In Mr. PGC's opinion, not every hosta has an outstanding trait
that jumps out at you the minute you see it. Those types of
plants are few and far between. They are the ones that become
the "Classic
Hostas" known to most
Hostaphiles around the world.
However, each hosta cultivar or
species has one or more traits that help to make it useful in
the home landscape. Hostas given labels for the following traits
show some sort of unique or "special" characteristic which helps
to separate them from other hostas. By labeling the hosta
cultivars, we hope to assist the gardener if finding plants to
fill certain roles in the home garden. Afterall, there are
closing in on 10,000 cultivars of hostas and we need to have
some ways to try to make some sense of this volume of plants
when choosing the 10 or 20 types that we want for our suburban
or urban backyard shade garden.
The
base colors of hostas leaves include shades of
green, blue-green, yellow (gold) and white. This is
defined as the color that covers 60% or more of the
leaf surface. Also included in this trait is
variegation which is, perhaps, the most important
feature that draws many people to hostas.
Variegation consists of an area of the leaf that is
not the same as the base color of that leaf. The two
most common variegation forms are marginal (along
the edge of the leaf) and medial (variegation in the
center of the leaf). The third form is called
streaked where specks of color different from the
base color appear on the leaf surface.
Leaf color will be
identified for a plant if it is the trait that helps
to make a particular plant "landscape useful". Leaf
color may help to make the plant standout on its own
or to be a complement to other nearby plants. A
plant will fall into this category if it has
"outstanding" color in some way such as a deep blue
or brilliant gold margin.
Some
hostas stand out from the crowd simply because of
their size. Of course, the most common example would
be those huge plants that are outstanding specimens
on their own. On the other extreme are the miniature
size plants which are very tiny and work only in the
very front of the border or in containers.
Most
hostas have a rounded form to their clump. However,
there are certain plants that have a more
vase-shaped or upright form which is unique in
itself. Some hostas have an "unruly" form with
foliage that flops here and there on its own.
Most
hosta flowers range in color from pure white to
lavender to purple and shades in between. The
majority of them are bell-shaped and single with 6
tepals (combination of petals and sepals). So,
flowers receiving this label have some unique or
outstanding feature above and beyond the ordinary.
They may have outstanding color, shape, season of
bloom, height of scapes, etc.
Hostas
are known for their foliage. There are several
non-color traits that relate to the leaves that can
help to differentiate one cultivar from another.
Also, these traits can help to enhance (or detract)
the value of the plant in the home landscape.
Outstanding or unique leaf traits that we try to
identify include leaf corrugation, ripples, waviness
and thickness or substance.
In
recent decades, the color red has become more
prominent in hostas. Hybridizers and others are
trying their best to create new hostas with not only
red petioles and flower scapes but red also moving
up into the leaf blade. Cultivars with this
designation are noted for unique or unusual red
coloration.
This
is a catch-all category where we hope to designate
those hostas that are truly "unique" for some
reason. The criteria for being cast in this way are
difficult to quantify. It may describe a "one of a
kind" hosta or a plant that has a "one of a kind"
individual trait. This is one of those, "you'll know
a unique hosta when you see one" things.
