Hosta Autumn Frost (Autum Frost): photo and description

Hosta Autumn Frost is a perennial herbaceous hybrid. Like other varieties of this genus, Autumn Frost is actively used in gardening and landscape design. The shrub attracts with its foliage, rather unpretentious. For successful cultivation, it is important to organize certain conditions for it.

Description Hosta Autumn Frost

Hosta Autumn Frost has the following characteristics:

• prefers partial shade, but can also grow in a sunny area;
• height 0,4 m;
• Bush Autumn Frost sprawling – in diameter can reach 0,5-0,8 m;
• rhizome compact or short-branched;
• heart-shaped leaves on petioles form a large basal color;
• the color of the foliage is double – the middle is gray-green, the wide border is cream or yellow;
• the shape of the leaves is varied – they can be narrow-lanceolate, broadly ovate, the edges are straight or wavy;
• possible wax coating;
• flower stalks are practically not leafy, the height can reach 1,2 m;
• the shape of the flowers is funnel-shaped or funnel-bell-shaped, the average size is 8 cm;
• inflorescence racemose, often one-sided;
• the flowers are lilac, less often they are white, purple;
• hosta Autumn Frost blooms in July-August;
• no fragrance;
• spikes are absent;
• the plant is self-pollinating;
• in one place Autumn Frost can grow up to 20 years;
• 4-5 years pass until the full growth of the bush, the process is accelerated in a sunny place, subject to agricultural technology.

You can grow Hosta Autumn Frost in most regions. In terms of frost resistance, the plant belongs to zone 4 – it is ideal for the Moscow region, most of Our Country, the mountainous and northern regions of Scandinavia.

Decorative hosta Autumn Frost is provided by foliage, flowering only pleasantly sets it off

Application in landscape design

Hosta hybrid Autumn Frost is grown outdoors. In landscape design, the plant is widely used. It can be used in single and group plantings – the view will always be attractive. Hosta Autumn Frost is spectacular in different compositions:

• alpine slide;
• shore of a pond or other body of water;
• mixborder;
• rockery.

From the photo and description of hosta Autumn Frost, it can be seen that her flowering is not lush and bright, so she can be an excellent backdrop for flowering plants. If you choose a place near a reservoir, then the combination with swamp iris will be spectacular. In a shady place, the host looks good with morning glory of different shades, astilba, periwinkle, marigold, liverwort, primrose. There are other options: gladioli, lavender, lilies, lungwort in bright colors, peonies, Turkish cloves, phlox.

When planting Autumn Frost, you can go in different directions of landscape design:

• create a multi-tiered composition;
• play with contrasts by planting bright flowering plants against the background of hostas;
• to make a border of a path, a curb;
• fill empty space under trees or tall shrubs.

There are many options for an artificial background for a hosta. It can be a pond, masonry, stones, border, wooden decor.

Hosta can be grown in large containers and pots, this option allows you to create different compositions by rearranging the plant in the right place.

Hosta Autumn Frost combines with almost all plants. Only neighbors who need to dig bulbs every year are not recommended.

Reproduction methods for Hosta Autumn Frost

Hosta Autumn Frost can be propagated by division, cuttings, seeds. The latter method is used extremely rarely.

It is most effective to divide an adult bush. This method has 2 main advantages – obtaining several hosta bushes at once and a quick restoration of decorativeness. The division is done in early spring or September.

Landing algorithm

Host Autumn Frost must be planted at a specific time:

• early autumn – you can plant a plant in late August or early September, so that it takes root before the cold weather and survives the winter;
• early spring before the leaves come out.

In growing Hosta Autumn Frost, it is important to choose the right place. The plant can remain on it for many years. The main factors are:

• choose partial shade or a place with diffused lighting, there should be a shadow at noon;
• the soil is slightly acidic, the acidity is almost neutral – 6,5-7,5 pH;
• the earth is moist, nutritious;
• hosta prefers light soils, the soil should be breathable;
• if the earth is too dense, peat or sand should be added;
• high humidity is desirable – the plant feels good near water bodies, reacts to this with the splendor of the bush.

For successful cultivation of hosts, it is important to correctly select planting material:

• roots dense and hard, healthy white color;
• the rhizome should have 2-3 growth not overgrown buds;
• the development and elasticity of the roots, the average length is 11 cm, mold, rot are not allowed;
• when buying a plant in advance before planting, store it in a dark and cool place, temperature 5-10 ° C.

