The Prairie Sky Hosta, otherwise known as the Hosta X ‘Prairie Sky’ Plant Patent #17,309 or Climbing Hydrangea, Hydrangea petiolaris, Hydrangea scandens Maxim., is a rather well known climber plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and fast growth, this climber will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its blue-green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Prairie Sky Hosta Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Prairie Sky Hosta are the following:
- Water: The Prairie Sky Hosta prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
- Light: Keep your Hosta X ‘Prairie Sky’ Plant Patent #17,309 in an environment where it can receive full shade to partial sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Prairie Sky Hosta in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, loam, and clay.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Prairie Sky Hosta this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Prairie Sky Hosta belongs to the Hydrangeaceae family, the genus Hydrangea and the species Anomala, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Hosta X ‘Prairie Sky’ Plant Patent #17,309 (HOSS-tuh).
As with other Hydrangea’s, the Prairie Sky Hosta is a herbaceous plant, which means it will die back to the ground every year.
Growing Region
The Prairie Sky Hosta is a plant native to the Japan, Korea, Himalayas and China Sakhalin, and Taiwan.
You might be wondering why your Prairie Sky Hosta’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Hosta X ‘Prairie Sky’ Plant Patent #17,309 will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 4a, 4b, 5b, 5a, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8b, 8a and the ideal climate zone is between 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, A2, A3.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Prairie Sky Hosta is a relatively fast grower, which makes things tricky for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, what size of Prairie Sky Hosta are we talking about? What can you expect in terms of height, spread and spacing? Let’s dig in…
The Hosta X ‘Prairie Sky’ Plant Patent #17,309 can grow up to 30′ – 40′ (9m – 12m) in 30′ – 40′ (9m – 12m) and 5′ – 6′ (150cm – 180cm) in 5′ – 6′ (150cm – 180cm).
These dimensions make the Prairie Sky Hosta a relatively large climber compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful mounding shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 72″ (180cm) free so the Prairie Sky Hosta can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Prairie Sky Hosta is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Hosta X ‘Prairie Sky’ Plant Patent #17,309 prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Prairie Sky Hosta in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, and moist properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your Prairie Sky Hosta then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your Prairie Sky Hosta needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Prairie Sky Hosta prefers to have soil with good drainage, and moist properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, loam, and clay.
This is why most experts agree that the Prairie Sky Hosta requires soil with clay, high organic matter, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably neutral to acid soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Prairie Sky Hosta requires full shade to partial sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this climber will do well as long as you keep it in shade, or partial sun to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Hosta X ‘Prairie Sky’ Plant Patent #17,309 in from full or deep shade (no direct sunlight or at most 2 hours per day), to little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to dappled or moderate shade (under other plant’s canopy).
Season
Being a herbaceous plant, the Prairie Sky Hosta will die back to the ground every year.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (late), the summer (early, mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your Prairie Sky Hosta to flower around the spring and in the summer months from April to June (spring), and from July to September (summer).
In particular, this climber is well known for its showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Prairie Sky Hosta produces some beautiful purplish-pink, or gold/yellow and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Prairie Sky Hosta have a beautiful blue-green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a opposite organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Hosta X ‘Prairie Sky’ Plant Patent #17,309 to be around (3-6 inches) in size.
Garden
Does your Prairie Sky Hosta have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Hosta X ‘Prairie Sky’ Plant Patent #17,309 owners agree that this climber will look great in most cottage, asian/zen contemporary, and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of city and courtyard, and in informal and cottage styles.
In particular, the Prairie Sky Hosta’s best location within your garden is in wall-side borders, others use it for landscaping in a erosion control, border, mass planting, container, firescaping/fire wise, or a woodland garden.
Companion Plants
Prairie Sky Hosta’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Heuchera, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Astilbe will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Prairie Sky Hosta, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.
