Herbaceous perennials are plants that live more than two years and do not form woody stems so that they die back to ground level each fall. Hostas, of course, are part of this group of plants as are thousands and thousands of other commonly grown landscape plants.

Fortunately, hundreds of species of plants also share the ability of hostas to grow and thrive in low light conditions. Some of these plants developed in woodland areas where they adapted to full sun in the early spring before the leaves came onto the trees. Others found their niche on the edge of the forest where they received full sunlight for at least part of each day. Still others found their fate tied to the shade at the middle of the woods where they rarely received any direct sunlight but survived on the light reflected from the nearby environment.

Species

Common Name