A commonly used name for Hosta is plantain lily because the foliage is plantain-like and the flowers are lily-like. The Hosta is a genus from the Asparagaceae family and is native to open woodlands in Japan, Korea and eastern Russia.

Hostas are very popular because they grow well in the shade. It is also known that snails and slugs are fond of the leaves. If you want to keep the leaves looking nice you will have to take action against the slugs and snails.

The Hosta prefers neutral, well drained, moist soil and not too much lime.

You often see the term "tetraploid" when reading about Hostas. A tetraploid Hosta is a Hosta with 4 sets of chromosomes instead of 2 sets (diploid), which is the most common. The tetraploid Hostas can occur spontaneously or can be artificially created with the help of chemicals.

The advantage of tetraploid Hostas is that the leaves are generally thicker which makes them sturdier. This allows the leaves to stand upright better and makes them a bit more resistant to snails and slugs. Additionally, the leaves can usually tolerate sunlight better and can even look more attractive in it. Only by testing you can be sure if you have a tetraploid plant or not. External characteristics are definitely not a guarantee.

Another term frequently used with Hostas is "sport". A sport is a shoot of a plant that looks different from the original plant.

For the sizes of the Hostas I use the following heights: