Hostas Plant Growing Under Shade (Tree)
Hostas (Hosta spp.) originate from Asia and are also known as plantain lilies. This genus of herbaceous perennials consists of 40 species with thousands of hybrids. Hostas are primarily known for their full leaves that come in blue, green, gold and white, depending on the variety. These leaves are what attract many home gardeners to hostas, but hostas also produce flower stalks. Hosta flowers are trumpet shaped and small, and somewhat diminutive compared to the large, striking leaves. You may find these flowers are an added bonus in your landscape, but as you choose the variety of hosta you wish to grow, foliage will be a greater consideration. Hosta’s foliage makes this plant an excellent specimen for filling empty garden spaces between shrubs and flowering plants.
Hostas are excellent perennials for shade that require minimal care. They are lovely massed in woodland settings or used as specimens. With their weed smothering foliage, they make idea ground covers. All varieties of hostas go dormant at the end of autumn and die back to the ground while resting. All hosta plants grow best in shade with filtered sunlight. Too much sun exposure scorches the leaves. These plants grow more compact and produce more flowers in shady conditions. Although they are tough plants that can withstand periods of drought, for best results keep well watered during dry spells.
The Patriot Hosta; Most Popular Variety of Hostas
Varieties of Hostas Plants, Identification, with pictures
1. Sum and Substance Hosta (Hosta ‘Sum and Substance’)
One of the largest hostas ever cultivated, this giant variety can produce leaves measuring up to 50 cm across in a warm, chartreuse to golden-yellow colour that deepens with sun exposure. The massive, heavily textured foliage creates an extraordinary focal point in shaded borders, and the plant is notably more slug-resistant than most hostas due to its exceptionally thick leaves.
2. Halcyon Hosta (Hosta ‘Halcyon’)
Widely regarded as one of the finest blue hostas in existence, Halcyon is celebrated for its smooth, heart-shaped leaves of a cool, powdery blue-grey that retains its colour well throughout the growing season. It forms a neat, symmetrical mound and produces pale lavender flowers in midsummer, making it a cornerstone plant in shade garden design.
3. Patriot Hosta (Hosta ‘Patriot’)
A bold and vigorous cultivar producing deep, forest-green leaves edged with a broad, irregular margin of clean white. The high contrast between the dark centre and bright edge gives it exceptional visual impact in shaded plantings. It is one of the most widely sold hostas in the world and performs reliably across a wide range of garden conditions.
4. Frances Williams Hosta (Hosta ‘Frances Williams’)
A classic and hugely influential hosta, bearing large, heavily puckered, blue-green leaves with wide, irregular golden-yellow margins. Introduced in the mid-20th century, it remains one of the most recognised hostas of all time and has served as a parent plant for countless subsequent cultivars. It prefers deep shade, as strong sunlight can scorch the margin.
5. Elegans Hosta (Hosta sieboldiana ‘Elegans’)
A magnificent, large-growing hosta with enormous, deeply corrugated leaves of an intense blue-grey. The heavily puckered texture gives each leaf an almost sculptural quality, and the plant forms a bold, dome-shaped mound that commands attention in any shaded border. White flowers appear in early summer and are often partially hidden beneath the foliage.
6. Golden Tiara Hosta (Hosta ‘Golden Tiara’)
A compact and exceptionally free-flowering hosta producing neat, heart-shaped, medium-green leaves edged with a bright golden-yellow border. It blooms more prolifically than most hostas, sending up tall scapes of rich purple flowers that rise well above the foliage in midsummer. Its modest size and tidy habit make it ideal for edging paths and borders.
7. Blue Angel Hosta (Hosta ‘Blue Angel’)
One of the largest and most imposing blue hostas available, producing enormous, slug-resistant leaves of a deep, glaucous blue-grey with a heavily corrugated surface. It forms a commanding, dome-shaped mound and produces near-white flowers on tall scapes in midsummer. It is particularly effective as a bold architectural specimen in large shade gardens.
8. Francee Hosta (Hosta ‘Francee’)
A reliable and versatile cultivar bearing medium to large, dark forest-green leaves edged with a clean, narrow border of pure white. It is a sport of the famous Hosta ‘Fortunei’ and is valued for its consistency, vigour, and adaptability across different soil and light conditions. It was named Hosta of the Year in 1998 by the American Hosta Society.
