This week… Hostas

HOSTAS are cold-tolerant hardy perennial plants grown mainly for their attractive leaves. From a tight, slowly expanding crown at soil level, pointed buds emerge and unfurl in spring. Later, in summer, many varieties produce upright stems that carry flared mauve or white trumpets that are sometimes heavily scented.

The leaves are often heart-shaped, or narrower and more elliptical, or even sword-shaped, and often feature a network of veins and may be puckered.

Variety of colours

The colours, and patterns of colours, in the leaves of hostas are many and varied – and they come in a huge variety. Colours may include combinations of blue, grey-blue and blue-green shades, a huge range of chartreuse, yellows and golds, and many