Success With Hostas in the South

How to combat pest damage and recommendations for favorite varieties

Hostas ( Hostaspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–8 ) must be toothsome . Everything eat them . There is nothing as dissatisfactory as watch a wilt hosta and realizing that it ’s miss all its roots , its leaves pass on in a wilted pile aboveground , when it had been a glorious specimen just the day before . Voles and chipmunks do n’t have any bother consuming hostas from the bottom up . Groundhogs and deer happily eat the foliage . We were annoyed to let out that even domesticated duck’s egg find them yummy . Also , there are the cat , slugs , snails , and beetles that find hostas tasty .

Pest control from the ground up

applications programme of some product can help manage pests . Castor oil color — the excerpt from castor attic industrial plant — in a granular or fluid physique can be applied to help discourage voles and chipmunk . Iron phosphate granules sprinkled under the foliage does away with slugs and snails , hopefully before they chew holes in the leaves . Spinosad can be sprayed to control caterpillars and beetle . Maintenance is an important part of pest ascendancy . Depending on the rain , weekly reapplication may be necessary .

Move your hostas to containers

Growing hostas in container can also provide some protection . Sturdy pot can help keep burrow tool from the roots . Copper tape around the stand of the container is reported to keep slug and snails from climbing into it . Taller containers may defeat woodchuck by making the plants more unmanageable to reach . Occasionally deer can be discouraged by localisation , so moving plenty to more - protect areas can help dissuade them . The duck are a little more hard to see to it , but soon ours will be big enough to move over to our pool .

Here are a few great Funka miscellanea that look mythological in container .

‘ Golden Scepter ’ hosta(H.‘Golden Scepter ’ , Zones 3–8 ) search good in a profane container . The calx green foliage really prove up against a vivid blue background .

‘ wind of Lime ’ hosta(H.‘Twist of Lime ’ , Zones 3–8 ) is a respectable spread industrial plant that can quick cover flat coat in a container .

‘ Hush Puppie ’ hosta(H.‘Hush Puppie ’ , Zones 3–9 ) is a diminutive plant that spread out cursorily . Although small , it has a creamy edge to its leaf that makes it quite showy .

‘ Dragon Tails ’ hosta(H.‘Dragon Tails ’ , Zones 3–8 ) has long , thin , golden - green leave with wavy bound that complement darker - foliaged works .

‘ Rainforest Sunrise ’ hosta(H.‘Rainforest Sunrise ’ , Zones 3–9 ) has promising lime green foliage surrounded by dark green edge . It ’s just simply pretty .

Growing genus Funka in the South can be a bit ambitious , but they are so attractive and there are so many variety that they are impossible to resist , especially since many varieties have adorable blossom that are democratic with hummingbirds .

— Jason and Shelley Powell own and care Petals from the past tense , a garden snapper in Jemison , Alabama .

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