9. Great Expectations Hosta (Hosta ‘Great Expectations’)
A stunning and highly regarded cultivar producing large, puckered leaves with a creamy white to pale yellow centre surrounded by a wide, irregular border of blue-green and grey-green. The centre colour brightens as the season progresses, creating a luminous effect in shaded plantings. It is considered one of the most beautiful variegated hostas in cultivation.
10. Undulata Hosta (Hosta undulata)
One of the oldest hostas in cultivation, long grown in Japanese temple gardens before its introduction to the West. The narrow, lance-shaped leaves are distinctively twisted and wavy, with a white or cream centre and green margins, creating an unusual, spiralling appearance. It spreads readily by rhizome and is highly effective as a vigorous ground cover in shaded areas.
11. August Moon Hosta (Hosta ‘August Moon’)
A beautifully luminous hosta producing rounded, puckered leaves that emerge pale green before transitioning to a warm, glowing golden-yellow by midsummer. The colour intensifies with gentle sun exposure, and the plant creates a striking contrast when positioned alongside blue or dark green hostas. White to pale lavender flowers appear in late summer.
12. Blue Mammoth Hosta (Hosta ‘Blue Mammoth’)
An exceptionally large cultivar in the blue-green spectrum, producing massive, thick-textured leaves with a deep powdery blue colouring that is among the most intense of any large hosta. The substantial, corrugated foliage is highly slug-resistant and the plant forms an impressive, wide-spreading mound well suited to bold landscape plantings.
13. Guacamole Hosta (Hosta ‘Guacamole’)
Named for its distinctive apple-green to chartreuse leaf centres, this fragrant hosta is a sport of the well-known ‘Fragrant Bouquet’. The large, glossy leaves have irregular green margins and the plant produces an abundance of large, fragrant white flowers in late summer — an attribute that sets it apart from the majority of hostas, which have little to no scent.
14. Minuteman Hosta (Hosta ‘Minuteman’)
A sport of Hosta ‘Francee’, this cultivar is distinguished by its exceptionally broad, clean white margins that contrast dramatically with the very dark, glossy green leaf centres. The margin is wider and more clearly defined than in its parent, and the overall effect is bold and graphic. It performs well in a wide range of shade conditions and forms a dense, well-structured mound.
15. Liberty Hosta (Hosta ‘Liberty’)
A large and vigorous cultivar producing rich, blue-green leaves edged with a broad, irregular margin of golden-yellow that lightens to creamy white as summer progresses. The wide, textured leaves have an attractive wavy edge and the plant forms an impressive mound. It was named Hosta of the Year in 2008 and remains a benchmark for large, gold-margined cultivars.
16. Striptease Hosta (Hosta ‘Striptease’)
A unique and eye-catching cultivar notable for having a thin, precise line of white or gold running between its dark green margins and lighter green centre — a characteristic that gives the impression of a deliberate painted stripe. This unusual pattern makes it one of the most immediately identifiable hostas in any collection and is particularly effective in close-up plantings.
17. Krossa Regal Hosta (Hosta ‘Krossa Regal’)
An elegant, vase-shaped hosta quite unlike the typical mounding form, producing tall, upswept, frosty blue-grey leaves that create a fountain-like silhouette. Flower scapes can reach an impressive 1.5 m or more, bearing pale lavender blooms well above the foliage. It is one of the tallest hostas in cultivation and lends a distinctly architectural quality to shade gardens.
18. Sagae Hosta (Hosta ‘Sagae’)
A large, regal hosta formerly known as Hosta fluctuans ‘Variegated’, producing wide, grey-green leaves with irregular, creamy yellow to white margins that give it a bold, two-toned appearance. The leaves have a distinctive corrugated texture and an attractive wavy edge. It was named Hosta of the Year in 2000 and is still considered one of the finest large-leaved, variegated hostas available.
19. Earth Angel Hosta (Hosta ‘Earth Angel’)
A large, award-winning hosta producing beautifully textured, blue-grey leaves with a wide, creamy white centre that becomes more luminous as the plant matures. The smooth, wavy-edged foliage and graceful habit give it a refined elegance, and it was named Hosta of the Year in 2009. It performs best in dappled shade where the white centre glows without risk of scorching.
20. Abiqua Drinking Gourd Hosta (Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’)
A remarkable and distinctive cultivar producing large, deeply cupped, heavily puckered, blue-green leaves that curl inward so dramatically they resemble small bowls or ladles — traits that inspired its fanciful name. The unusually heavy substance of the foliage makes it one of the most slug-resistant hostas in cultivation, and it creates an extraordinary textural effect in the garden.