It is better to choose a host with a closed root system, it is easier to plant it, and the bush takes root faster. With an open root system, there will be no flowering for the first 3 years.

The landing algorithm is as follows:

1. Prepare the landing hole. The host is characterized by a strong horizontal growth of the root system, therefore a large width is important. Depth at least 0,3 m.
2. Fill the hole 2/3 of its height with a mixture of compost soil, peat, rotted manure and sand. Add wood ash to acidic soil.
3. Dig out the planting hole.
4. Spread the roots of the plant on the ground, sprinkle. Growth buds should be flush with the surface.
5. Water the planting.
6. Mulch the plant, a layer of 1-2 cm is enough.

If you plant several hosta bushes at once, then you must leave at least 0,3 m between them.

Hosta Autumn Frost can be planted in large buckets, the splendor of adult plants does not allow them to be seen from above

Growing rules

The secret to successfully growing Hosta Autumn Frost is proper planting care. It includes several stages:

1. Water the hosta regularly and in a timely manner, but do not overmoisten the soil. Evening watering by sprinkling is preferred.
2. Loosening should be carried out carefully, do not deepen too much. Due to the close location of the roots to the surface, the risk of damage is high.
3. Feed the host three times per season. First, spring top dressing is carried out at the beginning of the growing season, then in the summer during the flowering period, and then at its end. Hosta needs alternating organic and mineral fertilizers. Top dressing can be both root and foliar. Mullein infusion is best applied under the root after watering, and granular minerals are embedded around the bush into the soil.
4. Mulching retains moisture and nutrients in the soil and protects plantings from certain pests. The best mulch is compost.

Preparation for winter

Hosta Autumn Frost is characterized by high winter hardiness, therefore it does not require special preparation for cold weather. In autumn, you can not use nitrogen fertilizers, they activate the growth of foliage, which is not necessary for winter. The last feeding is carried out in early August.

On the issue of pre-winter pruning of hosts, flower growers have disagreements. The foliage of the plant is soft, therefore, by spring it successfully decomposes, creating good fertilizer. At the same time, refusal to trim is fraught with unpleasant consequences. Some pests and pathogens successfully overwinter on the leaves, and cause disease in spring and summer. Timely prevention will help to avoid problems.

In regions with sufficient snow cover, it is not necessary to shelter Autumn Frost for the winter. In areas where there is little snow or frosts are too severe, this event should not be ignored.

Various mulches are used as shelter:

• compost;
• sawdust or shavings;
• rotted manure;
• cut grass;
• straw;
• peat;
• a pine tree

Shelter should be organized in late autumn. A 5-10 cm layer of mulch is enough. If the leaves are left, then they cannot be covered. If the bush is cut off, then you can cover it with mulch.

In a region with severe winters, non-woven materials are used for shelter – agrofibre, spunbond. Airtight fabrics such as polyethylene film and roofing material are not suitable for this.

Diseases and pests

The main problem of hosta Autumn Frost is slugs. They feed on young leaves. Because of what the plant loses its attractiveness. A good protection against slugs is mulch. The pest does not like sharp materials:

• chips;
• small gravel;
• crushed shell rock;
• fallen pine;
• straw.

One slug can lay up to 500 eggs over the summer, individuals of them appear after 2-3 weeks, and after another 1,5 months they begin to breed.

Hosta leaves are also a delicacy for caterpillars. You can get rid of them with the help of insecticides. The effect of spraying persists for a long time, it does not harm the plants.

From caterpillars of various types, Bitoxibacillin, Lepidocid, Monsoon helps well

Autumn Frost is less susceptible to host diseases. One possible problem is phyllostictosis, also called brown spot. The disease is fungal. At the very beginning, you can cut off sections with a sharp knife, process them with crushed activated carbon.

Planting should be sprayed with fungicides. Instead, you can prepare a solution – add 1 g of laundry soap and 30 g of copper sulfate to 3 liter of water (dilute separately, then mix). For the prevention of the disease, Fitosporin-M is used.

With phyllostictosis, brown spots appear on the leaves, which then cover the entire green mass.

Another problem with hosta Autumn Frost is gray rot. They also fight it with fungicides. For prevention, it is necessary to burn plant residues in which fungus spores remain.

The causative agent of gray rot is the fungus Botrytis cinerea, the disease is dangerous for many plants.

Conclusion

Hosta Autumn Frost is a pretty ornamental plant. It is widely used in landscape design, grows in one place for many years and is unpretentious in care. The host is not very susceptible to diseases, and of the pests it is more often affected by slugs and caterpillars.

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