Attract Hummingbirds with SunHosta

Whenever I go to Ohio or Michigan to visit family in the summer, I find myself suffering from “hosta envy”. Everywhere I look I see beautiful hosta in borders and flower beds, with their lovely green foliage and trumpet-shaped pale pink blooms that attract hummingbirds. Folks who live there take hosta for granted, but not me – I live in Central Florida, where the winters aren’t cold enough for hosta to achieve the dormancy period it needs, and summers are too hot for them to tolerate. So I was thrilled when a new hosta variety made its way onto the market a few years ago – SunHosta.

The reason that most hosta doesn’t thrive in the Deep South is the lack of cold winter temperatures. Hosta is native to northeast Asia, and requires a dormancy period of cold weather (30 days at or below 40 degrees is the general rule of thumb) to thrive year after year. For anyone living in more mild climates, hosta has always had to be treated as an annual. SunHosta hit the market in 2009 in Florida marketed as the hosta for full sun and hot humid summers. In the last year or so, SunHosta has become available in other regions too, since it grows in zones 4 – 10. Up north, try SunHosta in full sun or dry places where other hosta varieties don’t thrive. Down south, grow SunHosta in sun or shade, even in drought-prone areas.

The trumpet-shaped blooms of hosta attract hummingbirds and pollinators like bees. Expect flowers starting in April in the South, and in early summer further north. In areas with frost-free winters, SunHosta will grow year-round. In areas with mild freezes, SunHosta will go dormant during the colder months, and up north, SunHosta will behave like other hosta varieties in the garden, except it can be planted in full sun. Finally, no more need for “hosta envy” – SunHosta is for everyone!