21. Aphrodite Hosta (Hosta plantaginea ‘Aphrodite’)
A prized cultivar of the fragrant plantain lily, producing large, glossy, bright green leaves and exceptionally fragrant, fully double white flowers that bloom in late summer and into autumn. The perfume of the flowers is among the most intense of any hosta and is powerful enough to scent a large section of the garden on a warm evening.
22. Big Daddy Hosta (Hosta ‘Big Daddy’)
A massively built hosta with large, rounded, deeply corrugated leaves of a rich, steely blue-grey. The extremely thick, heavily textured foliage is remarkably slug-resistant and the plant forms a bold, substantial mound that makes a powerful statement in any large shade planting. It produces white flowers in midsummer and is an excellent parent plant in hybridisation programmes.
23. Birchwood Parky’s Gold Hosta (Hosta ‘Birchwood Parky’s Gold’)
A cheerful, medium-sized hosta producing heart-shaped leaves that emerge green in spring before developing a warm, buttery golden-yellow colour by summer. It is more tolerant of sunlight than many gold hostas, making it a versatile choice for gardens with variable shade levels. The pale lavender flowers appear in generous quantity and attract numerous pollinators.
24. Blue Cadet Hosta (Hosta ‘Blue Cadet’)
A small to medium, rounded hosta producing dense mounds of smooth, heart-shaped leaves in a soft, powdery blue. Compact and very tidy in habit, it is well suited to edging, ground cover, and container planting. It blooms freely with lavender flowers in summer and is considered one of the best small blue hostas for general garden use, earning the Hosta of the Year title in 1996.
25. Brother Stefan Hosta (Hosta ‘Brother Stefan’)
A large, vigorous cultivar producing rounded, puckered leaves with a broadly streaked yellow-gold centre edged in rich blue-green. The leaves have a substantial, corrugated texture typical of sieboldiana hybrids, and the two-toned colouring creates a dramatic contrast. It is a sport of ‘Big Daddy’ and inherits much of its parent’s impressive, architectural character.
26. Buckshaw Blue Hosta (Hosta ‘Buckshaw Blue’)
A compact, symmetrical hosta from British breeding, producing neat, rounded, deeply cupped leaves of a particularly intense and sustained blue-grey. The cupped habit of the foliage is especially pronounced, giving the plant a sculptural quality. It holds its blue colouring better than many comparable cultivars as the season progresses and is prized by collectors for its consistency.
27. Candy Hearts Hosta (Hosta ‘Candy Hearts’)
A charming medium-sized cultivar producing heart-shaped, grey-green leaves with a smooth, slightly glossy surface and attractive wavy margins. It is valued for its neat, uniform habit and reliable slug resistance, and its soft colouring makes it a versatile companion for more dramatically coloured hostas. The lavender flowers are produced freely throughout summer.
28. Captain Kirk Hosta (Hosta ‘Captain Kirk’)
A bold, medium to large hosta producing yellow-centred leaves with wide, dark green margins and a slightly rippled edge. The high contrast between the bright yellow centre and deep green margin gives it a striking, almost theatrical appearance. The name reflects its commanding presence in the garden, and it was named Hosta of the Year in 2009 alongside other notable cultivars.
29. Cascade Hosta (Hosta ‘Cascade’)
An elegant, arching cultivar producing long, narrow leaves with attractively cascading, wavy margins that give the plant a fluid, waterfall-like quality. The foliage is a rich, glossy green and the graceful, relaxed habit makes it particularly effective at the edge of raised beds, walls, or containers where the leaves can tumble freely over the edge.
30. Cathedral Windows Hosta (Hosta ‘Cathedral Windows’)
A striking cultivar producing large, puckered leaves with a rich, golden-yellow centre surrounded by wide, blue-green margins — a reverse variegation pattern known as a medio-variegated form. The bold colour combination and deeply textured surface create a mosaic-like effect that genuinely evokes the coloured glass of a cathedral window, especially when backlit by dappled sunlight.
31. Change of Tradition Hosta (Hosta ‘Change of Tradition’)
A bold, large-growing hosta notable for its unusually wide, creamy white margins surrounding a rich, blue-green centre — a colour ratio that is the reverse of the more common dark-margined types. The wide white border creates a vivid, high-contrast effect and the plant forms a large, impressive mound well suited to prominent positions in spacious shade gardens.
