Blue Mouse Ears Hosta

Here is a small hosta for your part sun to shade garden that will delight you in every way. Small cupped, heart shaped leaves sprout up creating a mound of seagreen and make a great little understory plant to shade loving shrubs in your woodland edge setting. Grown primarily for its unique colored foliage, Blue Mouse Ears will delight you with its mid summer lavender flowers that are reminiscent of a snapdragon bloom and are held up a few inches above the fresh foliage. Native to China, Korea, Japan and the far eastern portion of Russia, it is easy to see where this tough little perennial got its cold hardiness from. Hardy in Zones 3 to 9, Blue Mouse Ears will grace gardens from the upper tier states of the North down to the hot summer zones of the South, growing anywhere that there is a slightly cooler winter to fuel the plant for the next seasons growth. Their tough leathery leaves are deceptively soft looking, they will resist most animals wanting to nibble on them. Hosta are reported to be slightly salt tolerant, whether it's from seaside locations or along highways that are treated with road salt. Blue Mouse Ears Hosta Care An easy to care for perennial, Blue Mouse Ears is going to be happy with an average to fertile soil. A well drained humus rich soil will give you best results. They prefer a pH range of 6.0 to 6.5, slightly acidic to neutral. Full sun will scorch the leaves. These little perennials prefer to be in partial to full shade with a consistently moist soil. Mulch with a good quality pine bark mulch for best moisture retention and water consistently throughout the hottest months of summer if rainfall is inadequate. Hosta will thrive in fertile soils with little to no additional fertilizer, but if soil is particularly poor, add a general purpose fertilizer in the spring to give it a good start and repeat every 4 to 6 weeks as needed. Deadheading is not necessary as it may not extend the bloom season and the spent blooms naturally fall off, but good housekeeping is essential for disease prevention so you may want to deadhead the spent blooms and keep the plants energies focused on the leaves and the roots rather than in making seeds. Prune wilted leaves and stems back down to the ground after the cold weather hits, preferably before the snow arrives in colder regions. Cover with about 1 inch of good clean mulch to protect the root zone from the cold and frost heaving. Blue Mouse Ears Hosta Spacing Space plants about 12 inches apart. Hosta likes to spread its leaves out farther than its root base and need room to stretch. This also promotes good air circulation. Growing to only 8 inches tall and spreading out about 12 inches, this is a small plant that will make a big impact on the aesthetic look of your shade garden. Plant them as an understory plant for larger perennial shrubs and flowers for a great affect. The seagreen colored leaves will contrast with chartreuse foliage nicely, so this little perennial also makes an adorable addition to a patio container.