowers. The triangular leathery capsule contains many flat seeds. Their shade is black or black-brown. The planting material retains its properties throughout the year.

Connoisseurs fell in love with the culture for its undoubted advantages: cold resistance, high decorativeness, the ability to grow in the shade. The adults of the tall species are similar to the inhabitants of the tropics.

For the hosta to show itself in all its glory, you will have to wait 4-5 years.

After another 4-5 years, the plant will not lose its merits, developing in one place for up to 25 years. With age, the culture will become more colorful: it will throw out large leaves, show the shape and shade characteristic of the species. The popularity of the eastern modest woman is due to her decorativeness, which has remained unchanged for decades.

Tips for decorating a flower bed with a host

It must be said right away that the place where you decide to plant the host will remain naked until mid-May.This must be taken into account when decorating flower beds. How beautiful to plant a hosta, with what flowers and plants to combine it?

Let's consider some options:

1. Carpet planting around outbuildings, garden figurines of large sizes. It is better to choose unpretentious varieties, such as Fortchuna, Plantain.
2. A group of different types of host. In the foreground, plant medium-sized varieties with pale leaves. In the background, place larger specimens with dark foliage.
3. Alpine slide and borders. Only miniature host varieties with medium-sized shoots will look harmonious here. For example, such varieties as Blue Cadet, Light up.
4. Mixed plantings with primroses, irises, daylilies. Such a composition is good because the hosta will cover their drying greens at the end of April.
5. In a sunny place can be grouped roses, peonies with host varieties such as Sun Power, June Fever.
6. With perennial shrubs... Wide hosts will look beautiful together with red small leaves of barberry, long shoots of cereals.

These are just some of the ways to plant a host in your garden. She is multifaceted. It can be used as a backdrop for brightly flowering crops, or be the head of a flower garden arrangement. And also the hosta looks harmoniously next to coniferous crops.

Its massive, wide leaves will not get lost in thickets such as juniper and thuja. Therefore, create and create your own unique flower bed.

Diseases of hosts

Americans associate the occurrence of diseases in hosts with a large number of varieties in one area. In frostbitten bushes, a fungal disease phyllosticosis often occurs, which looks like brown-yellow spots on the leaf blade.

Peduncles are threatened by fungal infection Phyllosticta aspidistrae Oud... To combat it, one method is used: complete removal of the bush, followed by its burning and disinfection of the soil.

Among the diseases are gray rot - Botrys cinerea, which affects the leaves, and sclerotinia - Sclerotinia, which envelops the root collar.like cottony white mold and destroys it. Fungicides are used against gray rot, Dichloran is used against sclerotinia. The main pests of the flower.

Slug is one of the main pests of hosts... Traces of its vital activity, and these are holes in the leaves, become visible immediately and reduce the visual attractiveness of the plant. To combat this pest, small flat containers are used, into which beer is poured. Slugs love these places, where they are collected and then destroyed.

The host can be infected by stem nematodes... If spreading yellow necrotic spots, which are the product of the vital activity of these parasites, are visible through the veins of the leaf, then a simple test will help to detect them. The crushed leaves of the affected hosta are placed in a glass of water and they look, if after 1/2 hour floating worms appear in the water, then the disease is obvious. They remove not only the affected plant, but also all the bushes in the area of ​​two meters, because it is possible to fight against a nematode with chemicals, but it is very difficult to deal with laid eggs.

With the advent of a new vegetative period, larvae will hatch from the eggs and the radius of damage to plants will increase. The invasion of insects such as caterpillars and grasshoppers cannot be avoided, for which one night is enough to turn a healthy plant into an unsightly bush. Only pesticide treatment can help cope with this scourge.

Testimonials

Gardeners in their comments write that the hosta is a beautiful, undemanding flower (for the lazy), easily tolerates transplants. You can plant hosts both in the sun and in the shade, depending on the variety. And the variety of varieties satisfies the taste of any flower lover.

We suggest that you read some of the reviews from the horticultural forums:

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Transplanting

Before planting, you need to harden the seedlings and accustom them to sunlight. You need to start taking it out into the street from 10 minutes.

It is necessary to choose the right place for the function. She doesn't like sunny areas. A damp wetland is not suitable for this plant. When choosing a site, it must be borne in mind that the hosta bush will grow rapidly.

Then you need to prepare the seat. To do this, weeds are pulled out, digging up the earth, making holes. AND

x size should be such that the host's roots fit freely. This plant loves nutritious soil.

Therefore, before planting it, it is advisable to fertilize the soil in the pits with rotted manure or humus. The land must be watered.

Landing technology:

• When placing a seedling in a hole, it is necessary to straighten its root system. If it is too long, it is advisable to undercut it.
• You can not plant too deep, but the roots should not look out of the ground either.
• Sprinkle the plant on top with earth and slightly crush it.
• The planted host should be watered. It is also advisable to mulch it with peat or moss.

A correctly chosen site, a carefully prepared planting site and adherence to planting technology are the key to the quick and correct development of this beautiful garden plant.

Top dressing

If fertilization is applied after planting in the spring, then by the end of the season the host will delight with strong, rich foliage. The lack of substances necessary for the plant can be judged by its appearance: the bush withers, the leaves turn yellow, become smaller.

The first feeding should be carried out in the spring during the transplantation period or after the blooming of the greenery. The second is during the budding period, the third is after flowering.

Tall hosts can be fed by adding peat or humus. They form a mulch layer and protect the shoots from drying out. In species with low bushes, stem decay occurs from such mulch.

What should be the divisions of the hosts?

In hostas, the size of the divisions is determined by the characteristics of the growth of the variety. Slow-growing varieties are best divided into large parts, but ordinary or fast-growing hosts will perfectly grow impressive, beautiful bushes in 2-3 years even when using single outlets.

The standard division of the hosta is part of a bush with strong roots and one or two rosettes. A large division with 3-4 sockets is considered. Hosts still achieve a high decorative effect in the 2-3rd year, but if the task is to achieve the effect faster, then it is better to choose a fast-growing variety, and not larger ones.

Separation of even very old bushes into parts with more than 4 rosettes is undesirable. For standard hosts aged 5 or 6 years, the classic option is divided into four parts.

In hostas, the size of the divisions is determined by the characteristics of the growth of the variety.

Transfer

Plants are well tolerated, although they can grow in one place for up to 20 years. You have to carry out this procedure if:

• The plant has grown a lot and division is necessary;
• The conditions are not suitable and the host grows poorly.

Transplant methods

If an adult bush moves entirely, then it should be dug out with a large lump and transplanted to a new place. If division is necessary, then the rhizome is slightly shaken off the ground so that it is possible to cut the bush into several parts.

It is not recommended to plant a plant in a place where hosts have already grown, in order to avoid infection with diseases. If such a need exists, then it is necessary to replace the soil.

