Gardens: time for a hosta takeover

It's been a jubilee year for slugs and snails – the mild winter and wet early summer provided ideal breeding conditions. And, as gardeners know, nothing is more tasty to a gastropod than a hosta, so is it worth growing them?

Of course, says Chris Bonanni of Purbeck Plants. While there's no such thing as a slug-proof hosta, some varieties are resilient, particularly those with blue or thick, puckered leaves. And Bonanni advises to treat them mean. "Don't overfeed, and keep them on the dry side, so the growth is less lush and the leaves stouter and thicker." Also, get your retaliation in first. Bonanni starts off with a St Valentine's Day massacre with liquid slug killer, to limit populations of the small, soil-dwelling slugs that do most damage.

Top 10 slug-resistant hostas

'Sum And Substance' Champion of hostas, nearly 1m high, with colossal, ridged and wrinkled, golden leaves. Likes morning sun. Lilac flowers.

H. sieboldiana var elegans This old favourite, with stiff, puckered leaves, takes some beating. Lilac-tinged white flowers. 60cm.

'One Man's Treasure' For Ian Scroggy of Bali-Hai Nursery, this is the top choice: "In all the years I've been growing it, no slug has touched it." The glossy, dark green leaves are slightly rippled, but what sets it apart are the exotic purple-spotted stems and purple flower stems and seedpods. 35cm.

'Devon Green' Dark, polished leaves, a cheaper and widely available alternative. "It's a very good plant for a beginner," Scroggy says. "You can just plant it and forget about it." 45cm.

'Praying Hands' White-edged dark leaves, folded into parallel undulations. The upright posture makes the leaves harder to get at, while their waxy texture seems unpalatable to slugs. Pale lavender flowers. 45cm.

'Sleeping Beauty' This hosta has the same steely elegance as its parent, 'Halcyon', but the blue-grey pointed leaves are set off by a creamy margin. Lavender flowers. 40cm.

'Stepping Out' A slow grower, but worth the wait, for few variegated hostas offer such reliable slug-resistance. Plumply quilted leaves are blue-green at the centre with gold margins. White flowers. 40cm. 'Toy Soldier' Clumps of blue, heart-shaped leaves with a two-tone margin that is more limey in deep shade and creamier in brighter conditions. Lavender flowers. 40cm.

'Dorset Blue' Elegant small clumps of neat, heart-shaped, powdery blue leaves that cup slightly, with large white flowers. 25cm.

'Blue Mouse Ears' Diminutive (15cm), dense clumps of thick, rounded, blue leaves, with large, almost double flowers in pale, clear lilac held on short, strong stems. Tough as old boots.

How to grow

Hostas will grow almost anywhere, as long they're not blasted by hot noon-day sun, but do best in dappled shade in a moist but well-drained, humus-rich, slightly acidic soil. Leaves with lots of white are apt to scorch, so need deeper shade, and blue hostas grow bluer in shadier quarters.

Mulch with well-rotted manure or compost in early spring, adding slow-release fertiliser or a handful of fish, blood and bone. For hostas in pots, several growers warn against Miracle-Gro; half-strength tomato feed, seaweed feeds or chicken pellets are recommended.

Best defences against slugs and snails

Slug pellets "Once they're up, you can always snip off the odd damaged leaf," Bonanni says, "but the key is to get them unfurled successfully – and for that you need slug pellets. If used correctly – that is, very sparingly, every three or four days – they won't harm wildlife."

The trick is to sprinkle half a dozen pellets round each plant, or to tuck them in small containers, such as open herb jars, under the leaves. Metaldehyde formulations still work better than iron-based formulas, and are less harmful than often supposed: a hedgehog would have to eat 2,000 poisoned slugs in a single night to be killed.

Nematodes There are two drawbacks to biological controls: soil must be at least 5C for them to work, and they don't affect snails. But they are wonderfully effective against slugs.

Copper Crawling over copper gives molluscs an electric shock, so stand pots on copper-impregnated mats, and stick a band of copper tape around the rims. Make sure leaves don't touch walls – a snail could climb up – and block the pot's drainage holes with fine wire to stop them sneaking in. Copper rings (try slugrings.co.uk) protect plants in borders, but only until a leaf touches the soil, forming a bridge for waiting marauders. They are, however, much more effective barriers than granules, clinker and eggshells.

Organic garlic wash Scroggy swears by a fortnightly homemade garlic drench, which deters slugs. Visit Bali-Haifor the recipe.

Night patrols Go out with torch and bucket, pick off the blighters one by one, then drown them in salt water. And don't consider throwing snails over the fence – they'd soon be back.

Keep chickens Small, feathery-footed bantams do little damage to the garden, and eat countless slugs. Ducks are even better.

Suppliers

Bali-Hai Nursery; Bowden Hostas; Purbeck Plants; .

Reader offer

Hosta 'Sum And Substance' will make a statement in any garden with its huge yellow-green leaves and spikes of pale lilac flowers. Buy three bareroot plants for £14.99, or six for £17.99 (including free UK mainland p&p). Call 0330 333 6856, quoting ref GUA688. Or visit our Reader Offers page. Delivery from November due to planting conditions.

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