I have never met a hosta that doesn't like water; the more the better. I wonder if your observations are confounded by another factor such as light, for example.

I agree....it you are having issues it's not the water but something else.
Linda c

Mine in pots need water AND air. I started out planting them in pots with potting soil and 1/3 perlite. Well when you dump the water on the pots, the **** perlite floats to the top and the soil gets so dense that it is difficult to drain. One year I lost 1/2 of all my hostas and was about to give up. Ken told me to use whatever the local hosta growers used. No real local hosta growers here, but the ones from Monrovia were planted in a lot of bark. Once I put them in mini bark, the water flowed thru and they multiplied. IMHO hostas do NOT like to be soggy.

When you stop to think about it, hostas in the wild grow in volcanic rock. That stuff drains very well.

Thanks, Ken!!!!

-Babka