More than 8,000 named varieties of hostas are listed in the United States, but Bernie Slofer, immediate past president of the Maine Hosta Society, divides them into two types.

“There are landscape hostas and specimen hostas,” Slofer said. “Most people just integrate them into the landscape, filling in holes and serving as borders. But in my garden, I have some special hostas that I put in prominent places, and they really put on a show.”

Hostas thrive in Maine. Most of them are hardy to Zone 3, which includes even the coldest parts of Aroostook County, and the rule of thumb nationally is that they do well north of Interstate 80 and suffer south of there. They are native to Japan, China and Korea; they prefer neutral soil and do best in dappled shade.

Slofer has 900 hostas in his East Winthrop garden and 250 varieties.

“It’s not the flower that makes them great,” he said. “It is the uniqueness of their foliage and the mix of their colors.”

They vary widely in size. Some have leaves that are only a few inches wide, while others are huge. “Empress Wu,” the largest hosta available commercially, can grow to 9 feet in diameter.

But hostas are about a lot more than size. The leaves come in green, blue, chartreuse and yellow, and variegated hostas can mix all of those colors, along with white.

The texture of the leaves is also important.

“The more crinkled they are, the more valuable they are,” Slofer said. “Some of them look like seersucker and are highly prized.”

Paul Bourret, president of the Southern Maine Daylily and Hosta Society, says he is more of a daylily guy, but his appreciation of hostas has grown since he joined the group.

“I like the newer streaked variegated ones, and others with spilled milk or stripes rather than just a border effect,” Bourret said. “Also, a lot of the hybrids have a pie crust effect on the edge and get wavy all the way across, and I like those.”

Slofer said the blue hostas aren’t really blue.

“They are really a green hosta with a waxy coating that creates a blue effect to the eyes,” he said. “When a blue hosta is planted in the sun and gets hot, the wax melts and it reverts back to green.”

Slofer said about 500 new hostas are introduced every year. Hybridizers try to create varieties with more attractive and longer-lasting flowers, and that will do well in full sun. They also try for interesting combinations of color and texture in the leaves.

“Just like with clothing, the ones that are just out bring the big bucks,” he said, adding that the highest price ever paid for a hosta was $4,200 at an auction. Most garden-variety hostas sell for $10 or less at local garden centers, however.

While hostas are grown mostly for their foliage, some growers leave the flowers on and others cut them off. Growers who plan to enter hostas at flower shows cut off the flowers, because the dropped flower petals stain the leaves. But overall, later-blooming flowers are favored over early bloomers, and white is favored over lavender.

The major problems for hostas are deer and slugs. Hostas are like candy to both pests.

For a garden like Slofer’s, the only real solution to the deer problems is a fence. He has netting all around his garden.

Other Hosta Society members swear by Milorganite, a fertilizer made from sewer sludge, which is said to repel deer. Still others use the standard deer-repellent sprays according to directions.

For slugs, Slofer uses commercial Sluggo, which he buys in 25-pound bags.

In planting hostas as borders, Slofer likes to vary the styles — he never has the same hosta side by side, mixes plain and variegated, and creates a mix that is pleasing to the eye.

Hostas are one of the easiest plants to dig and divide. They come out of the soil quickly, and split with gentle persuasion. The divisions can be done in spring or fall — most say fall is better — but not in the dead of summer.

I had to ask Bourret how the Southern Maine Daylily and Hosta Society, dedicated to two entirely different species, came to exist.

“I don’t really know,” he said. “They are two plants that are usually fairly easy to grow, except for deer and slugs. And for some reason, a lot of people who are into daylilies are also into hostas.”

The group meets a few times a year at Southern Maine Community College, and has a display garden at the college.

Tom Atwell can be contacted at 791-6362 or at tatwell@pressherald.com