Transplant in the fall

The optimal time for an autumn transplant is late August - early September. After transplanting, the plant must be watered abundantly and the soil must be mulched to protect it from possible frost. Before the onset of cold weather should be at least a month.

Transplant in spring

Spring transplantation takes place in late April - early May. It is this time that is considered preferable for transplantation. After transplanting, the soil is mulched, and the plant is regularly watered in the first month, preventing the soil from completely drying out.

Growing conditions

Hosts are very unpretentious plants, but in order for the rosette of their leaves to be well developed and lush, you will still need to adhere to certain agricultural techniques.

Read also: Small houses on a slope photo

Choosing a landing site

The choice of a site for planting the hosta depends on the color of its leaves. Varieties with dark green leaves need diffused lighting throughout the day. They grow well even in the most shady corners of the garden.

Varieties with variegated and blue leaves only need partial shading at midday. They need at least 5-6 hours of direct sunlight per day. With stronger shading, the color of their leaves becomes pale, and the variegation disappears.

Advice! If the site is sunny and there are no shady places on it, then the host can be planted next to tall perennials, which will give them the necessary shade in the hot midday hours.

The soil

These flowers are undemanding to soils, but they develop best of all on fertile and moist loams, but always without stagnant water. If the soil in the planting area is too poor, it is enriched. To do this, humus and mineral fertilizers are introduced under the digging. Hosta can also grow on sandy soils, while the color of its leaves becomes even brighter, but development is very slow and the plants do not fully reveal their varietal potential.

Test tube hosts

Separately, I would like to talk about the most modern and effective method of host vegetative propagation, which is used on an industrial scale by specialized nurseries. "InVitro", literal translation from Latin - "in glass": such plants are grown in test tubes... This method makes it possible to multiply and put on the market large quantities of one variety in a short time.

Today, in the production of planting material, two methods of InVitro propagation are used: microclonal and meristem.

Micropropagation

When microclonal method reproduction, a shoot separated from the mother plant or even a bud is placed on an artificial environment, providing the desired temperature and light conditions, while constantly maintaining a certain humidity. After a few weeks, the grown plants adapt to the new conditions, and they can be divided again into cuttings or buds and planted again for propagation in test tubes.

A piece of rhizome with a bud of renewal

The microclonal method of reproduction allows you to get tens and hundreds of thousands of plants all year round and in the shortest possible time from just one kidney or shoot of a mother plant. Essential the disadvantage of this method reproduction is the spread of dangerous host viral diseases, which, unfortunately, does not happen so rarely.

Meristem reproduction

Meristem reproduction, or tissue culture method used to heal the mother plant from viral infection and other dangerous diseases. The cells located in the very depths of the kidneys are called meristem cells, and the presence of viruses and other diseases in them is minimal.

After special health procedures under a microscope, fragments of meristem tissue are isolated and placed on artificial media, where cells give life to new plants. Each of these plants undergoes complex analyzes to detect a viral infection, at the slightest suspicion, culling is carried out, and only from healthy plants clones are selected for further reproduction.

The ‘June’ host is an example of how micropropagation does not always preserve the properties of the mother plant

Unfortunately and contrary to popular belief, plants produced by such methods of InVitro propagation do not always retain 100% varietal characteristics of mother plants. Some components of artificial environments can cause hereditary changes in cells.Sometimes the clone is so different from the mother plant that such a beautiful mutant is given the status of a new variety.

Hosta 'Halcyon'

Such a story, for example, happened with the famous and very popular variety ‘June’obtained by microclonal reproduction of hosts ‘Halcyon’... Therefore, an obligatory step in this propagation method is to check the plants for varietal purity. Unfortunately, some firms neglect this stage of verification, rushing to distribute new varieties as quickly as possible, while pursuing purely commercial interests.

Separation of divisions without digging out the mother bush

If you need a small number of divisions or even one daughter plant, the host can be divided more easily, without digging the entire mother bush out of the soil. Having carefully examined the plant and noting the location of the rosettes, they dig out a cut of 2-4 rosettes from the bush with a sharp shovel and plant it in a new place.

The hosts are separated by a "triangle", conventionally considering the entire bush as a circle and "resting" the top against its center. The mother plant needs to be watered and filled with fresh, high-quality substrate.

If you need to separate only a separate outlet, then the plants are examined, choosing strong daughter sockets with their own roots around the perimeter of the bush. They are carefully and with a reserve of soil undermined from the outside, and then manually separated from the mother plant.

When dividing individual outlets, they are planted for growing on a separate bed for 1-2 years to be used in a permanent place when they grow up.

Hosts need special care after landing. Plants need protection from drought before they can regain growth and show signs of successful rooting. Typically hosts are watered for at least 2 weeks after planting. Stable, light soil moisture is maintained by irrigation - abundant, but not frequent, only compensating for the lack of natural precipitation and maintaining more stable conditions.

Hosts need special care after landing.

Features of seed reproduction

Also hosts can be easily propagated. seeds. But not all varieties easily set seeds, moreover, their quality is significantly influenced by the weather conditions of the season. And seedlings, as a rule, do not retain varietal characteristics, therefore, most often they propagate in this way species hoststhat grow slowly, such as H. Tokudama. The seed offspring of many funky can be very diverse, and this property is used for breeding purposes.

Left - Hosta peduncle with seed pods; on the right - dried seed pods and seeds

Sowing of freshly harvested seeds is carried out before winter or is carried out for them cold stratification within 3-4 months. Seedlings develop rather slowly and achieve a decorative effect only at 4-5 years of age.

Soil composition and planting in a permanent place

Florists are accustomed to treating hosts as unpretentious garden plants. Indeed, funkias grow on almost any cultivated garden soil. But, according to experienced collectors, the key to success in growing various varieties and host species is the correct composition of the soil.

Hosts are unpretentious, but the right soil is very important for their beauty and health.

The general recommendation for most hosts is a light loam with a neutral, slightly alkaline or slightly acidic reaction (pH 6.5-7.5). A nutritious moist and well-drained soil, in which there are many microorganisms involved in the formation of humus, aerating the soil and saturating it with oxygen - this is the ideal where the hosta is able to manifest itself in all its glory.

Heavy clay soils poorly let air to the root system, and on sandy soil, moisture, so necessary for hosts, does not linger for a long time. Therefore, to sandy soil it is necessary to add moisture-retaining materials: clay and organic matter - peat, humus, compost.In the future, it is recommended to mulch the sandy soil annually with the same organic matter, but 2-3 times more than on loamy soil.

The following pattern should also be taken into account: on sandy soils, plants develop a powerful root system, since nutrients are quickly washed out, and functions grow more extensive and branched roots in search of water and nutrients, while the aboveground part, on the contrary, does not develop enough.

Hosts can grow on different types of soil if their composition is properly improved

On heavy clay soils coarse-grained sand, fine gravel, organic matter with a loose coarse-fibrous composition are added, and even, if necessary, general drainage of the site is made if there is frequent stagnation of water.

