Content
Hosta June is a unique shrub with very beautiful, often glossy leaves of various shapes and colors. Periodically, it gives off shoots from which new young bushes grow. The plant is distinguished by its unpretentiousness, for which it is appreciated by both experienced flower growers and amateurs.
June has consistently ranked # 1 for over 10 years according to a survey by the American Society of Hobbyists.
Description of hosts June
Hosta June is one of the most beautiful hybrid varieties. In fact, this is a whole group of varieties, which forms more than 10 attractive varieties with different leaves - from bright yellow to deep green, herbaceous and bluish:
- Leaves in the shape of a heart.
- Narrow, pointed shape.
- Egg-shaped, bluish-green foliage.
During flowering, the host June produces white or pale lilac lavender double flowers with little or no scent.
Peduncle height up to 90 cm, flowering begins in mid-July and lasts until mid-August.
Flowers are not particularly decorative: in the photo and in the description, June hosts especially emphasize lush, dense leaves with a matte or glossy surface. The bushes are often low - up to 30-40 cm, rather spreading - up to 50-60 cm in diameter. More often they prefer partial shade, and in the south they need to shade more carefully so that the plant does not get burned.
June's winter hardiness is quite good - it can be grown in climate zone 4 (withstands frosts down to -35 degrees). This is the entire central part of Russia, with the exception of the Komi Republic, as well as the southern regions of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East.
Sports hosts June
The June host has an interesting feature compared to other species. Mutating kidneys with altered genes periodically appear on it. They produce slow-growing shoots that differ significantly from the original plant. These varieties are called sports.
They do not form an independent variety or species, however, if they are separated from the mother bush, an interesting variety can be obtained. Moreover, the sooner this is done, the more chances are that the shoot will take root and really retain the changed characteristics (new color of leaves, nature of the surface, and others).
June Fever
Hosta June Fever produces beautiful yellow leaves with a green border, triangular in shape, with a pointed tip.
This hosta variety decorates the garden with bright leaves, looks spectacular against the background of a darker lawn.
The foliage of June Fever hosts is very dense, due to which the bush completely covers the ground. Therefore, it is used in carpet plantings to hide open ground.
Ednless Summer
Another attractive sport hosts June. The bush is small, up to 30 cm in height, but spreading - up to 50 cm. The foliage is bright yellow, attractive.
Host June Endless Summer is shown on the left - a yellow border is visible on large leaves with a green center
Juns Gold
Hosta Juns Gold is an ornamental, graceful shrub with lemon yellow wrinkled leaves. There is a green border around the edges, making this hosta look like a real exotic plant.
Like many other host species, Juns Gold prefers shady locations
Oli time
A small shrub gives wide leaves with a wrinkled surface and an original yellowish color.
Derived from June, this sport attracts attention with its unusual foliage pattern.
May
A miniature June hosta with small, light green leaves.
Hosta Mei looks especially beautiful against a dark background.
Ripley effect
One of the most unusual sports June. Long, narrow wavy leaves grow on a dwarf bush.
The leaves of this hosta are yellowish, with a narrow green border.
English Sunrise
A very beautiful variety of hosts June, the photo of which is presented below. Gives a greenish-yellow heart-shaped leaves with a pointed tip and wrinkled surface.
English Sunrise bush is small, but miniature and compact, with very dense foliage
Kiwi Gold Star
A short bush with green-yellow leaves with a wrinkled surface.
A pale green border of a darker shade than the leaf itself is always barely visible at the edges.
Kiwi Classic
Another interesting sport with elongated heart-shaped leaves. The bushes grow small, but they perfectly decorate the site in combination with other varieties of June hosts.
Kiwi Classic leaves are light yellow with dark green edges
Apple Candy
Apple Candy is the seemingly low-key sport hosts June. Looks attractive in combination with bright green shrubs and flowers.
Apple Candy leaves grow with original lemon yellow edging
Aisha
Unlike many other sports, June Aisha forms bright green leaves with a glossy, shiny surface.
Dense leaves and stems are practically not affected by diseases and pests
Frostad June
Frosted June is a short shrub with distinctive greenish-yellow leaves. They are quite dense, so they perfectly resist various pests. The bush is compact and symmetrical.
Frosted June leaves have a thin, light yellow edging
Green Fever
This June sport is a dwarf shrub with yellow leaves.
The foliage of the plant is quite large, glossy and very dense.
June Spirit
June Spirit also produces small shrubs with pleasant foliage of green, bluish and yellow hues.
The surface of the leaves is matte, for lovers of gentle calm tones
Justin
A variety of June hosts with very interesting, bright foliage.
Bright glossy leaves with a spectacular color immediately attract attention
Orange Star
Orange Star is a small shrub with glossy, dense leaves with a wrinkled surface.
