Hi- I need advice on a plant selection for a volunteer maintained garden that's about three years old. Maryland, zone 7, clay , shaded by a building .
I was really pleased with the large green hosta, but looks like voles got into the mulch this year and all the roots were eaten. (trying to salvage a couple eyes and bits of root)
This is a garden at a school. Plants were donated; there is variegated vinca, green liriope edge, iris, daylilies, sensitive fern and bead fern. The hosta was great for the large leaves, and very low maintenance. I think you can tell from the other plants I'm looking for plant -and -forget, and cheap, maybe available for trade. I'm not willing to invest the time or money in caladiums, for example. I have a dozen flowering tobacco I can use this spring to fill the space (Hope that can take shade?) but would like a perennial. So, any ideas? Thanks.
what to replace large green hosta eaten by voles.
Another large leaved plant that is wonderful if it gets enough water is ligularia. Marie-Britt Crawford has beautiful purple leaves. The voles haven't bothered mine but there's no telling with voles. It blooms late in the season when the kids are still in school. Slugs like it about like they like most hosta. The other possibility is to bury mesh below and around the roots of the hosta so the vole can't get to it. I can't remember what kind but your garden center might know. Or perhaps someone here knows. It gets about 3 feet tall.
I love my ligularia, "The Rocket."
I had a bad vole attack last fall and saw some activity this year. They actually ate right through the woody roots of my roses, right below the graft. At $20 a pop, it was devastating. They were all in my terrace walls and my rock garden. I got an iced tea spoon and put bits of rat poisoning down in the holes, way back in there so the squirrels and birds wouldn't be attracted to them. I also bought a vole repellant with castor oil in it. I don't see any fresh vole activity so far this year.
Here is a ligularia, "The rocket" planted with some astilbe . I would also think about Japanese painted ferns as they look lovely and spread well, along with heuchera and pulmonaria. which have never been bothered by anything here. Also snake root, Actaea simplex will do nicely and bloom later in the season. Patti
Thanks for the suggestions, all! and the picture , bb.
I tend a similar schoolyard garden and have found heucheras a good easy subsitute for hostas. As bbrookrd mentioned Japanese painted fern is a good choice, especially with Palace purple heuchera. Place those 2 in front of bleeding heart (to cover summer die back) and you have a easy multi season grouping. The bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis) is an early bloomer, spreads to a large clump over time, and has a strong impact.
The Heuchera I like most as a hosta substitute is Heuchera villosa "Autumn Bride". It has big green maple leaves and lovely tall white bottle brush blooms in the fall which is a good bloom time for the start of the school year. It also forms large clumps over time and can be easily divided. Caramel is one of the newer villosa cultivars which has good colorful foliage (changing according to the season and placement from ochre to golden to red tinged) but does not seem to have the blooms like "Autumn Bride".
Another easy spreading plant is variegated solomon seal (Polygonatum odoratum). The delicate white blooms and white tipped leaves look lovely arching over white hellebore in the spring. The hellebore with Christmas fern have winter presence.
Heres a photo of the Autumn Bride in the spring with hostas and solomon seal.
thanks! - darnit, my local nursery had Autumn Bride on sale last year , but I passed it up as I wasn't having good luck with my heuchera Montrose Ruby at home....