Hosta Stained

By admin 　http://www.celestial-farms.com/hosta-stained/

Hostas-Working with Different Colors

Hostas are no longer just plain green! With tissue culture and endless hybridizing, the possibilities in foliage colors are seemingly endless. Besides these main colors below, hostas can have different variegation patterns like margins, streaks, misting, or speckles.

Blue-green: Blue hostas are actually green hostas with a wax coating, called a glaucous bloom. Blue hostas are better for shadier areas because in too much sun, this wax will melt off, turning the hosta green. It takes until maturity (3-5 years of age) for the hosta to be at its bluest. How blue it will get depends on the variety. Examples include ‘Big Daddy,’ ‘Blue Mouse Ears,’ ‘Fragrant Blue,’ ‘Gentle Giant,’ and ‘Sleeping Beauty.’

Green: Green hostas can range from yellow-green to very dark green. Some also have yellow or white margins of varying width. Examples include ‘Aphrodite,’ ‘Christmas Pageant,’ ‘Empress Wu,’ ‘Marilyn Monroe,’ and ‘Victory.’

Yellow: Yellow hostas add bursts of color to your garden. Yellow hostas have less chlorophyll, so they need more sun than a dark green or blue hosta. Without enough sun, a yellow hosta might appear chartreuse. Examples include ‘Cracker Crumbs,’ ‘Daybreak,’ ‘Fire Island,’ ‘Rainforest Sunrise,’ and ‘Stained Glass.’

White: White hostas need more sun due to their lack of chlorophyll. They have green or blue margins. Examples include ‘Dancing in the Rain,’ ‘Fire and Ice,’ ‘Night before Christmas,’ ‘Pandora’s Box,’ and ‘Whirlwind.’

In designing your garden, colors should complement one another. Too many variegated, flashy hostas might not go together, which looks disorganized. A simple trick is to pair a variegated hosta with a solid hosta of the same color. Solid hostas can provide a nice transition from one variegated hosta to the next, so your garden flows instead of looking spotty.

About the Author

Tom Carlson is the owner and president of HostasDirect, Inc, and IDealGardenMarkers, Inc. He is a hosta enthusiast, with 400 in his personal collection and growing! HostasDirect offers over 400 hosta varieties and 3 disease-free maturities for sale, shipping nationwide. HostasDirect is also a site for hosta information, featuring HostaSearch, a database of 6,900 hostas, and 6,000 pictures, searchable by 70 traits. IDealGardenMarkers offers attractive garden stakes and customizable labels for sale.

Chapter 23 – The Invisible Man by HG Wells