The hosta presented itself from its best side throughout the summer: Tastefully designed and intensely colored leaves, which were enthroned by lavender-colored flowers in June. Now autumn is coming and the question arises: does the hosta need pruning?

Dried leaves on the hosta should be removed

Foliage has a protective function

It is best not to cut off the leaves. They are a natural winter protection when they fall off in the fall and spread over the plant's root zone. If you don't remove them but leave them in place, you don't need to prepare your Funkie for the winter in any other way.

The old foliage - winter shelter and shelter

After the first frost has passed over the hostas, the leaves fall over. They are beginning to wither. In addition to their function as winter protection, they are an important shelter for insects during the winter.

You don't like the withered leaves?

Anyone who thinks that the old foliage doesn't look nice but spoils the overall picture can of course remove it. However, this means that there is no winter protection and it may have to be provided in some other way, for example with fir branches. In the fall, you can cut back the foliage if you don't like it.

Remove old plant parts in spring

If you left the foliage on the hosta:

  • in spring the foliage is mushy and brown
  • some of it is also rotten
  • before the new shoots (in April) remove the remaining parts of the leaves
  • removing the old leaves encourages new growth
  • Scissors are not necessary - leaves can be plucked out

It is better to cut away the old inflorescences

In addition to removing the old leaves, the inflorescences should be cut off in the summer. This also applies to hostas in the bucket. The flowers are on the long stalks that shoot up from the center of the perennial from around June. Cut down these stems when flowering is over.

If you don't, the black seed pods will form:

  • Training the seeds is exhausting
  • Self-sowing is prevented
  • Newly created hostas have different properties than the mother plant
  • newly formed hostas can later displace the mother plant

tips

The leaves can also be cut off from May to August and used, for example, for floristic purposes (bouquets or arrangements).

Category:

Vegetable garden