Do you want hostas that you can just stick in the garden and leave to grow? There are some varieties that we would consider 'bomb proof' and we often recommend to garden designer and landscapers who maybe don't think their client has the time to be giving them any specific one to one care or slug protection. We all set out with the best of intentions, but sometimes life can get in the way and our plants have to fend for themselves!
What Hosta Varieties are Easy Garden Growers?
Tardiana Varieties
This is a group of varieties which includes old favourites like 'June' and 'Halcyon' as well as 'June Fever', 'Dinner Jacket', 'Justine', 'Devon Green' and many more. These varieties have characteristics that make them great additions to a garden, strong growing medium sized hostas with thick leaves which make them more slug resistant. One of the things we love about this varieties is that the fact they are good growers doesn't compromise how they look aesthetically, these are some of the best looking hostas there are.
Due to their medium size, tardiana varieties can fit into most gardens. They will happily grow in the ground or in a pot and they come in many colours. We would recommend these for gardeners of all levels of experience from novice to professional.
sieboldiana var. 'Elegans'
This variety is a real classic that you will often see in National Trust or RHS gardens because it will grow to be a very large size and due to it thick leaves it is often not eaten by the slugs and snails. This blue giant hosta is a very architectural plant and can really add to a border of mixed herbaceous or look stunning on it's own in a pot. Can't go wrong with sieboldiana var. 'Elegans' if you need a strong giant!
Look, let's be honest, 'Blue Cadet' is certainly not the most eye catching of hostas. With plain bluey green leaves, this hostas is not particularly exciting but what it lacks in colour and vibrancy it more than makes up in growth rate. 'Blue Cadet' is one of the fastest growing, if not the fastest variety we have on the nursery. They're great for an area that needs some structure and coverage. We have found that some years 'Blue Cadet' can be split two or three times in one season due to it's rapid growth. If you have a tricky position with poor growing conditions, this is the variety for you. If 'Blue Cadet' won't grow there, nothing will.