Hosts do not like alkaline soils, while signs of chlorosis appear on the leaves: they turn yellow, and the venation remains dark green. In blues and blues, the host foliage takes on a dirty tint. Acidify alkaline soils with acidic peat and other materials and agents that help neutralize the alkaline reaction.

Hosts are quite rightly referred to as moisture-loving plants, but it is possible to plant plants near water bodies in the coastal zone, in the so-called "swamp" with constant stagnation of water, only taking into account the varietal characteristics of cultivars. Not all functions will feel good in such places. For example, miniature and dwarf ones often die immediately. And other varieties and species grow well, but only if the plants are already old enough and the bushes are powerful.

Hosts are good coastal plants, but it is better to plant them on a flood-free shore

On the high, flood-free shores of water bodies, almost all host varieties and species feel great - high air humidity near the water contributes to long-term decorativeness and strong plant health.

Landing nuances

The depth and width of the planting pit depends on the hosta variety and species and should be proportional to the expected adult size of the plant (over 6 years):

• for giant and large hosts, the width of the landing pit should be from 80 to 150 cm, the depth - from 40 to 50 cm;
• for medium and small, the width of the planting pit is from 30 to 60 cm, the depth is from 25 to 35 cm;
• for miniature and dwarf ones, width 15-20 cm, depth 10-15 cm.

‘Ginko Craig’ - a hosta with a loose bush shape, requires a wide planting hole

The width of the planting hole also depends on the type of root system: for long-rooted hosts, the planting hole should be wider than for hosts with a dense root system.

For giant, large, medium and some small hosts, 1/3 of the volume of organic fertilizer is added to the planting pit: deoxidized peat, rotted manure, compost, sapropel. It is also possible to use fresh manure, but only at the bottom of the planting pit and on the condition that the root system of a young plant does not touch it when planting. In the future, fresh manure will have time to decompose when the hosta roots reach it.

'Abba Dabba Do' is a large variety that thrives on light, nutritious loams

Mineral fertilizers are also added to the earthen mixture. It is more convenient to use complex - like "Kemira-Universal" - in doses indicated on the package. Hosts love rich garden soils, but fertilizer should not be overused in pursuit of lush and powerful bushes. Keep in mind that some varieties are sensitive to an overabundance of organic matter, they develop tears and stretching of the pattern along the edge of the contrasting border, and the light middle of the leaves can rot, and ugly holes with brownish rotting edges form in its place.

You can find a large selection of various fertilizers in our catalog, which contains the offers of various garden online stores. For example, see a selection of universal complex fertilizers:

Hosta is one of the few rhizomatous plants that are especially prized for the beauty of the leaves, not the flowers. At the same time, as soon as it is not called - and host, and funky, and a giant plantain! So that the flower, amazing in the variety of shapes and colors of foliage, does not suffer from stress and gives the joy of admiring itself for a long time, it is necessary to be puzzled by the right choice of a seedling, timely and competent planting, as well as caring for it in the open field.

Care features

The hosta loves wet soil. Therefore, she needs infrequent, but plentiful watering. It should be done in the morning, being careful not to get on the leaves. If moisture stagnates in the outlet, the root collar may begin to rot. 10 - 30 liters of water - this is the rate of watering one adult bush.

By the way, the hosta lacks the decorative value of the flower. It is removed in order to quickly grow lush leaves. Of course, the function, like any other cultivated plant, needs weeding.

The host is responsive to feeding. Mineral supplements are necessary for the plant in spring and August. You can use fertilizers for horticultural crops.

They should be rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. But due to an excess of nitrogen, variegated leaves can lose their color.

This plant likes the increased amount of organic matter in the ground. In autumn, the land under the host is fertilized with peat, humus or compost. In the spring, it is buried shallowly in the soil.

It is advisable to mulch funkia in June with compost or humus. This procedure is also useful because it retains moisture in the ground. Mullein infusion is well suited for feeding.

In autumn, the leaves of this plant are cut off. This procedure removes snails and slugs. It is performed when the leaves turn yellow and fall on the flower bed (after the first frost).

During pruning, do not damage the dormant buds on the surface of the ground. After that, the soil is loosened to get the eggs of the slugs.

Sometimes the leaves and shoots of the hosts mutate. They need to be removed in order to prevent the displacement of varietal outlets. Care must be taken when loosening the flower bed in the spring, as the function rises later than other flowers.

So, the host is unpretentious. It does not require careful maintenance.

A garden will not be truly beautiful if there is no hosta in it, which is easy to grow from seeds.

It is difficult to imagine a beautiful garden arrangement without a perennial herb called hosta. Moreover, it is valuable not with flowers, but with original large leaves of various colors and shapes. Thanks to them, the host is often given the main role in garden design. This plant brings extraordinary colors to the composition. Therefore, it is about him that will be discussed in this article.

Description

Hosta belongs to the asparagus family. Previously, it was believed that this flower belongs to the lily flowers. It owes its name to the Austrian physician and botanist N. Host. This plant also has another name - function. It was received in honor of G. Funk, a botanist from Germany.

The homeland of the hosts is considered to be East Asia. It grows in the wild, for example, in Korea and Japan.

Host varieties

Hosta is a bush-shaped plant. It usually grows up to 80 cm, but there are giant (up to 1 m 30 cm) and dwarf (up to 15 cm) varieties.

The flower is distinguished by large heart-shaped basal leaves. They are crinkled, wrinkled, with a metallic sheen, waxy, matte and glossy. Shades of leaves are varied: white, yellow, blue, green. Moreover, they can be combined on one sheet in the form of strokes, stripes, spots, etc.

Khosta has a root system consisting of thick rhizomes with many roots in the form of filaments. Its flowers, located on high peduncles, are collected in a brush. They can be white, purple or pink. The fruit of the funkia is a leathery box with 3 edges. It contains many seeds that germinate well throughout the year.

The most beautiful hosta at the age of five. In the same place, it can grow for more than 15 years.

Hosta endures the winter. Its underground part does not suffer even when the soil freezes deeply. So, this flower really deserves the attention of real gardeners.

Growing from seeds

80% - this is the germination rate of hosta seeds. To increase it, you need to subject them to processing in a solution of stimulants. It is sold in specialized stores.

Young leaves of hosts

The key to success when growing this plant from seed is sterile soil and planting containers. It is better to buy the substrate in the store, because it does not contain fungi and other microbes.

You can prepare the land for growing hosts yourself. To do this, peat must be passed through a sieve to grind. Then you need to add perlite and vermiculite to it. The mixture prepared for planting is poured with potassium permanganate (strong solution) and treated with water vapor for 30 minutes. The soil cooled down to 20 ° C is ready for planting.

As containers, special cassettes with compartments (or cells) are ideal. It must be treated with potassium permanganate or alcohol. In the same way, you need to sterilize the instruments that are necessary for sowing.

