Habitat: part shade
Soil: with plenty of humus
Height: 10 cm
Flowering: summer
Width: 15 cm
Hostas are normally grown for their foliage, and cultivars have been produced with an astonishing variety of leaf shape, colour and size. Most of broad, rounded leaves with a pointed tip, and these may be blue-grey, green, yellow or cream, and striped in any number of ways with any of the other colours. Most have leaves 20 to30 cm long, but there are lovely miniatures, and a few bigger ones. Relatively tall stems carry the tubular flowers, which are almost invariably white or pale purply blue, and rarely add much to the attractiveness of the plants. In autumn they die down, so the leaves are easily cleared away, ready to emerge in spring.
Hosta 'Twist of Lime' is one of the increasing number of dwarf varieties, in this case with the central part of the leaves being bright lime green, the edges darker, more of a blue-green.
9 cm pot £6.00
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| Hosta 'Albomarginata' has large, shield-shaped leaves, deep green with creamy-white margins that turn white with age. (Don't we all?) The flowers are mauve. | |
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| Hosta 'Apple Green' is a dwarf variety, making a dense mound of fresh, apple green, oval-shaped leaves. The lilac flowers are on short stems, in keeping with the stature of the plant. | |
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| Hosta 'Blue Moon' is one that has so-called blue leaves, although in reality they are glaucous, a bluish grey, but it is its very small size and neat habit, enhanced by the white flower, that make it outstanding in a prime position. | |
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| Hosta 'Fire and Ice' is a great variegated hosta with huge splashes of cream on the leaves with just enough space left for green edging. Spikes of lilac flowers. | |
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| Hosta 'Frances Williams' has leaves that are yellowish green along the outer margin, but a darker, metallic colour in the large, central area. They are heart-shaped and strongly puckered, about 20 cm long. The flowers are greyish white. | |
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| Hosta 'Gingko Craig' is a vigorous but small variety, soon forming a good clump. The leaves are lance-shaped, dark green with narrow white margins. | |
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| Hosta ex 'Gingko Craig' are seedlings from a variety with lance-shaped, dark green leaves with narrow white margins. The plants are very similar to the parent. | |
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| Hosta 'Gold Edger' produces a mound of flat, heart-shaped pale green leaves with pale lavender flowers on relatively tall spikes. A great plant that looks after itself and multiplies rapidly. Works well as a cut flower in a vase. | |
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| Hosta 'Hadspen Blue' has blue-green leaves, probably the bluest of a hosta, but not nearly as blue as in most of the photographs you will find on the web! The leaves are heart-shaped, and only about 10 cm across, so this is not one of the really large varieties. The flowers are violet. | |
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| Hosta 'Halcyon' is one of the best and most popular of the blue-leaved hosta cultivars, as it is deemed to retain its blue leaf colouring for longer than most others. The heart-shaped and heavily textured leaves form tight clumps. Lots of lilac-blue, bell-shaped flowers grow on long sturdy stems. | |
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| Hosta 'Krossa Regale' is a particularly strong erect form with glaucous blue large leaves and pale lilac flowers. | |
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| Hosta 'Little White Lines' has a neat, compact habit. The narrow leaves are green with white margins and the summer flowers are purple. | |
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| Hosta 'Painted Lady' is distinguished by its foliage, which is rather longer than wide, pointed at the tip, and green, with a hint of blue, and lined along each edge with a narrow strip of white. | |
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| Hosta 'Paradise Puppet' is a compact variety, with small, tapering green leaves and lilac flowers in summer. An excellent ground-cover variety. | |
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| Hosta 'Patriot' is a variety in which the lavender flowers provide added interest in late summer, over the mid green leaves, which have broad margins of pale cream. | |
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| Hosta 'Praying Hands' is unique in the way the leaves are rolled into a tubular shape, and are held upright, showing the prominent veins and shiny underside. The leaves are dark green and crinkled, with gold-yellow margins, and the flowers are lavender. | |
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| Hosta 'Revolution' has leaves with wide, dark green margins and cream in the centre, with the green speckled through it. It has spikes of lavender flowers. | |
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| Hosta 'Robyn's choice' is a sport of the well-known Hosta 'Hadspen Blue', with the blue-green leaves in this case having broad central bands of pale golden yellow. | |
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| Hosta sieboldiana var. elegans is one of the biggest commonly grown Hosta varieties, with large, round, corrugated, blue-grey leaves, and pale lilac flowers. It is resistant to slug damage, which can be a problem with hostas. | |
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| Hosta sp. dwarf is an unidentified variety, very compact, with narrow, pointed leaves, solid green, and purple flowers. | |
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| Hosta 'Stiletto' is an attractive, compact variety with thin ripple-edged leaves showing cream and green variegation. There are lavender-purple flowers in summer and it is excellent for growing in a container. | |
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| Hosta undulata var. univittata has foliage patterned with wide cream centres and green edges. | |
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| Hosta 'Valentine Lace' has heart-shaped, blue-grey leaves, which are deeply veined and have wavy edges. It is more compact the Hosta sieboldii var. elegans, which is probably the most regularly available blue-grey variety. | |
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| Hosta 'Wogon' is a neat, small hosta with a gentle, golden green leaf colour and lavender flowers in summer. It is perfect for a container. |