Question: What To Plant Next To Hostas

Astilbe, ferns, geraniums, and shady-friendly bulbs are great companions for hostas. Two of our favorites: bleeding hearts and heuchera. Bleeding heart (dicentra) plants provide delicate flowers and elegant, arching branches — the perfect contrast to bold, shiny, or variegated hosta plants.

What happens if you plant hostas too close together?

If hostas are too close together they will compete for moisture, nutrients and space which will compromise the potential size and health of each plant. Always leave enough room to get between the hostas so you can split or transplant each hosta, add fertilizer or spread mulch around each plant.

Can you plant hostas with hydrangeas?

With the right planning, hostas (Hosta spp.) and hydrangeas (Hydrangea spp.) are perfect partners. Both thrive in part shade, while hostas even tolerate the deeper shade cast by the taller shrubs.

Can you plant hostas close together?

When used as ground cover, you can plant hostas closer together so they touch one another, but when used as specimen plants, you want some room in between them. Even when spaced appropriately, hostas can outgrow their space and need thinning if they appear crowded.

How many hostas can you plant together?

Ideally, if two hostas are close together, one should complement the other. A simple design trick is to use a solid-colored hosta to echo a color in a variegated one. For instance, you might place a gold hosta next to a gold-variegated hosta or a green hosta next to a green-and-white-variegated hosta.

What should I plant next to my hydrangea?

Azaleas, hollies, yews, mahonia, gardenia, loropetalum and boxwood shrubs will look good planted in front of hydrangeas. Azaleas blossoms will provide early color. You can select your favorite blossom color since the azalea blooms will have faded before your hydrangea is flowering.

What looks good planted next to hostas?

What greenery goes with hydrangeas?

Play with Greenery Accenting a bundle of hydrangea with greenery adds layers and texture. Anything from eucalyptus, to olive branches, smilax, or even assorted fern leaves can take a bouquet from mono-floral to multidimensional for weddings from spring to winter.

What grows well with ferns?

Ferns as Companion Plants: Ferns make wonderful companion plants to other ferns, Ajuga, Astilbe, Bergenia, barren strawberry, black lily-turf, European ginger, Galium, Geranium, Heuchera, hostas-especially blue leaved and variegated forms, Lamium, sedges, wintergreen, and wildflowers.

Where do hostas grow in sun or shade?

Generally, hostas prefer to be out of direct sunlight. Most will tolerate morning sun, but need shade during the hottest part of the day. They are often planted beneath trees, but don’t like competition from shallow-rooted trees.

How do I organize my garden hostas?

Hostas are attractive companions for other perennials such as astilbes, ferns, dicentra and heuchera. You can also pair them with shade-tolerant annuals such as impatiens, nicotiana, coleus, caladium and begonias. When using hostas with flowering plants, look for opportunities to create color echoes.

How far apart should you plant hostas plants?

Soil Conditions: Hostas can survive in a wide range of soils but prefer a rich, moist soil, high in organic matter. Correct Spacing: Depending the variety, space plants 1 to 4 feet apart. Planting closer with allow the plants to fill in faster creating a ground cover of hosta.

How quickly do hostas spread?

I found that, after sprouting, hosta plants will grow at about 1/2 inch per day and reach full growth in about 30 to 35 days. Mine started sprouting at the end of March, but it will depend on the area you live and and the weather that year. It will sprout earlier and grow faster if it’s a warm spring.

Can you crowd hostas?

Although it’s tempting to plant hostas closely for a mature look, it’s not good for them. Overcrowding impedes their growth, and reduced air circulation can lead to foliage problems.

What time of year should you plant hostas?

The best time of year to plant hostas is in early spring or early fall (as soon as summer heat breaks), and before the rainy season if your area has one. Hosta varieties come in different sizes.

Do hosta plants spread?

Small varieties spread three times as wide as they are tall. Medium-size varieties spread twice their height, and the larger varieties are at least as wide as they are tall. Hostas are disease-resistant, but their succulent leaves are no match for slugs and snails.

How do you make hostas thrive?

Here are 10 pro tips for working hostas into your landscape or garden. Shade matters. Leave the dead foliage alone. Protect the shoots. Use a belt to move the plant. Revive your plant. Divide the plants to make them fuller. Clean around the plant. Use mulch.

How do you landscape hydrangeas?

Use hydrangeas with vivid colors to brighten up dry or drab areas in your landscape. They need more water than most shrubs, so you may want to add an irrigation system to keep them happy—however, they don’t like soggy soil and need good drainage.

Do coffee grounds help hydrangeas?

Some gardeners report success in turning their hydrangeas blue by applying coffee grounds to the soil. The coffee grounds make the soil more acidic, allowing the hydrangea to more easily absorb aluminum.

How do I plant a hydrangea border?

To plant a hydrangea bush, dig a hole that’s the depth of the plant’s root ball and two to three times its width. Place the plant in the hole and fill it halfway with soil; then water it. When the water has soaked in, fill the rest of the hole with soil amended with organic compost.

Can you plant tulips and hostas together?

SPRING-FLOWERING BULBS Spring bulbs are ideal companions for hostas. Eligible candidates include early-bloomers such as miniature daffodils, scilla, muscari and fritillaria. To stretch the season into early summer, consider adding alliums as well.