Digging deeperPlant Library

Wide Brim Hosta foliage

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Other Names:  Plantain Lily, Funkia

Ornamental Features

Wide Brim Hosta features dainty spikes of lavender bell-shaped flowers rising above the foliage in mid summer. Its attractive textured heart-shaped leaves remain bluish-green in color with showy creamy white variegation and tinges of gold throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Wide Brim Hosta is a dense herbaceous perennial with tall flower stalks held atop a low mound of foliage. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting hummingbirds to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Insects

Wide Brim Hosta is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Wide Brim Hosta will grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity extending to 26 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 32 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 28 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in partial shade to shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.