Hostas are the Number 1 selling genus of perennials in the United States. Their popularity has grown steadily over the past three decades or so. There are now over 8,000 named cultivars of hostas and that number is climbing every year. For hosta collectors, this is an exciting fact. For the average backyard gardener, it can lead to a lot of confusion and frustration. The science surrounding hostas is being explored by scientists and pseudo-scientists which may lead to a better understanding...or just more confusion.

Growing hostas should be fun! After all, for most of us, our home landscape is to be a place that we can enjoy and take pride in. For the vast majority of gardeners, raising hostas is just a hobby. We do not want to become the world's greatest authority or to be able to name 150 different large size blue hosta cultivars based on their vein count. We just want to enjoy our hostas and get the most out of them in our gardens.

This eBook is designed to be an introduction into the Who, What, When and Where of the genus, Hosta. Who introduced them into Europe and the U.S.? Who are the significant hybridizers, experts and "movers and shakers" of hostadom? What type of plants are hostas? What are the known species and where are new cultivars being created?  What are the techniques used for propagating and multiplying hostas? What do I need to know to become a serious "hostaphile"?

I have been involved with hostas as a professional horticulture educator and home gardener for over 35 years. In that time, I have come to know people who spend their entire professional careers or devote their hobby time exclusively to this one genus. I have attended and presented programs at many hosta related functions over the years. I have read books and The Hosta Journal until my head begins to spin over the sometimes contradictory and occasionally misleading information that is available to us.

The goal of this eBook is to provide you with the basic knowledge to help you navigate the hosta world. This may range from simply being able to determine which hostas you want to grow in your garden to being reasonably knowledgeable about the topic for when you attend a hosta society activity. Either way, the more you know about the plant up front, the greater your odds of success in the garden.

Chapter 1 - What Kind of Plants are Hostas?
Chapter 2 - The Origins of Hostas
Chapter 3 - Hosta Growth Factors and Plant Structure
Chapter 4 - How to Tell Hostas Apart
Chapter 5 - How Do We Get New Hostas?
Chapter 6 - Hosta Insects, Diseases and Other Problems
Chapter 7 - Hosta Groups and Activities
Chapter 8 - Hostaphiles (Hosta People)

A Rookie's Guide to Hostas, Hostas, Hostas, is now available on Amazon.Com for use in their Kindle readers. Although it may be read on the black and white version, we would recommend that you use the color version, the Kindle Fire or get the app for the PC or other device to get the most out of this image filled eBook.

To purchase this eBook, simply go to Amazon.Com and enter B00DR72Y4S in the search window. That will take you directly to the correct item.

This eBook is currently available at Lulu, iTunes and Barnes and Nobles Nook in .EPUB and Adobe .PDF format with 90 MSWord pages, over 30,000 words and 100 images and illustration.

Note that there is a significant "H" word that is not included above. That is the word "How" as in "How do hostas work into my landscape design?" or "How do I grow hostas in my garden?" These concepts will be covered in the next eBook in this series, A Rookie's Guide to Landscaping with Hostas. A missing "C" word might be "Companions" or "What plants or hardscape elements work best as companions to hostas in the landscape?" We will try to answer that question in the third eBook in this series, A Rookie's Guide to Companions for Hostas.