Hosta for full sun

by Scott
(Southington,CT)

please tell me what are the hosta plants that do well in full sun

Doug says that almost any hosta will grow in the full sun. It will *grow*. Now ask me how it will *look*. :-)

The question is not which will grow (nurseries grow them in full sun beds) the key factor is what does the leaf look like under sun conditions.

For example, the old-fashioned H. undulata 'Medio-variegata' - white stripe down the centre - does well in sun or shade and only gets pale in really high light, high heat conditions. But you're in CT and this won't be a problem (don't do this in Alabama and expect it to thrive).

But if you put out a gold leaved variety- you're going to find the colors start off gold but then fade away to poor.

As a rule of thumb - spring colouring will be fine but full sun will "bleach" out the color in many/most hosta leaves. So they'll grow OK but won't look as good as if you had them in the shade. Good in June but bleached by August kind of gardening.

Having said that. There are some varieties that are advertised with thicker leaves that hold their color "well enough" in the sunshine in CT but not in the South.

I'm not going to recommend any specific ones but instead suggest you check your local garden center or favourite Hosta catalog for those that are "recommended for sunshine". The reason for the lack of recommendation on specific variety is because these darn things go in and out of fashion and nursery catalogs as fast as you can shake a stick. And what I suggest today won't be available next week because the propagating nursery found a newer variety.

So - sun bleaches most leaves although the plant will grow. Gold leaved varieties tend to bleach the worse. Thicker leaves do better than thinner leaves. Check online catalogs or local plant tags for sunshine hardiness. And you can get away with hosta for full sun in the North but try it in the South and you'll wind up with fried leaves.

Hope that helps.