Landing rules:

• Place a drain on the bottom of the compartment.
• Then put the substrate.
• Water the soil.
• Compact the substrate with a spatula.
• Sow seeds to a depth of 7 mm.
• Tighten again.

Compaction is necessary so that the seeds, in contact with the soil, can germinate better.

By the way, to maintain the required humidity, the container must be covered with transparent glass. If the conditions for germination of the hosts are optimal, then the seedlings will appear after 2 weeks.

When one true leaf appears, the plants dive. For this, a more nutritious sterile soil is used. A small layer of river sand is poured on top of it. Watering is carried out by placing the container in a container with water.

Thus, in order to grow hosta from seeds, planting rules must be followed carefully.

Transplanting

Before planting, you need to harden the seedlings and accustom them to sunlight. You need to start taking it out into the street from 10 minutes.

It is necessary to choose the right place for the function. She doesn't like sunny areas. A damp wetland is not suitable for this plant. When choosing a site, it must be borne in mind that the hosta bush will grow rapidly.

Flowering hosts

Then you need to prepare the seat. To do this, weeds are pulled out, digging up the ground, making holes. Their size should be such that the host's roots fit freely. This plant loves nutritious soil. Therefore, before planting it, it is advisable to fertilize the soil in the pits with rotted manure or humus. The land must be watered.

Landing technology:

• When placing a seedling in a hole, it is necessary to straighten its root system. If it is too long, it is advisable to undercut it.
• You can not plant too deep, but the roots should not look out of the ground either.
• Sprinkle the plant on top with earth and slightly crush it.
• The planted host should be watered. It is also advisable to mulch it with peat or moss.

A correctly chosen site, a carefully prepared planting site and adherence to planting technology are the key to the quick and correct development of this beautiful garden plant.

Care features

The hosta loves wet soil. Therefore, she needs infrequent, but plentiful watering. It should be done in the morning, being careful not to get on the leaves. If moisture stagnates in the outlet, the root collar may begin to rot. 10 - 30 liters of water - this is the rate for watering one adult bush.

By the way, the hosta lacks the decorative value of the flower. It is removed in order to quickly grow lush leaves. Of course, the function, like any other cultivated plant, needs weeding.

The host is responsive to feeding. Mineral supplements are necessary for the plant in spring and August.You can use fertilizers for horticultural crops. They should be rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. But due to an excess of nitrogen, variegated leaves can lose their color.

Hosts in Landscaping

This plant likes the increased amount of organic matter in the ground. In autumn, the land under the host is fertilized with peat, humus or compost. In the spring, it is buried shallowly in the soil. It is advisable to mulch funkia with compost or humus in June. This procedure is also useful because it retains moisture in the ground. Mullein infusion is well suited for feeding.

In autumn, the leaves of this plant are cut off. This procedure removes snails and slugs. It is performed when the leaves turn yellow and fall on the flower bed (after the first frost). During pruning, do not damage the dormant buds on the surface of the ground. After that, the soil is loosened to get the eggs of the slugs.

Sometimes the leaves and shoots of the hosts mutate. They need to be removed in order to prevent the displacement of high-quality rosettes. Care must be taken when loosening the flower bed in the spring, as the function rises later than other flowers.

So, the host is unpretentious. It does not require careful maintenance.

Transplant and reproduction

You can replant hosts during the entire growing season, but it is better to do this in May or September. There are varieties that can only be transplanted in the fall. In the spring, the root does not grow.

It must be remembered that the hosta loves fertile soil, does not tolerate waterloggedness. She is comfortable in shady areas of the garden. The depth of the planting hole is 40 cm. Before planting it must be watered and drained. When planting, the roots must be carefully straightened. The hole should be covered with fertile soil, compacted and watered abundantly. It is advisable to mulch with peat or humus.

The correct distance between plants must be observed. Large hosts are planted a meter apart, medium ones - 50 cm, and dwarf ones - 20 cm.

This plant can be propagated not only by seeds, but also by dividing the bush. The technology is as follows:

• Water the cooked bush liberally.
• After a few hours, dig it out not very close to the roots.
• Shake off the ground from the bush.
• Trim the roots a little to rejuvenate the hosta.
• Carefully cut the rhizome with a knife.
• Break it with your hands.
• Sprinkle ashes on the faults.
• To reduce moisture evaporation, remove almost all the leaves from the tops.
• Plant the seedlings in a pre-prepared place, observing the rules for planting seedlings, which were mentioned above.

Thus, following the rules, even a beginner in the field of gardening can propagate the host or transplant it.

Diseases and pests

Lovely flowers hosts

Function is one of the most disease-resistant perennials. But she can sometimes get sick, having become infected, for example, with the HVX virus. By the way, it only affects hosts. The virus is transmitted only through plant sap when dividing or pruning. The hosts that are sick with it must be destroyed.

This plant sometimes rots the root collar. Fortunately, this is a rare condition. It appears in a neglected flower garden, in damp flower beds. It can be caused by a deep planting or too much feeding.

Fungi diseases are caused by fungi and bacteria. They cause various types of stains on plants. The development of a fungal disease most often begins due to an excess of nitrogen in the soil. It can also be caused by the increased humidity of the earth and air.

The host is often damaged by pests that gnaw on its leaves. These include snails and slugs. They are saved from snails using tobacco dust, wood ash, superphosphate or lime. To combat them, you can mulch with pine needles.

Some gardeners spread leaves, boards or large stones in the beds at night.

In the morning, pests that have crawled under them are destroyed. Also, special chemicals are used against slugs and snails.For example, "Thunderstorm", "Slime Eater". When using them, you must strictly follow the instructions. With a large number of slugs in the garden, it is better to give preference to varieties that have dense waxed leaves.

The host is also attacked by rodents. It can lose its effectiveness due to sunburn or after frost. If the plant is damaged, you should immediately find the cause of its damage and start treatment.

While watching the video, you will learn about growing hosts.

So, the hosta is a versatile, unpretentious, cold-resistant flower. This plant feels great in the shade. It is easy for a host to grow from seeds. This flower is a worthy background for other horticultural crops.

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Flowers and flowerbeds

Landing rules

Host at home in a pot

When growing, the following nuances should be taken into account:

• o For breeding, it is best to take a place that is in partial shade or in the shade. The surface should preferably be absolutely flat.
• o When planting, it is necessary to take into account the growth of the root - the holes should be made larger and wider.
• o Distance between hosts is about 0.8 m.
• o If the soil is not fertile enough, then it is best to add peat, vermiculite, perlite to it.
• o Sprinkle the soil and compact it so that the ground level in this place is a couple of centimeters lower.
• o It is advisable to add mulch in the form of crushed bark to the root area.

Hosta flowers: variety of species and use in the garden

A common favorite among decorative deciduous perennials hosta flower captivates not only with the beauty of the leaves and the neatness of the curtains. It is durable and relatively undemanding, it grows in the right place for many years, but it can hardly be called fast-growing.

