Alphabetical Plant Listing

Hostas for Warmer Climates


Primarily grown for their beautiful foliage, hostas are long-lived, shade-loving perennials highly esteemed by gardeners. Easy and adaptable garden plants, there are hundreds of cultivars to choose from, ranging from incredibly tiny plants to giants, with leaves in pretty shades of green, chartreuse, gold, dusky blue or beautifully variegated.

In general, Hostas perform best in cooler climates with cold winters and warm summers. Reliably hardy to 28ºF (-2ºC), they can tolerate summer temperatures as high as 100ºF (38ºC) for short periods of time. Heat dormancy occurs above temperatures of 95ºF (35ºC). Hostas may quit growing, or become summer dormant as a result of heat or too much water stress. 

Hostas require winter chilling to less than 40ºF (4ºC) for several weeks to achieve proper dormancy. Winter dormancy is brought about by the shorter and cooler days of fall.  The above ground portion of the plant ceases to grow and prepares tight buds for over-wintering.

Of the hundreds of exquisite hosta varieties available, the range of choice gets quite limited in southern climates. The hostas that perform best in warmer southern regions are those with lower than normal winter dormancy requirements. Hostas which emerge the earliest in spring, hence requiring shorter chilling requirements, are those that are good candidates for warm climates, including Upper South, Middle South and Lower South. Hosta plantaginea (Fragrant Plantain Lily) performs better than other hosta species in Coastal South.

The farther south, the more water and shade hostas need.

Guide Information

Hardiness 3 - 9
Heat Zones 1 - 8
Climate Zones 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21
Plant Type Perennials
Plant Family Hosta - Plantain Lilies
Exposure Partial Sun, Shade
Season of Interest Spring (Mid,Late)
Summer (Early,Mid,Late)
Fall
Maintenance Low
Soil Drainage Moist but Well-Drained
Compare All Hosta - Plantain Lilies Great Plant Combination Ideas with Hosta - Plantain Lilies Guides with Hosta - Plantain Lilies

123rf

While every effort has been made to describe these plants accurately, please keep in mind that height, bloom time, and color may differ in various climates. The description of these plants has been written based on numerous outside resources.

Guide Information

Hardiness 3 - 9
Heat Zones 1 - 8
Climate Zones 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21
Plant Type Perennials
Plant Family Hosta - Plantain Lilies
Exposure Partial Sun, Shade
Season of Interest Spring (Mid,Late)
Summer (Early,Mid,Late)
Fall
Maintenance Low
Soil Drainage Moist but Well-Drained
Compare All Hosta - Plantain Lilies Great Plant Combination Ideas with Hosta - Plantain Lilies Guides with Hosta - Plantain Lilies

Find your Hardiness Zone

Find your Climate Zone

Find your Heat Zone

Join Gardenia.net

Create a membership account to save your garden designs and to view them on any device.

Becoming a contributing member of Gardenia is easy and can be done in just a few minutes. If you provide us with your name, email address and the payment of a modest $25 annual membership fee, you will become a full member, enabling you to design and save up to 25 of your garden design ideas.

Join now and start creating your dream garden!

Create a New Collection

Optional. For your reference.


Move Selected Plants to a Different Collection


Delete Collection

This field is required.

Rename Collection

This field is required.