Hostas are wonderful architectural plants, that can bring excellent structure to a border. Fast growing hostas can make very good ground cover in a shady area and we are often ask if hostas will spread over an area naturally. Hostas are clump forming perennials; by this we mean that they will grow into a round clump rather than spread. They will grow outwards until they reach their full size at which time they will simply maintain their shade and size.
How can get my hostas to spread?
If you have some fast growing hostas, you can get them to spread but they won't do this on their own. To get one hosta to cover a large area you will need to divide sections away from the main plant, this will allow each section to essential reset their maximum spread. If a variety has a maximum spread of say 60cm, divisions from this plant that are planted next to the main plant can also reach 60cm in spread. Over time one plant can be divided out in all directions and those divisions also divided to cover a large area.
How to divide hostas - please see our blog here.
