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Key Points
- Hostas droop in the sun when heat or dry soil stresses their shallow roots.
- Provide shade, mulch, and proper watering, and move potted plants to a spot with afternoon shade.
- Cut off scorched leaves that are beyond recovery.
In yards that don’t offer a lot of shade, gardeners often choose hosta varieties with yellow foliage. These hostas are more sun-tolerant than varieties with green, blue, or white leaves, but even they reach their limit when exposed to burning midday or afternoon sun.
If that happens, pinpointing the cause and taking quick action is important to prevent long-term damage or even plant death. Here are six possible reasons why your hostas might be drooping and what to do about it.
Water the Plants
Your hostas sagging in the sun may be all the more puzzling if you just watered them. Check the soil to see if it feels moist. If you watered from overhead, the soil may still feel dry. Stick your finger into the first two inches of soil for a rough moisture estimate; for more specificity, use a moisture meter.
How to fix it: Slowly water the base of the plant using a long-spouted watering can or a hose with a telescopic water wand. Don’t hesitate to gently push some foliage aside to reach the soil around the plant.
Remove Weeds
The most diligent watering does not benefit your hostas if they have to compete with other plants for moisture. Their shallow roots put them at a disadvantage over plants with deep root systems.
How to fix it: Clear any weeds around your hostas. Be careful not to disturb or damage the hosta roots, which are close to the soil surface and spread in a circle as far as the foliage.
Protect the Soil
When exposed to direct sunlight, bare soil dries out fast and can reach temperatures of 100°F, which is more than roots can bear. The stressed plant responds with sagging leaves.
How to fix it: Apply a 2- to 4-inch layer of organic mulch, such as wood chips, to the soil around the plant. This keeps the soil moist and cool. Make sure not to let the mulch touch the base of the plant, which is an invitation for pests and diseases.
Provide Temporary Shade
When the foliage is sagging, the leaves may also sag, even if the plant has been amply watered. In high heat, water loss through the leaves happens faster than the plant roots can absorb water from the soil.
How to fix it: While leaves often return to their firm state once temperatures drop in the evening, you can help the plant cope with the heat stress by providing temporary shade during the hottest afternoon hours of the day. For hostas with sensitive foliage, install a 70% shade cloth; for more robust varieties, a shade cloth that filters 50 to 60% of the light should do the trick.
Move Potted Hostas
Like all container plants, potted hostas are much more vulnerable to heat damage than plants in garden soil. Even with daily watering, extreme heat buildup in the pots due to lack of insulation can make container hostas sag quickly.
How to fix it: Move your potted hosta to a location with afternoon shade. If that does not revive the plant, find a spot that offers even more shade. For large, heavy containers that are cumbersome to move, install a shade cloth.
Remove Scorched Leaves
Hostas often recover after watering or when the temperatures drop. If they don’t, the wilted leaves may enter the next stage and show signs of scorching: brown leaf edges that start on the outer leaves of the plant, which are the most exposed to hot sun.
How to fix it: Cut off the damaged leaves and add them to your compost to make room for new, healthy foliage. Leaving them on the plant to decompose is not only unsightly but also attracts slugs and snails.
Read the original article on The Spruce
