Encyclopedia of Hosta

The Hosta Farm

A complete archive of cultivars, care, and shade gardening

Botanical watercolor of a shade garden border with three hosta varieties surrounded by ferns and heuchera

We are rebuilding an authoritative, ad-supported encyclopedia of every registered Hosta cultivar — drawn from the American Hosta Society Registry — alongside care, planting, and design guides written in plain language for American shade gardeners.

The site is currently in private staging — content launches in phases.

Explore by topic

Watercolor illustration of mulching a young hosta plant

Care & Planting

Watering, fertilizing, dividing — practical care from American gardeners.

Watercolor garden plan with hostas, astilbe and ferns

Shade Garden Design

Companion plants, layouts, and design ideas for shaded borders.

Botanical study of hosta leaves with common problems

Problems & Pests

Diseases, slugs, deer, and what those transparent leaves mean.

What we are building

~7,500 cultivar profiles. Every officially registered Hosta, with size, leaf, parentage and breeder data drawn from the AHS Hosta Registry.
Long-form care guides. Original articles on planting, watering, dividing, diseases, shade-garden design and seasonal tasks.
Hosta of the Year archive. Every winner from 1996 to 2026 with the full data record and an original watercolor illustration.
Honest buying guides. Comparative reviews of bare-root plants, seeds, fertilizers and shade-garden tools available on Amazon.
Filterable catalog. Browse by colour, size, year registered, hybridizer or light tolerance.