I have always had trimble with slugs, but something much bigger thought my hosta was delicious. It was doing well, but a couple weeks ago there was a chance of frost for three nights, so it was covered. Then it was devoured after the weather warmed back up.

One word... Deer.

I quit growing hosta because the deer treated my yard like an all you can eat buffet.

There are no deer here in town. Do ground hogs like them? I only see cats, birds, opossums, raccoons and ground hogs around here. That is besides insects, snails, and slugs

I am lucky that the groundhogs here do not eat them but it is said that they do early in the season. I guess they just like the plants in my sun garden more.

Me

The entire plant is edible and safe for humans. The leaves aren't exactly great. You can trim a couple shoots per well established plant without issue when they are still tightly coiled in spring. At they point they look and taste vaguely asparagus like. Briefly pan fry or steam them with a little oil and spice.

I probably did not eat your hostas.

Andrea,

Rabbits love my hostas. Any rabbits in your area?

Fortunately they leave mine alone , tons of rabbits around here. They do love eating my Echinacea when they are first coming up.

PattyPan said: Me

The entire plant is edible and safe for humans. The leaves aren't exactly great. You can trim a couple shoots per well established plant without issue when they are still tightly coiled in spring. At they point they look and taste vaguely asparagus like. Briefly pan fry or steam them with a little oil and spice.

I probably did not eat your hostas.

Good to know if I get super hungry and run out of everything else to eat!

There probably are rabbits, but I have not seen any. What can I do in the future to protect my hostas?

Have you tried Plantskydd animal repellent?

Agree with Bob, I have had great luck with PlantSkydd the liquid form. We have lots of critters

crawgarden said: Agree with Bob, I have had great luck with PlantSkydd the liquid form. We have lots of critters

Where can I buy it? Through Amazon? Will it also protect garden vegetables, strawberries, daylilies, etc?

Read the instructions as to when to spray.
I have another spray bottle full of water that after using plantskydd liquid, I remove the sprayer and keep it in the water bottle to keep the plantskydd from clogging the sprayer. Replace the cap back on the plantskydd.

https://www.plantskydd.com/sta...

Info about use around veg etc
https://www.plantskydd.com/pro...

I agree that the culprit is mammalian. If you are SURE you don't have deer, it's likely rabbits. Cutworms will cut out large sections of a leaf, but not quite as much as you have missing.

On the subject of eating hostas, I cooked and ate a few this year. I steamed them and served with mayo, but found them a bit bitter. I also overcooked them a bit. They need only a minute or two of steaming. In my case, we tested some 'Undulata Albomarginata' and some clausa, both of which like like weeds in my yard.

...