I have an unusual hosta which has been growing for 3 years, and doesn’t look like any other in my yard. It is possibly a new variety. How would I go about getting a patent on it?

Your hosta is still a youngster by hybridizer’s standards. There are well over 1000 cultivars registered with the International Registration Authority for Hosta. Young hostas, whether seedlings or sports, should always be grown for 5 to 7 years to establish whether they are stable and worthwhile. If they are, there are clearly established criteria for naming. The hosta must be clearly distinct from all other hostas, it must be uniform and stable in characteristics, and must remain constant when propagated. Contact the American Hosta Society, Registrar, University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, P.O. Box 39, 3675 Arboretum Drive, Chanhassen, Minnesota 55317. They can provide you with additional information, instructions, and the registration form. If you have access to the web, their site is www.hosta.org, complete with the Society’s history, registration forms and how to process, as well as plenty of useful information about raising hostas.

There is an area in my yard where grass will not grow. It is shaded, near a patch of woods, and on a slight slope. It seems like we replant grass every year, and it will not get established. Any suggestions?

Yes. Stop throwing money away on grass! The very first things that should be considered when siting any plant are its cultural requirements, or “location, location, location.” Many people don’t think about the lawn as a mass of plants, all requiring a special situation in order to thrive. So that said, go at your search backwards: “It is shaded, near a patch of woods, and on a slight slope.” What would work there? The combination of the slope and the tree roots likely also makes the area dry. Under those conditions, you may want to try Epimediums or Geranium macrorrhizum (bigroot geranium). If it’s not real dry, there’s a whole world of shade plants to play with.