Hostas are full of joy and colour for several months of the year. They fill your garden with a mass of different coloured and sized leaves forming a matt of foliage.
What about the rest of the year? Hostas are a hardy perennial, which means that the foliage dies down towards the end of the year, and then the new shoots start re-emerging in the spring.
They will be quite happy in their dormant state for some months.
The foliage will die down completely in most varieties around about mid to end of October, some sooner than that. Once established, Hostas are all hardy, so they will survive whatever the winter will throw at them, to start emerging in March, in most cases.
So, what about the Hostas beds, with no foliage, with bare earth, during the dormant period. What can we do about adding to the Hosta borders to fill that gap, without getting in the way of the emerging spring Hostas.
One method is to have companion planting, not just Hostas in the bed. This is all year round companion plants that break up any monotony such as Heucheras, Heucherella, Tiarella & ferns. (See more in my blog dated 2nd August 2024) "Unlocking the Benefits of Companion Plants for Your Hostas" (rewelahostas.com)
We are here to talk about planting spring flowering bulbs to enhance your Hostas beds, and indeed pots & containers. Underplanting your Hostas with spring flowering bulbs is a great way to incorporate loads of spring interest, before your Hostas emerge.
Underplanting is best described as planting many different plants in the same space, with different flowering times. This will dramatically enhance the seasonal interest.
Not all spring bulbs are completely suitable for underplanting. Bulbs with less conspicuous foliage that won’t overwhelm your Hostas when they come up, are best.
Daffodils can smother the new Hosta foliage if planted to close. The leaves of the Daffodil last well into the Hosta growing season, before they are removed. There are varieties of Daffodil or Narcissus that are the exception. One being Tete a Tete, a much smaller Narcissi.
Some of the best bulbs to underplant with are things like winter Aconite, Snowdrops, Bluebells, Tete a Tete or Fritillaria. On-line bulb suppliers can offer a wide range, for you to choose from.
Of course, putting spring bulbs amongst your Hostas has to be well planned. These bulbs need to be planted mostly in the Autumn, to give them enough growing time to flower in the spring. Well-drained soil is a must. Poorly drained and the bulbs will not survive.
Most spring flowered bulbs can be planted in the ground anytime in the autumn, right up to the first frost. Follow the suppliers’ instructions on the packets.
Plant all bulbs at the proper depth. As a general rule of thumb plant them at 2 – 3 times the height of the bulb.
Be sure to place the bulb the right way up. The roots can then grow straight downwards and the tops can go straight up.
Some bulbs are difficult to determine which way is up, so a little tip, plant them on their side.
Ferilise with bulb fertiliser or bone meal (although bone meal may attract bulb predators such as squirrels). If not already added to your planting bed, it can be added to each individual hole before planting. Don’t forget to water in well.
When choosing your bulbs, select varieties with different flowering times to increase the period of bloom time. Select different heights and pleasing colour combinations to add interest to your bed.
Try and plant in drifts or en-masse for effect. Individual flowering bulbs just don’t have the look.
Allow the foliage to die down before removing it. With most varieties this will happen before the Hostas emerge. The exception to this would be daffodils & Alliums.
Here are a few of my favourite spring flowering bulbs to plant with Hostas
The first is the lovely Snowdrop. This is one of the earliest in the spring to flower, an naturalises fairly quickly. This one can be planted in the autumn if you have bought the dry bulbs. However the more suitable way is to plant them in the green. That is to say, immediately after flowering, before the leaves have faded, lift and split bunches of Snowdrop, and plant where needed immediately.
Everybody loves a Bluebell. These are, as the name suggests, flowering blue. Some of these are even fragrant. Beautiful, delicate bell-shaped flowers that naturalise easily. Leaves have
normally finished before the Hosta gets into its stride.
Narcissi Tete a Tete is a small yellow daffodil that reached just about12” in height producing a lovely show of yellow flowers, when the snowdrops have finished. Try not to use the bigger varieties as the foliage is still there when the Hosta produce their foliage and tend to cover the Hosta. Not ideal at a time of year when light is needed.
Then we have the vastly under-rated winter Aconite. This flowers very early in the spring, and has yellow buttercup-like flowers. Mixed with other spring flowering bulbs like the
Snowdrop forms a wonderful picture, even without Hostas.
Don’t forget Fritillaria meleagris. A wonderful, gentle purple or white, bell-shaped, hanging flowers, with spots on. Will grow well once established.
You could always add a bit of height with Camassia. This will grow well in damper soils, less free draining. Forms a group of blue, purple and even white flowers on tall stems fairly early in the spring.
Of course, there is always the wonder architectural spring flowering bulb that is Allium. This comes in a whole host of sizes and colours. The foliage dies down, really early, so doesn’t create a problem for you Hostas. What it will do is the tall flower spike with the rounded flower will stand naked for weeks, longer if you leave the seed head on them. Once established in a group, this view looks phenomenal.
The spring flowering bulbs mentioned above, can all be left in the ground in perpetuity. You don’t need to remove them once they finished. You could add Tulips or Hyacinths but these really need to be lifted as they don’t do well the second and subsequent years.
If you want to add interest to you winter/spring Hosta border, or even your larger pots and containers, contact on of the on-line bulb specialists to have a look at the variety that is on offer.
Don’t worry about any clashes with the colours etc of the Hostas as most of these will be done before the Hostas are in full flow. Just choose your spring flowering show as a separate design issue.
To learn more about Hostas, you may interested in reading : Grow and Maintain Hostas In Containers, Benefits of Companion Plants, What Are the Common Mistakes to Avoid When Growing Hostas?, Ways to Protect Your Hostas from Slugs and Snails and "Uncovering the Advantages of Bare Root Hostas:
Shop for Hostas HERE
John Plant
Rewela Hostas
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