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Plant care

Hosta 'Love Pat' (Love Pat Plantain Lily) care

Hosta 'Love Pat'

Also called Love Pat Plantain Lily.

RHS H7USDA 3-9Toxic to petsIndoor 50-60 cm tall

Watering rhythm

6-8days

When the top 3 cm of soil is dry, roughly every 6-8 days in summer

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Light

Low light (north window or shaded room)

Soil

Humus-rich, moisture-retentive loam

Humidity

50-70%

Temp

−30-27°C

Pet safety

Toxic to pets

Mature size

50-60 cm tall

Care at a glance

Light

If you have a corner where every other plant turned leggy and died, try hosta 'love pat'. Performs best in partial to full shade. Morning sun is tolerated in cool, humid climates but strong afternoon sun will bleach the waxy blue coating. Deep shade preserves the blue-grey colour most effectively. The catch: when a low-light plant does fail, it's almost always because someone watered it on the same schedule as their brighter plants. Less light = less water, every time.

Watering

Watering hosta 'love pat': when the top 3 cm of soil is dry, roughly every 6-8 days in summer. The number that matters isn't the day of the week — it's how dry the top 2-3 cm of the pot feels. A finger in the soil tells you more than a watering app. After every watering, tip the saucer. Consistent moisture is key to maintaining the large cupped leaves. Water at the base rather than overhead to reduce foliar disease risk. Mulch with bark chips to conserve moisture.

Soil and pot

Hosta 'Love Pat' grows best in humus-rich, moisture-retentive loam. Incorporate plenty of well-rotted organic matter before planting. A pH of 6.0-7.0 is ideal. Good drainage is essential despite its love of moisture — it will not tolerate standing water. A pot with a working drainage hole is non-negotiable for this species — even free-draining mix will turn soggy in a closed planter. If you love the look of a decorative pot without a hole, use it as a cachepot around an inner nursery pot you can lift out to water.

Humidity and temperature

Hosta 'Love Pat' sits happiest at around 50-70% humidity and −30-27°C (−22-80°F). Moderate to high humidity suits this woodland perennial. Ground-level mulching helps maintain local humidity. No special measures needed in typical temperate garden conditions. If you keep the room above −30 year-round and avoid placing the plant near a cold draught, a hot radiator, or an air-conditioning vent, you have already handled the two biggest indoor stressors.

Fertilising

Feed hosta 'love pat' sparingly. Feed with a balanced granular fertiliser in early spring as new shoots emerge. A second application in early summer supports vigorous leaf development. Avoid high-nitrogen late-season feeding. Skip fertiliser entirely on a stressed, recently-repotted, or actively wilting plant — fertiliser salts make damage worse, not better. Wait for a round of healthy new growth before resuming a feeding rhythm.

Common problems

Below are the issues we see most often on hosta 'love pat' in the Growli community. Each is annotated with the most common cause so you know where to start.

  • Slug damage — Although the thick waxy leaves are more slug-resistant than thin-leaved hostas, young spring foliage is still vulnerable; protect emerging shoots with organic slug pellets or traps.
  • Crown rot — Poor drainage leads to fungal or bacterial crown rot; improve soil structure and avoid overwatering.
  • Leaf scorch — Too much sun causes bleaching and brown crispy edges; move to a shadier position.
  • Rabbit grazing — Rabbits will eat emerging shoots in spring; use physical barriers in areas with high rabbit pressure.
  • Frost heave — In very cold winters without consistent snow cover, freeze-thaw cycles can lift crowns; mulch in late autumn to insulate.

Companion plants

Hosta 'Love Pat' pairs well with Astilbe, Ligularia, Brunnera, and Polygonatum. These are species with similar light and water needs, so you can group them in the same room or on the same shelf and water as a batch.

Propagation

Divide clumps in early spring as shoots emerge or in early autumn. Each piece should have several growth buds and healthy roots. Re-firm divisions well to prevent air pockets around the crown. Propagation is the cheapest, most satisfying way to expand a collection — and it doubles as insurance against losing a mature plant to an accident. Take a backup cutting once the parent is established and healthy.

Toxicity to pets

Hosta 'Love Pat' is toxic to pets. Hosta is listed by the ASPCA as toxic to dogs, cats, and horses due to saponin content. Ingestion may cause vomiting, diarrhoea, lethargy, and abdominal pain. All parts of the plant are considered toxic. If you keep cats, dogs, or curious children in the house, weigh placement carefully — a high shelf or a hanging planter is enough for casual safety. For severe ingestion incidents, call your local vet and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (in the US, 888-426-4435).

Pet-safety status is sourced from the ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List, which catalogues the most-asked-about plants for cats, dogs, and horses.

Hosta 'Love Pat' care — frequently asked questions

What is the common name for Hosta 'Love Pat'?

Hosta 'Love Pat' is most commonly called Hosta 'Love Pat', but it is also known as Love Pat Plantain Lily. The names refer to the same species, so care instructions for Hosta 'Love Pat' apply identically to anything sold as Love Pat Plantain Lily.

How much light does hosta 'love pat' need?

Hosta 'Love Pat' grows best in low light (north window or shaded room). Performs best in partial to full shade. Morning sun is tolerated in cool, humid climates but strong afternoon sun will bleach the waxy blue coating. Deep shade preserves the blue-grey colour most effectively.

How often should I water hosta 'love pat'?

Water hosta 'love pat' when the top 3 cm of soil is dry, roughly every 6-8 days in summer. Consistent moisture is key to maintaining the large cupped leaves. Water at the base rather than overhead to reduce foliar disease risk. Mulch with bark chips to conserve moisture. The finger-test (or lifting the pot to feel its weight) beats a fixed weekly calendar because pot size, light, and season all change how fast the soil dries.

Is hosta 'love pat' toxic to cats and dogs?

Hosta 'Love Pat' is toxic to pets. Hosta is listed by the ASPCA as toxic to dogs, cats, and horses due to saponin content. Ingestion may cause vomiting, diarrhoea, lethargy, and abdominal pain. All parts of the plant are considered toxic.

What USDA hardiness zone does hosta 'love pat' grow in?

Hosta 'Love Pat' is rated for USDA zone 3-9 and RHS hardiness H7. Outside that range, grow it as a container plant that overwinters indoors before the first hard frost.

Hosta 'Love Pat' deep-dive guides

Every aspect of hosta 'love pat' care, each with its own calibrated guide:

Featured in these plant shortlists

Hosta 'Love Pat' qualifies for 5 curated Growli shortlists — each one filtered objectively from our structured plant-care library, so the selection is consistent and checkable:

  • Best low-light houseplants — Houseplants that need no direct sun and cope with a north-facing room or a spot well back from a window.
  • Best humidity-loving houseplants — Houseplants that thrive in a bathroom, kitchen, or by a humidifier — selected by documented humidity preference.
  • Best bathroom plants — Humidity-loving houseplants that also cope with lower light — suited to the steamy, often-dim conditions of a typical bathroom.
  • Best flowering houseplants — Indoor plants grown for their blooms — selected from the flowering species in Growli’s plant-care library.
  • Houseplants toxic to cats & dogs — The common houseplants the ASPCA lists as toxic to cats and dogs — the ones to keep out of reach, each with its symptoms and a safe alternative.
  • Browse all 30 plant shortlists — pet-safe, low-light, drought-tolerant and more

Related guides

Hosta 'Love Pat' is also commonly called Love Pat Plantain Lily.