Sun Mouse Hosta

If you love Hosta Blue Mouse Ears - and who doesnt? check out Sun Mouse, which has the same cute-as-a-button habit but in a higher-wattage color. Tiny in size, but big on drama, lime Sun Mouse lights up shady spots with style in a space only six inches high by 12 inches wide. The perfectly contrasting lavender flowers rise up on 18 scapes in early to midsummer, delighting both humans and hummingbirds. Sun Mouse makes a unique focal point in a container that can be admired up close with other shade lovers like begonia, ferns, and carex [insert any you are carrying or substitute]. In a garden, it would make a distinctive edging or highlight punctuating a border of blue and variegated hostas, hydrangea, and heuchera. Sun Mouse Hosta Care Sun Mouse thrives anywhere from partial up to full shade, preferring acidic to neutral pH soil that is high in organic matter. They prefer loamy (cake-like) soils to clay because it permits better aeration for the roots. Hosta prefer average to consistent watering, the latter especially in the first growing seasons after transplanting. Adding an organic mulch of wood chips, compost, or soil conditioner will grant some insurance of keeping the soil moist and fed with organic matter. For fertilizer, adding some compost on top of the soil in spring should be enough, although a controlled release fertilizer can be added at that same time if desired. Hostas are attractive to slugs. If slugs are prevalent in your area, there are steps you can take to minimize the issue. In early spring, consider adding slug bait, which will need reapplying after rains. Another preventative step is to remove spent leaves in the fall after theyve turned color leaves are popular nursery spots for slugs and other leaf-eaters to lay their eggs. Sun Mouse Hosta Spacing Ideally, allow a minimum of a foot in the garden between plants for your Sun Mouse hosta to give the roots the best aeration.