How Many Hostas Should Be Planted Together for the Best Effect?

With their stunning foliage and ease of care, hostas are a gardener’s dream. But when designing with these popular perennials, questions arise about how many to plant together. Should you mass a large drift of one variety? Or mix multiple types? Follow these tips to determine the ideal number of hostas for your space.

Why Massing Hostas Together Works

Planting hostas in groups of at least 3-5 creates a cohesive, flowing look The eye moves smoothly from one plant to the next Benefits of massing include

• Creates a unified mass of color and texture
• Draws attention to a particular variety
• Allows appreciation of a plant’s full size and habit
• Provides harmony and visual impact
• Maximizes presence in the garden

Good choices for massing are hostas with distinctive traits like:

• Striking variegation
• Unique leaf shape
• Dwarf or giant sizes
• Fragrant blooms

Solid green or blue varieties also mass well since they act as neutral foil plants

Combining Multiple Hosta Varieties

While massing hostas creates a bold statement, too much of one kind can look monotonous. Blending several complementary varieties together adds appealing diversity.

Follow These Tips When Combining Hostas:

• Use a dominant variety as the anchor, massing 5-7 together
• Add smaller groupings of 2-3 plants of contrasting varieties
• Ensure the secondary varieties share a color or trait with the main one
• Use green or blue hostas to link and transition between groups
• Alternate fine and bold textures for visual interest
• Include different leaf shapes and variegation patterns

The goal is cohesion with calculated contrast. For example, mass towering blue-green ‘Sagae’ hostas as the backbone. Blend in groups of yellow-variegated ‘Stained Glass’ and petite, ruffled green ‘Mouse Ears’ for contrast.

What Looks Best – Large Drifts or Small Groupings?

The ideal look depends on your personal style and the garden scale. In large borders or sweeping island beds, bold swaths of one hosta make a dramatic statement. Use repetition and volume for maximum impact.

In smaller or geometric spaces, or for a more informal look, blend grouped clusters of 3-5 varying hostas. The smaller scale and diversity maintains visual interest in tight areas.

Aim forbalance between harmony and variety. Don’t DOT just a few hostas sporadically – MASS them effectively.

Hostas for Grouping in the Landscape

Here are top hosta picks for massing in home gardens:

• ‘Blue Angel’ – huge blue leaves, 4-5 feet wide
• ‘Sum and Substance’ – chartreuse, corrugated, very large
• ‘June’ – blue-green, huge leaves, 3-4 feet
• ‘Sagae’ – deep blue-green, upright, vase shape
• ‘Fragrant Bouquet’ – pale green, lavender blooms, mid-size
• ‘Golden Tiara’ – bright gold heart-shaped leaves, 2 feet wide
• ‘Praying Hands’ – tubular yellow foliage, cascading dwarf
• ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ – cupped blue-green leaves
• ‘Guacamole’- chartreuse, fragrant, wavy leaves

Maximize the beauty of hostas in your landscape. Combine the relaxing unity of mass plantings with the diversity of thoughtfully blended groupings.

Design Tips for Planting Hostas

Follow these design strategies to get the most out of your hosta collection:

Use Mostly Solid Green Hostas as Neutral Foundation Plants

While variegated and gold hostas grab attention, an overabundance appears chaotic. Rely on green or blue varieties to create a restful, cohesive look. Punch in variegated types for accents.

Echo Colors for Harmony

Choose companion plants like astilbes, daylilies or garden phlox that pick up on the variegation or leaf hues. Repeating and reinforcing colors ties the design together.

Contrast Fine and Bold Textures

Pair delicate ferns, grasses or astilbes with the large, bold leaves of hostas. This contrast adds compelling visual tension and diversity.

Use Shape and Form for Interest

Combine mounding, rounded hostas with upright, vase-shaped varieties. Mix heart-shaped, wavy, or deeply ruffled leaves.

Group by Light Needs

Hostas have a wide range of light preferences. Mass those needing full shade separately from sun-loving types to keep all plants happy.

Consider Heights

Tall, towering hostas act as excellent architectural anchors. Low-growing, dwarf types add charm to front borders. Layer heights for 3D interest.

Add Fragrance

Plant lavender-flowered hostas near paths and patios. Brush leaves of scented hostas like ‘Guacamole’ to release their aroma.

Showcase Special Hostas

Give treasured specimen hostas – like blue-leafed ‘Elatior’ or large gold ‘Sum and Substance’ – pride of place as focal points.

By artfully blending masses, groupings, colors, textures and traits, you can create a beautiful, cohesive hosta collection. Thoughtfully plant these perennials together for a soothing yet intriguing landscape display.

Avoid Design Mistakes when Planting Hostas

While hostas are easy to grow, it’s important to avoid these common design errors:

• Planting only 1-2 hostas sporadically. They get lost and lack impact.

• Dotting many different varieties randomly without groupings. This appears disorganized and chaotic.

• Mixing too many bold variegated hostas together. The visual competition is distracting, not cohesive.

• Combining hostas with nothing in common, like very different colors or textures. The plants seem disconnected.

• Grouping hostas with vastly different light needs, like sun-lovers and shade dwellers. Stressed plants will underperform.

• Lining up hostas in boring straight rows. Curved, organic drifts feel more natural.

• Failing to transition between very different hosta varieties. Use green or blue hostas as bridges.

• Getting overly matchy-matchy with companion plants. Some calculated contrast adds interest.

• Not using enough fine-textured plants to balance bold hosta leaves. Add airy plants for contrast.

The beauty of hostas lies in their diversity. But take care to artfully combine – not chaotically jumble – these perennials in your beds and borders for the most appealing, cohesive display.

Best Practices for Planting Multiple Hostas

Hostas offer almost endless possibilities to add texture, color and interest to shaded garden beds. Follow these best practices to create a beautiful and balanced hosta collection:

• Group at least 3-5 of a kind for impact. More is often better.

• Blend in smaller clusters of contrasting varieties for diversity.

• Use green and blue hostas as neutral linking plants.

• Separate sun-lovers and shade dwellers to prevent stress.

• Echo colors in companion plants like daylilies, astilbes and grasses.

• Contrast fine, medium and bold foliage textures.

• Include a range of leaf shapes like hearts, lances, cups and ruffles.

• Showcase special varieties like giant, dwarf, variegated or blue types.

• Mass hostas in cohesive, flowing drifts rather than straight rows.

• Transition between very different hostas with blue or green varieties.

• Leave ample space between varieties to appreciate their forms.

Your hosta garden will thrive when you artfully combine masses, groupings, colors, sizes and shapes. So break free from rigid rows, and instead play with flowing, organic drifts of these diverse perennials.

Hostas offer a versatile design palette. While massing identical varieties creates bold cohesion, too much repetition looks dull. Blend in small groupings of complementary hostas for eye-catching diversity. Contrast leaf colors, plant sizes, and textures for visual tension and charm. Most importantly, thoughtfully transition between very different hostas by repeating hues in linking plants like green and blue varieties. This provides flow and harmony. With an artist’s eye and a gardener’s heart, you can design a stunning, balanced hosta collection that pleases the mind and soothes the soul.