32. Chinese Sunrise Hosta (Hosta ‘Chinese Sunrise’)
A fast-growing, vigorous hosta with narrow, lance-shaped leaves that emerge bright yellow-gold in spring before transitioning to green as summer advances. The early-season colour is particularly vivid and provides a welcome flash of warmth in the garden before most other plants have broken dormancy. It spreads freely and makes an excellent ground cover beneath deciduous trees.
33. Curly Fries Hosta (Hosta ‘Curly Fries’)
A wonderfully quirky miniature hosta producing narrow, strap-like, golden-yellow leaves with dramatically ruffled and crimped margins that give them an unmistakably curly, spiralling appearance. The intensely wavy foliage is unlike almost any other hosta in cultivation, and the compact size makes it ideal for trough gardens, rockeries, and small containers where its unusual form can be fully appreciated.
34. Dancing Queen Hosta (Hosta ‘Dancing Queen’)
A large, luminous hosta producing broad, heart-shaped leaves of a vivid, glowing gold that brighten considerably with gentle sun exposure. The smooth, slightly wavy-edged leaves have an attractive sheen and the plant forms a wide, eye-catching mound. It is particularly valued for its ability to retain its golden colour throughout the entire growing season without fading to pale yellow or green.
35. Devon Green Hosta (Hosta ‘Devon Green’)
A handsome, all-green cultivar prized for the exceptional quality and depth of its colouring rather than for dramatic variegation. The medium-sized, heart-shaped leaves are a rich, lustrous, deep green with a notably glossy surface and elegantly pointed tips. It is particularly valued in garden design as a calming, neutral companion to brighter or more heavily variegated hostas.
36. Diamond Tiara Hosta (Hosta ‘Diamond Tiara’)
A compact, refined cultivar that is a sport of the beloved ‘Golden Tiara’, producing neat, oval leaves with a mid-green centre edged in a clean, narrow border of creamy white. The small, tidy mound makes it perfectly suited to edging and path planting, and like its parent, it is an exceptionally prolific bloomer, producing quantities of attractive purple flowers throughout summer.
37. Dragon Tails Hosta (Hosta ‘Dragon Tails’)
An unusual and striking small hosta with long, narrow, arching, bright green leaves that taper to exaggerated, tail-like tips and have distinctly wavy, undulating margins. The cascading, dragon-tail-shaped foliage is highly distinctive and quite unlike the typical rounded hosta leaf form. It is ideal for containers, rock gardens, and the edge of raised beds where its individual character can be showcased.
38. El Capitan Hosta (Hosta ‘El Capitan’)
A large, vigorous hosta producing broad, dark green leaves edged with an irregular, creamy to golden-yellow margin that becomes more creamy white as summer progresses. The foliage is heavily textured and the plant forms a wide, commanding mound. Its bold, high-contrast colouring and large scale make it one of the more imposing variegated hostas for use in substantial border plantings.
39. Elvis Lives Hosta (Hosta ‘Elvis Lives’)
A large, boldly styled hosta producing enormous, heavily corrugated, blue-green leaves with exceptionally thick substance. The deeply puckered texture creates a quilt-like surface that catches light dramatically and is exceptionally resistant to slug damage. The name reflects the plant’s larger-than-life character, and it makes an unforgettable statement as a specimen plant in a prominent position.
40. Fire and Ice Hosta (Hosta ‘Fire and Ice’)
A visually arresting cultivar producing bold, heart-shaped leaves with a vivid, pure white centre surrounded by crisp, dark green margins — a reverse variegation that creates a striking, high-contrast effect. A sport of the famous ‘Patriot’, it retains its parent’s vigour while offering a more dramatically reversed colour pattern. It was named Hosta of the Year in 2004.
41. First Frost Hosta (Hosta ‘First Frost’)
A beautiful, medium-sized cultivar producing blue-green leaves edged with a wide, creamy gold margin that brightens to near-white as the season advances. The overall effect is cool and luminous, evoking the name’s imagery of a frost-touched garden in autumn. It was named Hosta of the Year in 2010 and is considered one of the best medium-sized, gold-margined blue hostas available.