Hosta reproduces easily, although you will have to be patient to get spectacular highly decorative bushes. To independently increase the collection of the host, first of all, you need to remember about the features of this far from typical garden culture.

Host breeding rules

Fertilizing and fertilizing a flower

The host needs additional feeding, especially organic fertilizers. It is possible to feed the plant in 2 ways:

• Foliar;
• Root.

The most common and easiest way is to apply fertilizer at the root after watering. Thus, it is recommended to feed the plant with mullein infusion 2 times a year: in spring and summer. Mineral fertilizer granules can simply be embedded in the ground around the plant.

Foliar dressing is carried out with water-soluble mineral fertilizers. The leaves are sprayed with water with a low concentration of fertilizers.

Growing features

The variety of colors and sizes is not the only advantage of the hosta. The plant wins over flower growers and landscape designers with its amazing unpretentiousness, high frost resistance and ability to grow in almost any conditions. You can choose varieties for shady areas, partial shade and even sunny places. Tall varieties will help create the effect of a tropical garden, undersized varieties will decorate borders and ridges. The host will also be appropriate in the design of the reservoir.

Difficulties of grafting host

Host grafting is considered a much less popular method and is usually used to propagate rare varieties or slow-growing plants. They use cuttings and, if necessary, propagate young plants or save those specimens that simply do not grow large bushes and form very few outlets due to various problems with conditions and diseases.

It is difficult to name the process of rooting of individual shoots by the hosts as classical cuttings - this perennial uses young rosettes with at least a minimal root of its own, broken off with a "heel" (or neatly cut off).

The rosettes are chosen according to the compactness and size of the leaves: from the entire bush, individual rosettes with the shortest and smallest (compared to other rosettes) leaves are noted. Sometimes such rosettes break off themselves during classical rooting and these plants are used for grafting.

For grafting, the host chooses the most active phase of the growing season, when strong, powerful leaves have already grown and the plants are actively growing. Cuttings are carried out from late spring to mid-summer - throughout May, June and July.

The process of propagation by cuttings of hosts is not very complicated:

• Plants are examined and marked for strong, healthy young rosettes without visible damage. There is no need to dig out the bush. When trying to break off, it is worth remembering that only easily detachable, "ripened" sockets are used for grafting - if they do not detach without effort, it is worth choosing others that can quickly form a sufficient number of adventitious roots after planting as independent plants.
• Shoots with a heel are examined, the leaves are shortened by half or a third to reduce moisture evaporation.
• Separated outlets are more often planted in greenhouses or in beds for growing, and not immediately in a permanent place, but if it is possible to provide care, cuttings can be planted without an intermediate stage. They are installed in planting holes, slightly squeezed with soil and watered.

All hosta cuttings look lethargic for several days, most often lie on the ground and seem to be dead plants. It takes several days for the rooting process to begin in wet soil. Both stable substrate moisture and protection against overheating are the most important conditions for rooting.

Planted hosta cuttings should not only be shaded from the direct sun, but also mulched over the soil and sprayed in the evenings (you can replace this procedure by increasing the air humidity by installing a hood over the plant). Usually, after 3 days, the plants straighten and look much more cheerful, but the measures for shading and additional moisture should be continued until growth begins.

Rooting leaf cuttings (they are also broken off with the heel) is not considered a reliable method. You can try to propagate the hosta this way, using the standard technique of rooting leaf cuttings in containers under a hood and with treatments with root accelerators.

The seed method is used for host species and if you need to get a large number of seedlings with any characteristics.

How to grow a hosta in a pot

Many hosta varieties are not recommended to be planted outdoors. Until the plants grow strong and form a dense bush, it is best to grow them in a pot at home.

The pot must be suitable in size and contain the required volume of the substrate.

As the plant grows, transplant into a larger pot subject to the following care conditions and planting rules:

1. Pour drainage on the bottom of the pot, on top - a layer of rotted manure. This will provide the plant with additional nutrition.
2. The top layer of the substrate is to mulch, this will help to avoid excessive evaporation of moisture.
3. A potted plant needs careful maintenance: frequent watering and feeding.
4. In the open air, the pot should be positioned so that the sun does not heat it to prevent scalding of the roots.
5. In winter, keep the pot with the plant in a cool dry place.
6. Check the condition of the soil once a month to prevent drying out.
7. After winter, the hosta growing in a pot "wakes up" much faster in spring than in the open field.
8. Take out the host to the street after the threat of frost has passed. You can take it outside during the day, and bring it indoors at night.

Difficulties in growing a plant. Useful Tips

As a rule, growers do not have any difficulties with growing a host.

If you want to decorate the trunks of old trees, then you should pay attention to the host. Various varieties can be used to brighten and brighten shady areas of the garden.

Plant lifespan

Hosta can grow for about 20 years, while the beauty and decorativeness of the plant only increases with age.

Why doesn't the flower bloom?

Some late blooming hosts in sulfur regions simply do not have time to bloom. If the problem is not in the species, then the location for the flower may have been chosen incorrectly.

Why do the leaves turn yellow (dry)?

Hosta turns yellow, and leaves dry out with insufficient watering, especially when planted in the sun. The leaves curl, and the hosta turns yellow and dries also when affected by various diseases and pests.

Natalie-Natalka's post quote
GREAT HOST - QUEEN OF SHADOW!

These unusually beautiful decorative flowers fascinate with their variety of colors and shapes. No wonder she is called the Queen of the Shadow! Hosta feels great in shady places, although today many varieties and hybrids of Hosta have been bred, which grow well in sunnier places.

Host! Elegance, sophistication, magical colors of the leaves - we associate all this with her!

In autumn, the magic continues - the host bushes change the color of the leaves to exotic yellow tones, which persist until frost.

Another reason for the widespread use of hosts is their unpretentiousness. Even a novice florist can successfully grow this plant. For busy people, perennials such as hosts, allow you to reduce gardening to a minimum. Mature host bushes form thickets in which it is difficult for weeds to break through.

The host had a lot of advantages. They are unpretentious, cold-resistant, shade-tolerant, extremely decorative. Plants are not susceptible to disease. Only slugs can spoil the decorative appearance of the hosts, but fighting them is not a very serious problem.

Mostly hosts are prized for their foliage. In addition to the green color traditional for all plants, it can be blue, light green, yellow, striped, with various edging, up to white, and even tricolor.

The surface of the leaf is also varied: glossy, wrinkled, wrinkled, with a waxy coating or metallic sheen. Plants vary greatly in size. Along with giants up to 120 cm in height, there are dwarfs that do not exceed 5 cm. Adult specimens of tall varieties give the impression of tropical plants.

The varieties with a wavy edge of the leaf blade are extremely interesting - this is one of the latest trends in host breeding.

