Hosta ventricosa (scientific name: Hosta ventricosa (Salisb.) Stearn), also known as "purple hosta", is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Liliaceae family, genus Hosta. The rhizome is thick; the leaves are ovate-cordate, ovate to ovate-orbicular, with the apex nearly short-tailed or abruptly pointed, and the base cordate or nearly truncate; the scape can reach up to 100cm tall and bears flowers; the bracts are oblong-lanceolate, white, membranous; the flowers are solitary, and when fully open expand upward from the perianth tube abruptly into a nearly funnel shape, purplish-red; the stamens extend beyond the perianth. The capsule is cylindrical; it flowers from June to July and fruits from July to September.
Propagation Methods
Seed Propagation
When sowing at the end of February or the beginning of March, choose moist, fertile sandy loam as the seedbed and prepare the soil carefully. Before sowing, soak the seeds in 45°C warm water for 24 hours, allow them to cool naturally, and carry out pregermination. Use drilling or broadcasting; make drills about 3cm deep and about 20cm apart, mix the seeds with fine sand and sow them evenly in the drills, then cover with a thin layer of burnt mud ash or plant ash, with a thickness such that the seeds are no longer visible, and then cover with rice straw or Dicranopteris fern grass to retain moisture. Broadcasting can also be used: scatter the seeds evenly over the seedbed, cover with burnt mud ash or plant ash, then cover with rice straw or Dicranopteris fern grass, and keep the bed surface moist after sowing. Seedlings emerge in about 15 days; uncover the grass promptly, and when the seedlings are 3-4cm tall, apply diluted manure liquid fertilizer at about 1000 kg per mu, and also carry out weeding, thinning, shading, and other tasks well. When the seedlings are 6-8cm tall in the same year, they can be transplanted and established.
Root Sucker Propagation
In spring, take the rhizomes of Hosta ventricosa and cut them into 5-6cm long stem segments with buds; smear the cut surfaces with 0.5% potassium permanganate solution, bury them in pre-prepared seedbed furrows, then cover with about 3cm of burnt mud ash or humus soil, keep the soil moist, and seedlings can emerge in about 15 days. Using the horizontally creeping rhizomes of Hosta ventricosa and planting them in sections does produce established plants relatively quickly, but the propagation rate is low, so it is rarely used in production.
Cultivation Techniques
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For ground planting, divide and replant generally once every 3-5 years; for pot planting, divide and replant once every 3 years. Before planting, apply sufficient base fertilizer; for pot planting, use a neutral potting soil.
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Apply a topdressing once before sprouting and once before and after flowering each year, and apply a decomposed organic fertilizer once before winter.
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During the growing period, water promptly in case of drought to keep the soil moist, and pay attention to drainage during the rainy season.
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Place in a shaded area for care, avoiding direct strong light.
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After the flowers fade, promptly cut off the spent flower scapes, and remove the aboveground stems and leaves after autumn.