Bright yellow leaves and dark green edges will decorate even the most inconspicuous corner of the garden
Application in landscape design
With this variety of sports, June is easy to integrate into any garden design. It is often used in:
- carpet plantings;
- rock gardens and rockeries;
- multi-tiered flower beds, mixborders;
- curbs along the road and for dividing flower garden zones;
- flower beds (usually at the edges, since many June varieties are dwarf);
- in the far corners of the garden to cover empty spaces;
- on rocky flower beds;
- in rows along the coast (you can create a multi-tiered composition).
Various sports hosts June favorably emphasize both bright flowers and beautiful shrubs, as well as seemingly nondescript perennial grass. Therefore, in design, it can be combined with a wide variety of plants:
- garden geranium;
- peonies;
- daylily (preferably undersized);
- higher hosts (Blue Mammoth, Dino, Jade Cascade);
- forget-me-nots;
- astilba;
- perennial conifers (thuja, juniper, dwarf fir).
Hosta June creates a nice backdrop for garden geraniums and many other flowers
Breeding methods
June can be propagated by seed, but most often it is bred by cuttings and dividing the bush. Moreover, the latter method is considered the simplest and most effective, but only for adult bushes aged 4-5 years and older (it is better not to disturb the seedlings at all or to plant them with cuttings).
The optimal time for breeding is almost the entire season: spring, summer and autumn 1-1.5 months before the onset of the first frost. To divide the June hosta bush, you need to sharpen a shovel and knife well. The sequence of actions is as follows:
- The earth is cut out in a near-trunk circle so as not to touch the roots (they lie at a depth of 30-40 cm).
- Then the hosta bush is lifted along with the ground and shaken off the soil, repeatedly hitting the plant against the surface.
- Next, the root hairs are straightened and a sharp knife is taken.
- Several divisions are cut so that each of them has at least 3 buds.
- They are transplanted into the same soil to a similar depth of about 30 cm.
Landing algorithm
The June host is purchased from specialized stores. When buying, pay attention to the rhizome - it must be healthy, without damage and have several buds. You can plant it in the second half of April, when the snow has completely melted, and night temperatures no longer drop to 0 degrees.
When choosing a place, pay attention to:
- decorativeness (how well the bush will fit into the overall design);
- shade - there should be a light shade from shrubs or trees;
- protection from strong winds;
- lack of stagnant water - it is better to plant on a small hill.
Despite its attractiveness and exceptional variety of varieties, June is very undemanding to soil. It can grow even on poor soil. Before planting, the earth is dug up and a bucket of humus and full complex fertilizer per 1 m2 are applied. Then they act like this:
- Dig a hole of small depth and diameter (30 cm each) so that the roots fit freely in it.
- Lay 5-7 cm of the drainage layer of small stones.
- Cover with soil by half. If the soil is infertile, you can mix the rotted manure with compost soil in equal amounts and add half the peat.
- Add a few pinches of sand, mix and water abundantly.
- Root the host, fill in the remaining amount of soil and water again. In this case, the root collar of the bush should go to a depth of no more than 5 cm.
It is better for the host June to plant in an area with partial shade
Growing rules
The host is not capricious, but rather demanding on watering. It is important to ensure that the soil surface remains moderately moist at all times (but too much water is also harmful). To make it easier for yourself, you can water abundantly in the spring, then on the eve of summer and mulch the roots with hay or straw - then the layer will protect the earth from drying out.
Top dressing is applied 3 times, starting from season 2:
- In early April, you can fertilize with nitrogen (for example, urea) - this will ensure rapid growth of shoots and foliage.
- In mid-July, when the first flowers appear, add superphosphates and potassium sulfate.
- Add a similar composition in mid-August. After this period, no additional fertilizing is needed.
Even minimal care allows you to get a lush, beautiful shrub of the hosts June
Preparing for winter
June sports are resistant even to severe winter frosts down to -35 degrees. Therefore, the bushes do not need a special shelter for the winter. In the fall, caring for a plant includes the following actions:
- The last time to feed at the end of August.
- Give abundant watering a month before frost.
- Remove all peduncles immediately after flowering by cutting with pruning shears or garden shears.
Diseases and pests
Most host June species have very dense leaves with a good protective layer to prevent pests from entering. Sometimes the plant can become infected with viral and fungal infections, as well as insects, for example:
- rot of the root collar;
- HVX virus;
- black weevil;
- aphid.
It is rather difficult to cope with infections - it is better to remove and burn the affected leaves and shoots immediately, and if this does not help, you will have to destroy the entire bush. For effective fight against fungi, you can use any fungicide - for example, "Skor", Bordeaux liquid "Topaz". To combat insects, insecticides are used, for example, "Karbofos", "Decis Profi", "Green Soap".
Host June is rarely exposed to diseases and pests
Conclusion
Hosta June is a bright, attractive and very unpretentious plant that produces mutating shoots with new traits. Thanks to this, growers in the future can create large compositions based on these varieties. They will perfectly fit into any garden and literally transform it due to their unusual, often exotic appearance.