The prices for varietal hosts, especially new ones, are quite high. This is explained by the fashion for culture, and by the fact that many plants do not grow as fast as the growers would like.

Moreover, the more interesting the variety, the slower it forms new rosettes. In order for the host to gain sufficient decorativeness, it takes at least 4-5 years. At the age of 8-10 years, she will look great and will not lose her dignity, staying in one place for 20-25 years.

On the contrary, every year the plant will form larger and larger leaves, acquire a characteristic shape for the variety, and show all the nuances of color. And you can hardly recognize in your beauty that stunted creature with 2-3 leaves of an indefinite shape and color, which you once planted a long time ago.

It becomes clear that it is not worth sharing the hosts - you simply will not see all the beauty of the plant you have planted. In addition, by frequent division, the plant can be weakened so much that it will take a long time for it to begin to form leaves typical of the variety.

When purchasing new items, keep in mind that not all of them are suitable for the climate of central Russia, and even more so for the northern regions. So, do not chase hosts with double flowers, for example, the famous 'Aphrodite', since in our short summer she does not have time to fully develop and open flowers. In especially cold weather, the buds simply fall off.

Now, in our garden centers, a good set of hosta varieties is presented.Plants are brought from Holland, Germany and Poland. They were obtained by the tissue culture method and almost completely retain the characteristics of the varieties. These varieties are decorative and grow relatively quickly. In order for the plants to show themselves in all their glory, it is enough to observe agricultural technology.

CHOOSING A LANDING PLACE FOR HOSTS!

Hosta is known to our growers primarily as a shade-tolerant plant. But in the deep shadows, she does not feel very well. And this is not surprising. Indeed, in nature, some host species grow in sunny, wet meadows, in the shade of tall grasses.

The large leaves of the host evaporate a lot of water. In the afternoon, when the sun is particularly hot, evaporation intensifies, and plants lose a lot of water.

An area shaded in the afternoon will be optimal for growing them in the garden. However, some species and varieties (especially variegated) can be successfully grown in sunny areas with moist soils, especially in a temperate climate zone. If the soil in a sunny area is dry, then the leaves of the plants become thinner and turn brown.

The most demanding varieties of illumination are varieties with non-green leaves, and this must be taken into account when choosing a place for them in the garden. Otherwise, the colored leaves will turn pale or green.

In general, hosts with blue leaves prefer shade, while those with yellow, gold and white leaves are more resistant to sunlight. It must be remembered that forms with blue leaves turn green in very illuminated areas or in deep shade. Plants planted in light partial shade or in shaded areas in the afternoon will retain the blue color of the foliage.

Golden-leaved forms develop better in places where the sun is for several hours in the morning and several hours in the evening. In a sunny area, golden leaves fade. In the shade, they will be significantly paler or even lose their golden color and turn green. In sunny areas, the species with the most dense leaves are planted. They tolerate sunlight better.

You should also know that hosts with delicate thin leaves develop better in shaded areas, where the sun illuminates the plants for about 5 hours. Conversely, hosts with dense leathery leaves do well in the sun all day long.

Hosts can be excellently used to create curbs, single and group plantings on lawns, forest edges and near water bodies. Leaves are widely used in bouquets and arrangements.

WHAT SHOULD BE SOIL FOR HOSTS?

The key to success in growing a host is the right soil! Dry sandy and heavy untreated clay soils are not suitable for growing them.

The sandy soil is low in nutrients and the plants tend to shrink quickly. In addition, such soils dry out quickly. Water leaves them like a sieve. Clay soils are very dense, there are few microorganisms and earthworms in them, there is a lack of oxygen, and water often stagnates.

In order for the hosts to show themselves in all their glory, they need a nutritious moist well-drained soil, in which there are many microorganisms, earthworms involved in the formation of humus, aerating the soil and saturating it with oxygen. Such soils include processed loams.

It is necessary to add more organic matter to the soil for the Host: compost soil, leafy soil, peat, rotted pine bark and other organic mixtures, hosts respond well to horse manure.

Lay in layers in the planting pit, about 1.5-2 buckets. The site (flower bed, flower garden) should be raised above the soil surface to improve its aeration.

The roots of most hosts grow horizontally, and the wider the hole in which the bush is planted, the more they are formed and the larger the feeding area will be. This means that the plant will receive more nutrients and water, it will become more lush and decorative.

I recommend mulching hosts with leafy soil, especially those planted in an area under the crowns of large trees. Cover the compost soil with a layer of about 5 cm. As a result, the plants will not lack nutrients, which are actively absorbed by the trees growing nearby. In addition, the mulch layer lifts the flower garden, thereby improving soil drainage.

LANDING HOSTS!

The best time for planting and dividing hosta bushes is spring and late August - first half of September. Many gardeners believe that hosts can be transplanted and transplanted all summer until mid-September, but, I repeat, the optimal time for transplanting is early spring, when roots are just beginning to grow and the leaves have not yet unfolded.

In the spring, it is not recommended to share only the Siebold host and her hybrids and the Tokudama host. New roots in them, unlike other host species, do not grow until the leaves are fully unfolded. Therefore, transplanting during this period will lead to poor plant survival.

Dividing and planting bushes is not difficult. We dig a hole wider than in depth, fill it with organic matter mixed with garden soil in layers. Gently straighten the roots, while removing dead black ones. We spill the planting abundantly and mulch right away

If you bought a Hosta, then it is better to store it in the refrigerator in a bag of peat before planting. If the root is noticeably dry initially, then soak it in water with a growth stimulant and, having gained moisture, it will noticeably revive in an hour.

Planting is stopped in the first half of September, so that the plants have time to take root in a new place before the first autumn frosts. It takes about four weeks for the hosts to take root. Plants (small and medium) are planted at a distance of 20-30 cm, large-leaved - at a distance of 30-40 cm. Planting is watered daily for at least two weeks.

BREEDING HOSTS!

Most often, hosts are propagated by dividing the bush and cuttings, especially varieties. When propagated by seeds, seedlings develop slowly and only in the fourth year reach a decorative effect. The bushes are divided in late April - early May or September into small parts, since the "delenki" grow rapidly and reach large sizes in two or three years.

The bush is dug up and divided into parts (delenki) so that each of them has one or two rosettes of leaves. After two to three years, they give the desired decorative effect. If there is no need to obtain a large number of plants, delenki, especially slowly growing hosts, are made larger (from 3-4 sockets).

They are planted at the same depth at which the mother plant grew. It is easy to identify by the trail of the soil, which is clearly visible on the cuttings. The distance between the bushes when planting is 25-35 cm. After planting, the first time is watered abundantly. Cuttings are carried out from May to July inclusive.

On cuttings take easily separating young shoots with a heel. To reduce evaporation, the leaves are cut by 1/3 or 1/2 before planting. As cuttings, it is better to take rosettes with smaller and not particularly long-stemmed leaves. The first time after planting, they wither and lie on the ground, but after 2-3 days they take their normal position. At this time, it is advisable to shade the planted cuttings and spray more often.

