Essential Tips for Looking After Your Hostas During Very Hot Weather
- John Plant
- Jul 10
- 3 min read
Hostas require adequate and consistent watering, to ensure the best possible future for your Hostas. They do not appreciate a consistently dry place, whether in the shade or the sun. They love their roots to be relatively moist and cool to perform at their best.
Hostas prefer consistent moisture, not just now and again. Keep the soil, or compost for those in pots, lovely and damp but not waterlogged. They will tolerate a little dry shade, but this is not ideal. They will perform slower in dry shade and are more likely to get slug problems as they are not at their best.
For optimal growth and health, they need regular water. Just like humans, when we get thirsty, we are not at our best until refreshed. Consider yourself as a Hosta and treat them the way you would look after yourself on a sunny day.
Providing regular water to Hostas is a must throughout the growing season to help them thrive. We recommend little and often to supplement the great British weather. You will almost certainly get rain at some point during the season, but not exactly the amount you want at the time you want it. Let’s be more consistent.
We regularly water our Hostas, planted in the garden, usually once a week, depending on the weather. The Hostas in pots and container, will be watered every 2 days or so.
We do this with a hose pipe, rather than an integrated watering system. It probably takes a full 4 hours to water everything when needed. Supplementary water butts, and watering cans, are used mainly for the miniatures as there is less water, and you can’t rely on mother nature to refill your water butts regularly.
Whilst Hosta appreciates consistent moisture be careful not to overwater. Before you start watering, check the soil to see if it needs it. This is more important with pots and containers. Ensure that they are all well drained. Check the pots daily.
Aim to do the majority of the watering early in the morning, before the sun gets out of bed. Later in the day, only water the compost or soil rather than the foliage. If you water the foliage and the sun gets up quickly, there is always a chance of the foliage being scorched.
We are just about to get another mini heatwave, which is never good for the health & well being of our lovely Hostas.
We need to be extra vigilant in a prolonged hot & sunny spell. It’s not just the watering that needs to change; it’s also the pots & containers position that needs consideration.
Pots should be moved to a good shaded are, at least for the time being. Less direct sun on the pots, the less evaporation happens. Provide more shade with other larger plants, or an umbrella or shade sail.
If you still have plenty of fleece about from frost protection earlier in the year, this could be used as well. Not a pretty sight, but it helps.
If you water early enough in the day, it is perfectly in order to water the whole plant including the foliage. However, DO NOT water the foliage if there is any heat in the day. Just try and water the soil. The heat alone will cause scorching, not just the sun, so keep your foliage dry. Take the sprinkler off your hose and gently allow the water to exit the open end of the hosepipe. Fill to the top of the pot and move on to the next one. Never water once the sun has any amount of strength in it.
When watering, remember that larger & giant Hostas require more water, so pay particular attention when watering them. But don’t ignore the miniatures as these should have been potted in a very well-drained gritty compost and will therefore dry out quite quickly
Watering should only be for the growing season of Hostas. In the spring, it isn’t generally required but sometimes we have a dry Spring.
Watering should not be needed once the Hostas start going over. This can often be well into September. This is when the good old British weather provides us with adequate moisture. Don’t plan a BBQ. That would not be wise.
For more about the effects of heat & sun on your Hostas, here is a link to a previous blog on the subject.
STAY SAFE ... STAY COOL
At Rewela Hostas, we are delighted to provide a diverse selection of Hostas suitable for collectors, experienced growers, and beginners alike. As a small family-run Hosta business we are more than happy to share our expert advice on everything related to Hostas. Shop now on our on-line shop for a wide range of Hostas, from new varieties to classics.
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John Plant
Rewela Hostas
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