42. Fortunei Aureomarginata Hosta (Hosta fortunei ‘Aureomarginata’)
One of the most widely grown hostas in the world, this classic cultivar bears large, mid-green to grey-green leaves with a golden-yellow margin that is brightest in spring and early summer. It is reliable, long-lived, and tolerant of a wide range of garden conditions, making it a staple plant in traditional shade garden planting schemes across temperate climates.
43. Fragrant Bouquet Hosta (Hosta ‘Fragrant Bouquet’)
A medium to large hosta prized above all for its intensely fragrant white flowers, which bloom abundantly in late summer and fill surrounding areas with a sweet, lily-like perfume on warm evenings. The apple-green leaves have creamy yellow margins and are attractive in their own right, but it is the remarkable fragrance that has made this cultivar a perennial favourite in gardens worldwide.
44. Frosted Jade Hosta (Hosta ‘Frosted Jade’)
A large and elegant hosta producing broad, wavy-edged, jade-green leaves with an irregular, creamy white margin that softens and brightens the overall appearance. The smooth, glossy foliage has an attractive freshness throughout the season and the plant forms a wide, lush mound. It is particularly well suited to woodland garden settings where its cool, refined colouring can be fully appreciated.
45. Galaxy Hosta (Hosta ‘Galaxy’)
A medium to large cultivar producing rich, blue-green leaves decorated with an irregular, creamy white margin of varying width, giving each leaf a slightly different pattern — a quality that contributes to the plant’s informal, naturalistic charm. The lavender flowers are produced on tall, elegant scapes and the overall character of the plant is relaxed and graceful rather than stiff or formal.
46. Ginkgo Craig Hosta (Hosta ‘Ginkgo Craig’)
A compact, low-growing cultivar producing narrow, lance-shaped leaves with white margins that form a dense, spreading mat of foliage. The slender leaf shape is quite atypical for hostas and gives the plant a delicate, grass-like appearance that makes it particularly useful as an edging plant along paths or at the front of shaded borders. The purple flowers are freely produced throughout summer.
47. Gold Standard Hosta (Hosta ‘Gold Standard’)
A landmark cultivar in the history of hosta breeding, this vigorous plant produces large, heart-shaped leaves that emerge green before transitioning dramatically to a rich, glowing gold with narrow dark green margins by midsummer. Named Hosta of the Year in 1994, it remains one of the best-known gold-centred hostas and has served as a parent for numerous subsequent cultivars.
48. Golden Meadows Hosta (Hosta ‘Golden Meadows’)
A large, impressive cultivar producing heavily corrugated, puckered leaves with a vivid golden-yellow centre edged in wide, blue-green margins. The deeply textured, corrugated surface and strong two-toned colouring give this hosta an almost exotic appearance, and the substantial leaf texture provides excellent slug resistance. It forms a bold, wide mound ideal for prominent positions in large shade gardens.
49. Hadspen Blue Hosta (Hosta ‘Hadspen Blue’)
A superb small to medium blue hosta from the famous Hadspen Garden in Somerset, England, producing dense mounds of perfectly formed, rounded, smooth, powdery blue-grey leaves. The foliage maintains its blue colouring exceptionally well throughout the season, resisting the tendency to fade to green that affects many blue hostas in warm, dry summers. It is a benchmark plant in small blue hosta breeding.
50. Halcyon Blue Hosta (Hosta ‘Halcyon’)
Among the most refined of all the blue-grey hostas, bearing smooth, elegantly pointed, heart-shaped leaves of a distinctive silvery blue-grey that retains exceptional colour intensity even into late summer. Bred at Hadspen Garden, it is a child of the groundbreaking Hosta ‘Tardiana’ group and remains a gold standard against which all other blue hostas are measured by growers and collectors alike.
51. Hydon Sunset Hosta (Hosta ‘Hydon Sunset’)
A small, compact cultivar producing neat, rounded leaves that emerge yellow-gold and gradually develop red-tinted petioles that add a charming seasonal detail to the plant’s appearance. The warm, sunny colouring is particularly vivid in spring and early summer, and the plant’s modest size makes it well suited to container culture and small-scale shade garden compositions.
52. Invincible Hosta (Hosta ‘Invincible’)
A medium-sized cultivar valued for its glossy, bright green, lance-shaped leaves and exceptional fragrance — the intensely perfumed white flowers blooming reliably in late summer even in challenging, dry conditions. It is one of the most heat-tolerant hostas available and, as its name suggests, performs robustly where other hostas might struggle, making it a practical and beautiful choice for difficult garden positions.
