I get “hosta envy” when visiting family in Ohio or Michigan in the summer. I always see hosta in borders and flower beds with their green leaves and trumpet-shaped pale pink blossoms that attract hummingbirds.
The locals take hosta for granted, but I live in Central Florida, where winters are too cold for dormancy and summers are too hot.
That's why I was overjoyed when SunHosta, a new hosta variety, hit the market a few years ago.
The Deep South lacks frigid winters, thus most hosta don't flourish. Hosta is native to north-east Asia and needs chilly conditions to thrive year after year.
In milder areas, hosta has traditionally been an annual. SunHosta was introduced in 2009 in Florida as a hosta for full sun and humid summers.
SunHosta, which grows in zones 4–10, has become available in various regions in the last year. In full sun or arid areas where other hostas fail, consider SunHosta in the north.
South, plant SunHosta in sun or shade, especially in drought-prone locations. Hummingbirds and bees love hosta's trumpet-shaped blooms.
Flowering begins in April in the South and early summer in the North. Frost-free winters allow SunHosta to thrive year-round.
SunHosta will become dormant in mild freezes and act like other hosta kinds in the garden in the north, except it can be planted in full sun.
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