Hostas can be planted in partially shady areas as border plants, groundcovers or individual specimens. They hold the soil well, suppress weeds effectively and are good for areas that are sloped or difficult to reach. Very large plants look best as single clumps, whereas the medium and smaller ones should be planted in groups of three or five to accent a shade garden bed or fill in around the stems of trees and shrubs. Yellow or variegated types are especially helpful in brightening a dark corner.
Hostas also do well as accents in flower beds and woodland gardens. Try planting them among spring bulbs. When the bulbs finish flowering, emerging hosta foliage hides the withering bulb leaves. Hostas do not spread aggressively or crowd out other plants. They happily emerge among other groundcovers such as wild phlox, pachysandra, ajuga and sweet woodruff. Substantial looking hosta plants coordinate nicely with airy shade lovers such as ferns, astilbe, columbine and fringed bleeding heart
Cutting/Displaying Hostas Indoors: Cut and display a variety of hosta flowers indoors. Also include hosta flowers in arrangements with other seasonal flowers such as coreopsis, butterfly bush, cosmos, spider lily and dahlias. Cut stems that have newly opening blooms in the early morning with a clean, sharp knife or pruners. Promptly plunge the cut flower stalks into a pail of warm water temporarily so they can take up lots of water. After several hours, arrange them in their display vase, removing any small leaves on the stems that might foul the water. Add a commercial floral preservative or one-half can of a citrus-based (non-diet) carbonated soda to each quart of water in the vase to help the flowers stay fresh longer. For more information see the files on Keeping Cut Flowers and Cut Flower Supplies
