You may think spring is the most important time for garden work, but summer hosta care is just as critical! Perennials like hostas need proper care during the summer to stay healthy and store energy to survive the coming winter. Here are a few summer garden tasks you should consider to grow beautiful, productive hostas.

Water Consistently

One of the best things you can do for your hostas is to keep the soil consistently moist. Adequate watering allows hostas to photosynthesize more efficiently and store plenty of energy to make it through the winter. Properly watered hostas will look better longer this season and will thrive next spring.

That said, you should also avoid overwatering. Your garden soil shouldn’t be constantly soggy, and there shouldn’t be standing water. Too much water can encourage fungal diseases such as crown rot and Fusarium root.

Don’t Stop Weeding

Weeds compete with your hostas for space, light, nutrients, and water. Hostas are generally hardy plants, but keeping up with the weeds throughout the growing season helps keep them healthy. It also allows them to store energy for winter.

Mulch

Mulching around hostas is a great way to avoid some other garden chores. Mulch helps suppress weeds and keeps the soil cool and moist, allowing you to spend less time watering and weeding. You can use bark mulch, wood chips, or even old leaves around hostas.

Like with watering, there’s such thing as too much of a good thing. Too much mulch can encourage pests and rodents by providing them a place to hide while they eat your plant! Avoid covering the soil around hostas with more than a couple of inches of mulch, and don’t mound it up around the crown.

Source: Pine Forest Gardens