The Best Miniature Hostas For Beginners

Growing miniature hostas is becoming increasingly popular, especially with the shear amount of varieties now available. The trouble with miniature is they are particularly temperamental and less forgiving than some of the medium and large varieties. Here on the nursery, most of the plants we lose over Winter are the small and miniatures.

So what miniatures are the easiest to grow? We thought we'd put a list together of what we think are the top 5. If you have found other varieties particularly easy to grow then leave them in the comments section for everyone to see.

1. Cracker Crumbs

This splendid miniature has yellow leaves and a beautiful thin dark green margin. As well as being extremely attractive, 'Cracker Crumbs' is a fast grower and will fill a small pot in a relatively short period of time. The only downside of this variety is the leaves are more on the thin side so slug protection is advisable.

2. Blue Mouse Ears

Arguably the best miniature variety there is. Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears' is certainly the most popular miniature variety and can be found in most hosta collections. This variety benefits from a fast growth rate and thick leaves which help it with slug resistance.

Blue Mouse Ears is the parent plant for many popular varieties such as 'Church Mouse', 'Frosted Mouse Ears' and 'Ruffled Mouse Ears'.

3. Lemon Zinger

This variety has become a real favourite of our over recent years. It's narrow leaves are bright yellow with a thin green wavy margin. This is another variety that has a fast growth rate which makes it a good one for beginners. It is advisable to give 'Lemon Zinger' a bit of protection over Winter as the fine roots can be damaged by rain and frost.

4. Mini Skirt

Probably our second favourite mouse variety after 'Blue Mouse Ears'. This miniature has thick blue green leaves and a creamy yellow wavy margin. For a mouse variety 'Mini Skirt' has a good growth rate and is a lot easier than most of the others. This variety also benefits from some very beautiful lavender coloured flowers.

5. Tattle Tails

An excellent miniature variety with thin green leaves and a wavy yellow margin. Although this variety would grow well in the ground, we would recommend growing it in a pot as it's thin leaves can be tempting for the slugs. Hosta 'Tattle Tails' can add a different texture to your miniature collection that you don't usually get with some of the others.