53. Island Breeze Hosta (Hosta ‘Island Breeze’)
A cheerful, medium-sized hosta with broadly oval leaves featuring a bright yellow centre surrounded by wide, glaucous blue-green margins. The combination of warm yellow and cool blue gives the foliage a particularly fresh, vibrant quality, and the attractive contrast is maintained well throughout the growing season. It pairs beautifully with ferns, astilbes, and other shade-loving perennials.
54. June Hosta (Hosta ‘June’)
One of the most widely acclaimed hostas of the modern era, producing medium-sized leaves with a spectacular golden-yellow to chartreuse centre surrounded by wide, blue-grey margins. Named Hosta of the Year in 2001, it was a breakthrough cultivar in terms of combining intense blue and gold colouring in one plant. A sport of ‘Halcyon’, it inherits its parent’s refined character while adding dramatic central colour.
55. Komodo Dragon Hosta (Hosta ‘Komodo Dragon’)
A massive, imposing cultivar producing enormous, heavily corrugated, dark green leaves with a robust, prehistoric-looking texture that perfectly justifies its formidable name. The plant forms one of the largest mounds of any dark green hosta and the extraordinarily thick, heavily puckered foliage provides outstanding resistance to slug damage. It is a commanding, dominant presence in large-scale shade plantings.
56. Lemon Lime Hosta (Hosta ‘Lemon Lime’)
A fast-growing, miniature hosta producing small, wavy-edged, narrow leaves of a vivid chartreuse-yellow that glows brilliantly in the garden, especially when caught by dappled light. Despite its tiny individual leaves, it spreads into a wide, shaggy, ground-hugging mat with remarkable speed and is one of the most useful small hostas for ground cover use along shaded paths and beneath shrubs.
57. Loyalist Hosta (Hosta ‘Loyalist’)
A vigorous, medium to large cultivar producing bold, heart-shaped leaves with a wide, clean white centre and strong, dark green margins. A sport of the ever-popular ‘Patriot’, it provides an even more dramatic contrast between its vivid white centre and the deep, glossy green margin. The crisp, graphic quality of the variegation makes it one of the most visually striking medium-sized hostas available.
58. Maraschino Cherry Hosta (Hosta ‘Maraschino Cherry’)
A distinctive and desirable cultivar noted for its striking petioles — the leaf stalks — which are a vivid, deep cherry-red, providing a rare splash of warm colour among the typical greens and blues of the hosta palette. The lance-shaped, glossy green leaves are attractive in their own right, but it is the colourful stems that make this cultivar a collector’s favourite and a talking point in any shade planting.
59. Night Before Christmas Hosta (Hosta ‘Night Before Christmas’)
A dramatic, large cultivar producing bold, dark green leaves with a striking, broad, pure white centre that creates an intensely high-contrast effect throughout the growing season. Named Hosta of the Year in 2002, it is one of the most eye-catching of all the white-centred hostas and performs reliably in a wide range of shade conditions, maintaining its crisp variegation without reverting to all-green growth.
60. Northern Exposure Hosta (Hosta ‘Northern Exposure’)
A large, imposing hosta producing wide, heavily corrugated, blue-grey leaves edged with a creamy white to gold margin of considerable width. The substantial leaf texture and strong contrasting colours give it a bold, almost dramatic quality, and the plant forms a large, impressive mound. It is considered one of the finest large-leaved, blue-margined hostas with gold edging in contemporary cultivation.
61. Pandora’s Box Hosta (Hosta ‘Pandora’s Box’)
A tiny, jewel-like miniature hosta producing minuscule leaves with a creamy white centre edged in dark green — essentially a diminutive version of the bold variegation seen in much larger cultivars. The plant is remarkably slow-growing but forms a perfect, precise little mound that is irresistible to hosta collectors and rock gardeners. Its small scale makes it ideal for trough gardens and tabletop container displays.
62. Paradigm Hosta (Hosta ‘Paradigm’)
A large, luxuriant hosta producing deeply corrugated, puckered leaves with a vivid gold to chartreuse centre broadly surrounded by blue-green margins. The heavily textured, substantial foliage is notably slug-resistant and the bold, two-toned colouring is maintained well throughout the season. It was named Hosta of the Year in 2006 and remains a benchmark cultivar for large, gold-centred hostas.
