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Your Guide to Winter Care for Hostas

Shrinivas Kanade
It is possible for you, even if you are new to gardening or to the hostas, to provide winter care for hostas and ensure their safe arrival at the onset of spring. Here is the information about the correct way to care for your hostas during winter.
The onset of winter sends hostas (also known as plantain lily) to their normal winter dormancy, and spring witnesses them blooming balloon flowers. They are herbaceous perennials, and the dormancy helps them survive temperatures as low as -50 to -40°F.

Caring for Hostas During Winter

Mark Out a Place for the Plants

Many individuals have dug this dormant sleeping beauty out of its place with their shovels, unintentionally, whilst digging and doing their spot of gardening to grow some exotic plants early in the spring.
A simple way to take care of them is to mark their abode, by planting crocus bulbs in the fall around them, as a part of winter gardening.
At the end of fall, you can use crocus leaves as a marker to locate the hostas and preserve your garden's landscaping. This is a point to remember because in spring, the plants are the last to poke out through the ground.

Protect the Plants from Pests

Voles inhabit gardens, fields, and meadows and are a threat to the garden. These pests can cause harm by burrowing under the roots and eating them as food.
These pests along with field mice can not only consume the fibrous roots, but also the basal plate that runs between the shoots of the plantain lilies. In their heist, they eat the roots and crowns.
Most of the plants harmed in this way, by the voles in winter, will live, but they won't come out in their pre-winter size. If you suspect that your garden is infested by voles and fear for the hostas, dig the plant to examine it.
The absence of the root and the rodent's handiwork in the form of teeth marks on the basal plate will give them away. Next, locate the rodent's holes and burrows, and put poison seeds in them. It is easy to control voles using poison seeds, which you can obtain at the neighborhood garden store.

Managing Shade for Hostas

These herbaceous perennials are basically shade plants, and each type grows in the dappling shade of the tall trees. On the contrary, persistent shade, such as that provided by the evergreens which are low growing, doesn't suit them.
The winter is the season of pruning your garden, so whilst you are at it, devote some time and plan for the management of shade for the next crop of the hostas. Green and gold plantain lilies, such as Dorothy Benedict, Sweet Standard, Fascination, Galaxy, and William Lachman, are plants of this type.
Plantain lilies sporting blue leaves prefer shade, which helps them in retaining their color. You can use them as indoor or house plants, if you are interested in indoor gardening.
The rule of thumb is that the more the sun a plant is exposed to, the lighter its colors will be. Managing the shade for hostas will be the best caring for them you can offer, and it will make your garden look more beautiful.
When the hostas enter their dormant state, you can trim the stalk and old foliage and mulch the surrounding area using one of the different types of mulch. You can wait till the frost and snow invade your garden and your hostas, and remove them by yanking them out. You don't have to do anything special for the plantain lilies, as they are naturally hardy.