

Be aware that your hostas may not come out looking the same as the parent plant, but it can be a fun way to propagate. You can also collect seeds from dry seed heads in fall and plant them straight away in trays of potting compost. Choose a large container that will have good water retention and choose a rich potting compost.

If your garden is prone to slugs, you may want to consider growing hostas in containers as part of your container gardening ideas. So choose your line with a sharp spade and then go for it,’ he says. ‘It's a fairly corky, solid chunk of root in there and if you go too tentatively, you can actually damage it. ‘The key to dividing hostas is to be brave’ says Monty Don. Each leaf will make a new plant if it has some root attached, but if you want bigger, healthier plants, divide into clumps of several leaves.

Remove the entire clump and cut it into sections. Lift and divide when the leaves are just starting to spike through the ground. It is easiest and quickest to plant bulbs or divided plants and make sure you know when to plant hostas. These perennials can be grown from seed, bulbs or from dividing plants. A happy hosta tends not to be eaten so much by slugs and snails,’ says Don. ‘I’ve discovered that an awful lot of hosta damage is a result of stress. They are prone to slug damage, so it’s important to grow plants in good conditions so they can thrive. He recommends adding compost to the soil to improve its moisture retention and mulching the plants annually. 'The key thing for hostas is that they aren’t too dry in winter,' he continues. ‘Hostas are greedy, thirsty plants,’ says Monty Don of Gardeners World (opens in new tab). In case this wasn’t enough, their young leaves are also edible and a great alternative to asparagus. Hostas make great understorey plants and have delicate purple flowers spikes in summer. They come in a variety of colors with some beautiful blue hues and spectacular variegation so are a great addition to shady flower beds as part of north facing garden ideas. Read on for more ideas about flowers to plant in the shade.Hostas are beautiful perennials, valued for their lush, dense foliage, and large decorative leaves and are a must-have shade plant. New Guinea impatiens are hybrids that can take more sun and are considered partial shade flowers. Standard impatiens are some of the best flowers for shade. They just need less than four hours of sun each day. That doesn't mean they don't need any sun at all.
#Shade flowers full
If the plants are marked as full shade flowers, don’t take it literally. Partial shade flowers typically need four to six hours of sun a day, preferably before mid-day, when the temperatures start to climb. To find the best flowers for shade, read plant labels when you're shopping. It’s much easier to simply plant foliage and flowers that thrive in shade. Gardeners with shady spots sometimes try to compensate by growing shade-loving container plants and moving them around the yard, chasing the sun as it moves during the growing season. Others, like begonias and polka dot plants, don’t require full sun all day, but they still need a few sunny hours. Many annuals need full sun to produce their biggest and best blooms.