63. Pineapple Poll Hosta (Hosta ‘Pineapple Poll’)
A small, characterful hosta producing narrow, lance-shaped, bright yellow-gold leaves with a distinctly glossy, slightly rippled surface. The vivid colour and compact, clump-forming habit make it ideal for edging and path planting in partially shaded positions. The pale lavender flowers are produced freely on relatively tall scapes and provide a pleasing contrast to the warm-toned foliage below.
64. Plant It Black Hosta (Hosta ‘Plant It Black’)
A unique and striking cultivar producing leaves of an extraordinarily deep, dark green so intense that it approaches near-black in certain light conditions — the darkest foliage colouring achieved in any hosta to date. The glossy, pointed leaves create a dramatic, moody effect in shade garden plantings and provide exceptional contrast when paired with pale gold or white-margined companions.
65. Regal Splendor Hosta (Hosta ‘Regal Splendor’)
A superb sport of the famous ‘Krossa Regal’, inheriting its parent’s elegant, vase-shaped, upswept habit while adding a broad, creamy white margin to the grey-blue leaf. The combination of the distinctive architectural form and the striking variegation makes it one of the most elegant hostas in cultivation, and the tall flower scapes bear attractive pale lavender blooms well above the foliage in midsummer.
66. Shade Fanfare Hosta (Hosta ‘Shade Fanfare’)
A compact to medium-sized hosta producing bright, light green leaves with a broad, creamy yellow margin that fades to a clean white by midsummer. It is an outstanding performer in dense shade and is notably more tolerant of poor conditions than many cultivars. Named Hosta of the Year in 1986, it was among the first hostas to receive this accolade and helped establish the importance of the gold-margined group in garden cultivation.
67. Sieboldiana Hosta (Hosta sieboldiana)
The species from which a vast number of the world’s most important hosta cultivars have been derived, native to Japan and prized since antiquity for its enormous, intensely blue-grey, deeply puckered foliage. The broad, rounded leaves can reach extraordinary dimensions in optimal conditions and the plant forms a grand, commanding mound that has influenced shade garden design across the world since its introduction to Western horticulture in the 19th century.
68. Tokudama Hosta (Hosta tokudama)
A slow-growing, highly distinctive Japanese species producing cupped, deeply corrugated leaves of a rich, intense blue-grey. The cup-shaped, bowl-like form of the foliage is more pronounced than in almost any other hosta species, and the plant is venerated in Japan for its refined, contemplative quality. Though it grows slowly and takes many years to form a large clump, the wait is universally considered worthwhile by collectors.
69. Whirlwind Hosta (Hosta ‘Whirlwind’)
A dynamic, vigorous cultivar producing heart-shaped leaves with a creamy white to pale yellow centre and irregular, streaky green and grey-green margins that give the foliage a swirling, turbulent appearance perfectly capturing the essence of its evocative name. The plant brightens significantly in midsummer as the centre lightens, and the lavender flowers are produced generously on tall scapes above the spirited-looking foliage.
70. Wide Brim Hosta (Hosta ‘Wide Brim’)
A popular, medium to large cultivar producing rounded, puckered, blue-green leaves edged with a broad, irregular, golden to creamy yellow margin. Named Hosta of the Year in 1996, it has remained a garden staple for decades due to its reliability, slug resistance, and the handsome, classic quality of its wide-brimmed variegation. It grows into a substantial, well-rounded mound and is equally effective as a specimen or mass planting.
How to grow hostas
Save light shade to shade place in your garden to plant hostas. Filtered sun is best for the colorful varieties to reach their full color contrast. The green and blue hostas are the most shade-tolerant. Usually the yellow cultivars are the most sun-tolerant. The most dangerous is a direct sunshine, especially hot afternoon sun. This is the most critical where temperatures are high. Variegated varieties, especially those with a lot of white in the leaves, burn very easily. Blue color of leaves turns to green-blue or even fully green with too much direct sun. Plants with thick leaves are better suited for dry soil conditions than thin-leaved ones, but none is able to grow years-long in very dry soil. Plant hostas in moist, humus-rich soil. Water your hostas well immediately as you plant them. Give them water regularly during their first one or two growing season.
Hostas grow slowly and may take 2 to 5 years to reach their full size, longer for the largest species and cultivars. Reserve a plenty of space in your perennial bed for hostas. Most of them are medium sized or large perennials. Hostas are almost fully disease and pest resistant. The most dangerous injury can by caused by slugs, snails and deers.