This plant is considered a medium-sized hosta. The “Minute Man” is often compared to the “Patriot”, but has a darker green center which contrasts with its striking white border or margin. The lilac-coloured flowers on racemes appear just above the top covering of the leaves. This variety is more tolerant of exposure to sun, but also fits well into traditional shade gardens and along garden edges. These plants grow from a central clump and the leaves spread out to provide a dense, shaded groundcover. Because of this, they are very good to use in border areas to control weed growth. Hostas can be divided every two to four years in order to thin or transplant. Dividing the plant helps to encourage more vigorous growth and allows the plants an appropriate amount of space to fully develop. They are relatively disease-free. However, slugs and snails are pests that are attracted to the plants and also appreciate the groundcover hostas offer. A suggested organic method to deal with these pests, is to this is spray a nematoid-filled solution on the soil around the hostas. These worm-like creatures will organically dispose of these pests.