HOST CARE!

As I said, the hosts are not whimsical enough, but they grow for a very long time in one place, so she still needs food

With proper care, the bushes grow faster, the leaves turn out to be larger, the later varieties bloom earlier. Plants are fed with organic matter in the form of compost, leaf litter, rotted pine bark, etc., most often in the form of mulch, that is, they cover the area where hosts grow with them in the fall.

After flowering, the peduncles must be removed.

Host use in garden design

Flowers Hosts are ornamental, large-leaved, unpretentious, luxurious queens of the shadow.The unique herbaceous perennial is so popular and irreplaceable that without it it is impossible to imagine a single secluded corner of the garden. Equally inimitable in regular style and contemporary design, the hosta invites you to admire the luxury of foliage in spectacular rosettes. The choice of species and varieties is so significant that with the help of hosts, you can decorate literally any garden and any ensemble. It is truly a versatile plant, but it does not lose its status as a luxurious perennial.

Hosta minor.

In the design of the secluded corners of the garden - shaded areas with lighting from partial shade to shade, it is impossible to find a more effective, diverse and unpretentious plant for shaded areas.

But among the host there are also varieties that thrive on sunny grounds or in diffused but bright lighting. The right choice of plants allows hosts to become a truly versatile crop. If earlier hosts on ordinary flower beds were considered something exceptional, then the modern palette of varieties allows you to use large-leaved accents even in the company of roses, lavender and the like.

Hosts are oriental plants that are most common in nature in the Far East. But the high decorativeness of the host has long expanded the natural range and made the plants true international stars. The fashion for hosts came to us from Canada and the USA, which not only made a significant contribution to plant breeding, but also made them absolute favorites of modern design.

However, geography or status does not change the versatility of the hosta at all: another plant that would look so good in any garden still needs to be looked for. Hosts are good in natural plantings and regular gardens, in modern modern and minimalist styles, hi-tech and expressionism as well as in nostalgic gardens or narrow-themed projects.

Hosts are elegant, impeccable plants for ceremonial and exemplary ensembles. The elegant foliage of the hosta is one of the noblest in the garden palette. The host is characterized by a unique ability to set off the beauty of any, even the most modest flowering plant.

Hosta plantaginea.

Note! Even the most ordinary-looking perennials from among the partners in the host company reveal their full beauty, and the true favorites of flower gardens and groups seem even more luxurious and radiant.

By the nature of their influence on decorative compositions, hosts are rightly called plants that create harmony. Hosts, thanks to large leaves and ornamentation, bring orderliness even in compositions with chaotic patterns. They soften, soothe, balance plants of different nature, enhance the beauty of neighbors or neutralize the imperfections of greenery, make them perceive the color scheme holistically and easily bring unity to any group. With the help of hosta, you can both add attractiveness and soften the spread of characteristics of contrasting plants.

The use of the host in the design meets all the principles of modern design, including the desire to reduce planting maintenance to a minimum. Hosts are not just unpretentious plants that do not cause trouble even for novice gardeners. They are almost maintenance-free, take decades to grow, and look luxurious in any setting. Weeds do not grow among large hosts. They fit into the lazy or thrifty garden concept, justifying the purchase of varieties and allowing diversity to be maintained while using a minimum number of species.

With the help of the host, you can play with optical illusions and bring even the darkest corners to life. They literally color the garden, enlivening the compositions both in terms of introducing an ornamental effect and in their coloristic influence.

Hosts in garden design.

The hosts in the garden can be used both as a solo plant, and in monogroups, placing different varieties or identical specimens in spots, and in complex compositions.

In the design of garden ensembles, hosts use:

• to create host flower beds;
• to decorate the leading edge of compositions;
• for placing patterned, architectural, graphic accents and contrasts;
• as a curb plant;
• in landscape compositions in secluded lighting;
• in freely growing groups;
• in shady flower beds and beds;
• in parterres, patterned mixborders, arabesques;
• in rockeries;
• as a soloist or large spots on the lawn (tall and sun-loving varieties);
• in the design of regular mixborders and flower beds;
• in rock gardens and play with stone backfill and Japanese-style recreation areas;
• as a large-leaved plant in the design of all types of flower beds;
• in the design of water bodies, including for framing small decorative ponds or bringing harmony and architectural accents to coastlines;
• for edging or padding solo shrubs and trees, for filling spaces between large ornamental plants and as an alternative to shady lawns (single or multi-tiered planting, play with perspective and light).

If the hosts look great even in plantings without a visible structure or pattern, in imitation of thickets or landscape flower beds, then in planting the plants themselves it is better to be guided by geometry and symmetry. The hosts are placed not chaotically, but in an orderly manner, correlating with the largest plants in the ensemble and observing an equal or proportional ratio between the bushes.

Hosts bring order where it is lacking, and this property is enhanced with a landing strategy. When placing hosts, even in the foreground, it is worth considering alternation, considering the interaction of masses, contours, volumes and the fullness of the composition.

Hosts are also viewed as a cut culture. The inflorescences of these beauties are admired only in gardens, but the leaves are used for bouquets and arrangements quite often.

The hosts go well together.

Types and variety of hosta garden flowers

The keys to the popularity of hosts and their status as an indispensable plant in landscape design are considered by many to be the striking diversity of these plants. No matter what host we are talking about, it still remains easily recognizable by its large leaves and growth pattern. But at the same time, hosts offer a very diverse selection.

Variety of species Host. / Figcaption>

The greatest variety is typical for the host in terms of the color palette. Classic green-leaved hosts are also far from the same: dark, medium and light tones allow you to play with contrasts and the effect of highlighting compositions. But for those looking for original paints, the hosts also have a lot to offer. They are blue-leaved, gray-leaved, golden and variegated. Borders, stripes, spots, ripples in a variety of combinations create modern and unique combinations on the leaves, transforming the look of the plant.

Hosts are divided into several groups and according to other criteria:

1. Varieties with matte, waxy and glossy leaves.
2. Large-leaved and small-leaved hosts.
3. Hosts with smooth, wrinkled, embossed, wavy leaves.
4. Miniature, medium-sized and giant varieties from 5 cm to almost 1 m in height.
5. Hosts with small or large flowers.

More than forty plant species are distinguished in the Khost genus. In garden culture, not all species hosts are used, and hybrid varietal plants combined into a species remain the most popular and widely represented on the market. Hosta hybrid (despite their unofficial status, the plants are often sold under the name Hosta hybridum or Hosta hybrids).

Hosta lanceolistnaya (Hosta lancifolia).

Understanding the host classification is not easy. Many cultivated plants are classified as species, which only complicates the situation. The easiest way to navigate the host variety is by purely decorative characteristics, choosing plants according to your taste and the desired role in the compositions. The official register of varieties is the register of the American Society of Host Lovers.Today the number of cultivars in it has exceeded 2000 specimens.

