• Hosta look best when grown with other foliage plants, perennials and spring bulbs.Mel Curtis/Stockbyte/Getty Images
  
  Hosta are large-leafed, shade-loving plants diverse in form, size and color. They grow a white or lavender spire of flowers in summer and last all season until cold causes them to die back. Hosta thrive in organic, rich soil but can tolerates clay or sandy earth. The key to a healthy hosta is soil amendment. The pH required for a hosta is 6.5 to 7.5 and the ground should be cultivated at least 12 inches or more.
  
  

Testing pH

• You should get a soil kit to test the pH in clay soil. Clay soils can conserve water, but will not allow good drainage. This can cause a buildup of acid or alkaline compounds. Hosta need an average pH of 6.0. If soil is more acidic than this, the number will be lower and you will need to add lime to lower the acidity. If the number is higher, the soil is too basic or alkaline and needs to be amended with sulfur. Proper pH in clay soil will increase the ability of the hosta roots to uptake needed nutrition.
  
  

Adding Organic Nutrition

• Hostas generally have big leaves and some can grow quite large, which means lots of nitrogen for stem and leaf growth. Most soil needs the addition of some organic material annually. This could be as simple as the fall leaf litter left to mulch on a bed, or as complex as homemade humus or compost tea.
  
  To give the hosta a good start, dig a hole 12 inches deep. Pile the soil up on the side and add generous amounts of compost to both the hole and the soil pile. Mix in the organic matter and plant the hosta, using the amended pile of soil as back fill. Some added benefits of mixing in all that organic matter are increased air and porosity in the clay soil.
  
  

Increasing Drainage

• Hosta will thrive in clay soil that has the right pH, nutrients and good drainage.Hosta image by Michele Maakestad from Fotolia.com
  
  While it is possible to just plant the hosta as the soil is, it will increase it's health and decrease the chance of crown and root rot, if you elevate the drainage. Clay soils tend to hang on to moisture, but do not give it up easily. The hosta plant will need to access the moisture in the soil, but cannot be sitting in a pool of water as that might cause molds and mildews or rot. Generous amounts of gritty material, such as sand, should be worked into the soil. You can test the drainage by digging a hole and filling it with water. The water should be drained in couple of hours. If not, add more gritty material.