Growing Large Hosta Plants

Given the growing room, the very large hosta plants are an awesome sight in a shade garden. Huge hosta foliage in any landscape can cover from three feet to seven feet in width, from three feet to five feet in height (some are grown even larger), and send up scapes of five to six feet.

Hosta plants (Genus: Hosta) in the shade garden are easy care, hardy, perennials that are grown primarily for their beautiful foliage. The plant can survive for decades with little care. The leaves grow in a range of shapes, colors, sizes, and different textures. The hosta leaves may be solid in color or variegated in different colors of blue, green, white, and gold. There are thousands of cultivars on the market.

Choosing a Hosta

Hosta plants are usually chosen according to the mature size of large, medium, or small. Some gardeners choose the plants based on color. The leaves or blooms may be the chosen color, but the size of the plant, once matured, may be a disappointment. Here are five very large hosta garden plants favored by many:

Sum & Substance

• One of the biggest hostas currently available
• Huge, rounded, glossy leaves in colors from chartreuse to gold.
• Excellent texture
• Loose and sagging structure
• From 36″ high x 60″ wide and larger
• Pale lavender flowers

Krossa Regal

• Very large
• Frosty, blue-gray leaves
• Upright and arching structure to form a large vase-shaped plant
• From 30″ high x 60″ wide
• Lavender flowers on scapes up to 5′ tall
• Note: One of the best and most popular hosta. It is ideal as a backdrop for lower growing hostas. Thick leaves resist slug damage.

Earth Angel

• Large
• Heart-shaped leaves with a wide creamy-white margin.
• From 30″ high x 40″ wide, or larger
• Pale lavender flowers
• Note: As Earth Angel matures the margin feathers into the leaf center. A cultivar from Blue Angel and a spectacular hosta.

Blue Angel

• Very large
• Blue at maturity, with heart-shaped leaves, nicely veined
• From 36″ high x 60″ wide
• White flowers
• Note: Plants are known to grow 7′ or more in width.

Sagae

• Very large
• Heart-shaped veined leaves with wavy edges
• From 30″ high x 60″ wide
• Pale lavender flowers
• Note: The leaves emerge bright green with deep golden yellow margins. Later in the growing season the leaves turn frosty, silver gray-green with creamy white margins. Sagae needs two to three years for the leaves to look their best.

Hosta Pictures

Bridgewood Gardens is rated ‚”Top Five” of the five highest rated mail order nurseries by Dave’s Garden. They have over 300 plant varieties and an extensive library of hosta pictures. There is even a slideshow of ‚”Just Pretty Pictures” on the web site.

Growing Hostas

Growing Hostas, a fact sheet from the Ohio State University Horticulture and Crop Science Extension, by Gretchen Heinke, Master Gardener, and Jane Martin, Extension Agent, is very informative. The fact sheet gives extensive information on everything hostas.

Hosta plants are widely available in nurseries, garden centers, and the Internet. Choosing is the only difficulty with growing hostas.