Hosta would fry in PM sun during the hot summer months. It's a shadier plant here.
Tough ground cover, low maintenance. Monkey grass, mondo grass, "georgia blue" veronica (very drought tolerant) - these are things that would do well under a tree.

Many Hosta cultivars will tolerate that much afternoon sun and still look good at the end of the season. But you have to be selective. No blue leaf ones, they fade to green. No white cented ones, they melt out in too much sun. No thin leaf ones.
Select ones with thick leaves, gold/yellow, white & yellow marginated ones, all green.
Hostas are water hogs! not drought tolerant at all.
You might consider Oakleaf Hydrangea. 'Pee Wee' and 'Sikes Dwarf' are two that are vertically challenged. Any of the Southern species of Native Azalea, austrinum, canescens, prunifolium, serrulatum, alabamense, etc.
Ground covers I use, are Dianthus, Phlox subulata(Creeping Phlox), Ice Plant(Delosperma sp.)
Bulbs, such a species Tulips(Tulipa bakerii, stc.),
Scilla, Ledebouria, Asian lilys. Fall blooming bulbs: Oxblood Lily, Crocus, Sternbergia.
A native, fall blooming, Aster species: Aster georgianus (Symphyotrichum georgianum). Honey Bees swarm these when in bloom!
Hope you have a well, or lots of rainbarrels!
Good luck!
Rb

I live in the Zone 9 area, just outside of Savannah. I do grow hostas in the shade, but they have to be replaced every couple of years. They cannot take the heat, and cannot tolerate the sun at all down here. I love hostas, but I just have to tell myself that they are short-lived in my zone and if I want to grow them I must replace them often. I have found that the common no-name hosta does better than the newer hybrids.

Thanks for your responses! I'm sure glad that we opted to NOT buy any hosta....they're sure neat, tho...something that we just cannot grow in Florida, either. We were at one of the new big box stores today-I was in awe of all the beautiful plants, but (just like at home in zone 9-10) overheard different ones saying that 'yep, they sell 'em, but they sure do die fast!' ...we did bring back a double knockout rose...and some daylilies and some Indian Hawthorne...hope these will do well for my kids - they have very little time for any gardening with their busy work schedules and a baby on the way, but their pride of homeownership mandates that they do something with an area that is the 'entry'...it's been nothing but ugly red lava rock since they moved in. Hopefully they can handle the few new plants...heavy ground cloth and a good layer of mulch. Apprecitate your responses!

georgiagirl_
Like you, I once tried growing Hostas at my home on Saint Simons Is., but found that they were short lived. I joined the American Hosta Society to find out more about them, because I really wanted them to succeed there. I found that can never be, because all Hostas must have a long dormancy and at least 350 hours of chill temperature below 35°F.
I tried them in pots, on stands, which subjected them to colder temperatures during a longer period of time, but that only extended their lifetime a couple of years.
They really can't survive in a Zone higher than 7, and that is becoming more difficult in Zone 7, as the winters have been warmer than usual during the past 5 or so years, allowing the soil temperature to remain above 35°F.

I once heard of a transplant, who moved from the frozen nawth to the Central Florida area, along with a truckload of Hostas, that rents a cold-storage locker to house them during a forced dormancy period at near freezing temperatures. True? can't say. Obsessive? If true, I would think so! :-)

The only hosta that I have that thrived was Royal Standard, underneath big azaleas in high pine shade.
It never grew as large as in photos of farther north, but it has survived since 1995. Sometimes it even blooms.

A better choice for south Georgia is gingers, which will grow and bloom and make a really beeg show.
Nell

I can't grow hostas in the sun here at all in the city. Several people try, but they just get stunted and end up going into hybernation by the end of august.

we have several the front yard of our investment house (two doors down), they are on the eastern side of the house and get morning sun up til noon, and they are massive, bloom every year.

granted, i've read time and time again that morning sun is isignificant to shade-only plants and won't kill anything makred 'shade only'

I'm glad I found this thread! I have long coveted the beautiful huge blue hostas we see in Cashiers each year on our annual family mountain trip and have often wondered if I could get them to grow down here (Albany)in a shady area of my yard. Guess not. :-(

I do, however, have a bed under the branch of a oak tree that gets virtually no sun (dappled sun in the am). Are there any varieties that would grow there? I need something fairly low to the ground and shade loving.

they really can survive in a zone higher than 7.
i live in zone 8 and have been growing beautiful hostas for many years. they do fine in a shady garden bed without root competition from trees or even better in containers, which is the way i grow them, sited under trees.
they will eventually outgrow the containers and need to be divided to maintain their vigor.
some can handle more sun than others, as razorback mentions.
i can't comment on success in the lower end of zone 8 or even 9, but would certainly not hesitate to try them in shade.

I have good luck with hostas in the NE corner of my yard that gets zero sun. There are some on the edge of this bed that get a little sun and they don't do as well.

These were garden variety light green hostas from Home Depot.