Common Name: hosta
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Asparagaceae
Zone: 3 to 8
Height: 1.00 to 3.00 feet
Spread: 2.00 to 3.00 feet
Bloom Time: July to August
Bloom Description: Purple
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Flower: Showy
Leaf: Colorful
Attracts: Hummingbirds
Tolerate: Heavy Shade, Black Walnut
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in part shade to full shade. Tolerates full sun in cool summer climates. Elsewhere it is best in part shade (some morning sun). Plants are tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions. Plants perform best in rich, moist, organic soils, with a preference for consistent moisture during the growing season, but plants have tolerance for some dry shade once established. Water is best applied directly to the soil beneath the leaves. Divide plants as needed in spring or autumn. Division is usually easiest in early spring before the leaves unfurl. Hosta ventricosa is one of the few hostas that will come true from seed. Seeds are produced without fertilization by pseudogamous apomixis which is a form of vegetative reproduction known as agamospermy. Species plants cannot be used in hybridization as seed parents because the seedlings are simply vegetative clones of the mother plant. Species plants can serve as pollen parents however.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Hosta ventricosa is a large, naturally occurring tetraploid hosta that is native to China and North Korea. It grows in a rounded mound to 22" tall spreading to 36" wide. Thin, smooth, shiny, cordate, broad-ovate, dark green leaves (9" by 8") have widely spaced veins, undulate margins and mucronate tips. Leaves develop strong ribbing as they mature. Bell-shaped, purple to violet flowers bloom in late summer to early autumn on upright, leafy, burgundy-spotted, pale green scapes (32-38"). Stearn.
Genus name honors Austrian botanist Nicholas Thomas Host (1761-1834) and was first established in 1812. The genus was subsequently renamed in 1817 as Funkia in honor of botanist Heinrich Christian Funk under the belief at that time that Hosta was an invalid name. Hosta was finally reinstated as the genus name in 1905 by the International Botanical Congress.
Specific epithet means having a swelling on one side.
Funkia remains a popular common name today in some areas. An additional common name for plants in this genus is plantain lily (foliage is somewhat plantain-like and flowers are somewhat lily-like in some species).
'Aureomaculata' is a medium to large, clump-forming hosta (sport of H. ventricosa) that typically grows in a mound to 15" tall spreading to 36" wide. Broad-oval, chartreuse to yellow leaves (to 8" long by 6" wide) have irregular dark green margins and dark green center streaking. From Latin, the cultivar name means blotched ("maculata") gold ("aureo") in reference to the leaves. Each leaf features widely spaced veins (9 pairs), cuspidate tips and pinched cordate lobes. Bell-shaped, purple flowers bloom in a terminal raceme in mid to late summer (July-August) atop an upright scape rising well above the foliage to 32-38" tall. Registered by K. Hansen and AHS in 1987.
Problems
Slugs and snails are attracted to the foliage, chewing jagged holes in the leaves, and if left unchecked, can cause serious damage over a fairly short period of time. Leaf spots and crown rot are less frequent problems. Otherwise, hostas are virtually pest-free and are considered ideal low-maintenance garden perennials. Leaves, particularly of exposed plants, can be severely damaged by hail storms. Leaves of Hosta ventricosa are thin and may scorch along the edges in the hot summers of the deep South even when grown in full shade.
Uses
Hostas are a mainstay of shade gardens. This large mounded hosta makes an interesting garden specimen. It is also effective in groups or massed. It can be mixed with other perennials in shady borders, shade gardens or woodland gardens. Edging.
This large, yellow-leaved hosta will help lighten dark and shady landscape areas.