Among the host species, the following are considered popular:

• variable in size waxy heart-shaped host Siebold (Hosta sieboldii), to which the cordate-leaved, waxy, with variable colors and beautiful flowering has been reclassified host Fortune (Hosta fortunei), and dark-leaved, with large lanceolate-heart-leaved long-petiolate leaves host High (Hosta elata), and many other species previously considered separately;
• large, with heart-shaped leaves bright host bloated (Hosta ventricosa);
• small-leaved and undersized Hosta Beautiful (Hosta venusta);
• dense, narrow-leaved and compact hosta lanceolate (Hosta lancifolia);
• long-rhizome, with neat heart-shaped leaves low Host Small (Hosta minor);
• growing in the form of globular bushes broad-leaved hosta ovate (Hosta ovata);
• bright cordial large hosta plantain (Hosta plantaginea);
• strong and dense, with upright narrow leaves Hosta Straight (Hosta rectifolia);
• flaunting intricately wavy motley leaves hosta wavy (Hosta undulata).

How to select partners for a host

Fully responding to their reputation as a versatile plant, hosts go well with any garden crop. Of course, the growing conditions and the similarity of care always remain a limitation on the selection of partners, but hosts that are able to decorate any composition and corner in the garden will look great with almost any plants nearby. Neither large-leaved, nor flowering, nor decorative leafy crops are excluded from the list of suitable partners for this plant.

With traditional use in secluded corners of the garden, ferns, aquilegia, and astilbe are always the best partners for the host. Periwinkles are planted around the host as a complementary ground cover. Regardless of the lighting, contrasting both in texture and character, a neighbor for a host can be selected from among ornamental cereals, among which not all species are also sun-loving.

Buzulniks, delphiniums, milkweed, geykhera and cuffs perfectly fit into the composition with the hosts. A unique contrast to the leaves of the hosta will create the shining velvet of a silvery Byzantine purse. Accents in the compositions will easily be placed by any bulbous - both spring and summer or autumn flowering. Host irises, forget-me-nots, daylilies, poppies are inimitable in the company.

There are no restrictions among shrubs and trees of the ornamental type. From roses and spirits to rhododendrons, honeysuckles and hydrangeas, hosts are capable of shading any soloist in a new way.

Annual flowers for summer cottages: 10 most reliable annual flowers for your garden (read more)

If the compositions with the host lack imposingness, it is worth stopping your attention on annuals that can fill in the voids or place color accents. Begonias are the best candidate for a place next to a magnificent hosta, but lobelias, sage, surfinias, marigolds, etc. will also reveal their beauty.

Characteristics and properties of the flower

Hosta - a perennial deciduous plant of the Host family with elliptical leaves collected in a dense bush. It comes from the Far East.

Hosta leaves are basal, lanceolate, rounded and petiolate. Petioles have different shapes - this is one of the characteristics of the species. The leaves are dense, which allows them to tolerate drought well.

The surface of the sheet can be corrugated or smooth. There are varieties with leaves no more than 6 cm, while others have more than 100 cm. Some species have spiral leaves. Each variety has its own characteristics of care.

What the host likes and what she dislikes

The hosts are natives of the Far East, and Japan is the center of their distribution. The host's favorite habitats in nature are under the canopy of tall forest trees, damp shady banks of rivers and streams. Most of the host garden cultivars descended from these wild relatives.

In the garden, just like in the wild, the hosta feels comfortable under the canopy of trees.

But in the wild, hosts can grow in completely different conditions. For example, one of the varieties - Hosta hypoleuca - can grow in dense shade, shrouded in thick fog.And at the same time, this hosta is found on volcanic cliffs, in the hot sun. In such an extreme habitat, it develops only one single large leaf, covered from the inside with a thick layer of white bloom, which saves the plant from the sun's rays reflected by bare rocks.

In contrast, H.longissima grows in humid and foggy highland meadows. It has grass-like leaves, and in summer this hosta species is most often found in the shade of taller grasses. Several host species with tiny leaves — a little larger than a thumbnail — (such as H. venusta) grow like epiphytes on mossy tree trunks. Others form vast colonies in moist boggy bogs covered with sphagnum moss. And there are wild plants growing on the mossy roots of trees living at the edge of high-mountain streams, while the hosts pull their roots in cold running water.

In many zones of horticulture, species and varietal hosts adapt well to growing conditions. The exception is subtropical areas, since hosts need a period of rest for several weeks with temperatures no higher than -4.4 degrees, this is an obligatory part of their annual growth and rest cycle.

Species and varietal hosts adapt well to different growing conditions

All hosts are quite hardy and winter-hardy. The winter temperature limit that the dormant functions can withstand is up to -44 degrees. It is also generally accepted that vegetative hosts can withstand short-term frosts of up to -2 degrees without much damage to decorativeness. In summer, an increase in air temperature to +38 degrees for a short time also does not significantly affect the condition of plants.

I will add that the limit of subzero temperatures for each variety and species is individual: some plants can withstand frosts down to -2, for others, lowering the temperature to zero degrees is already the limit. Knowing this important point, it should be borne in mind that in the harsh continental climate of the Moscow region, hosts are often in danger of falling under return spring frosts.

Spring frostbite hosts

Calculate your strengths and capabilities to cover plants in time and reliably in such unpleasant moments, otherwise the shabby appearance of frost-bitten funky will upset you almost every year. However, by the middle or by the end of summer, the hosts still partially restore their decorative effect and grow again, even if the entire above-ground part is badly damaged.

The easiest way to replicate a host: when is it better to split hosts

Hosts are constantly releasing new subsidiary sockets and increasing their volumes annually, providing an opportunity to separate the bushes almost every second year. The optimal frequency of division of hosts is considered classic for herbaceous perennials 4-6 years old. During this time, the bushes grow enough to produce strong new plants.

It is undesirable to divide young hosts, up to 3 years old, they can completely stop growing and hardly develop (especially if plants purchased in garden centers and obtained not by separation, but by tissue culture) are used. Hosts are divided from the age of four.

Hosts can be split at the beginning and end of active growth. The optimal timing has always been the middle of spring - when these late waking up plants are already beginning to emerge from the ground, but have not yet expanded all the leaves. It is usually recommended to focus on pecking the first leaf, which should grow to 8-10 cm.

When the hosts are separated at this time, young plants adapt faster and start growing, with proper care, building up a healthy rhizome until the first frosts and hibernating well.

These perennials are also shared at the end of summer, along with all perennials that bloom in the first half of the season, when it is possible to assess the size and quality of the bushes.

Preferred separation times:

• the third decade of April and the first decade of May (later separation is dangerous due to a prolonged cessation of growth in the most active period of development and an increased risk of plant loss due to heat and drought);
• the third decade of August and the whole of September (the later the hostu is divided, the higher the risk of plant loss due to defective rooting before the frost arrives).