Variegated hostas carry two or more colours in every leaf: a white or cream edge, a gold centre, a blue-green border, sometimes fine streaks. In a shady garden they read as patches of light.
Variegated hostas
One clump of Patriot, with its crisp white edge, or Fire and Ice, its white-centred opposite, is enough to lift a dark corner from late spring until the first frosts.
This collection brings together every patterned hosta in our range, from miniatures for troughs and pots to giants for the back of a border. Some also offer fragrant flowers or thick leaves that slugs tend to leave alone.
The one thing to get right is light. White-centred varieties want the most shade, white and cream edges are more forgiving, and gold or yellow patterns colour up best with a few hours of morning sun. In humus-rich soil that stays moist, most variegated hostas are as easy to grow as plain green ones.
Every pack contains 2 plants of the same variety and comes with our 100% growing guarantee. Orders ship from 1 March to 1 July, in time for spring planting.
Three questions narrow the choice quickly: which pattern you like, which colours suit your garden and how much room you have. The answers also tell you how much light the plant will want.
Edge-variegated hostas have a green or blue leaf with a paler margin. They are the classic type: vigorous, forgiving and happy in shade or partial shade, with morning sun if you like. Francee and Minuteman are edged in white, Wide Brim in yellow.
Centre-variegated hostas turn the pattern around, with a pale centre framed by a darker edge. They catch the eye from across the garden. White centres, as in Lakeside Paisley Print or the miniature Pandora's Box, contain no chlorophyll, so the plant relies on its green edge and grows more slowly: give these varieties shade and shelter. Gold centres, as in Orange Marmalade, are tougher and glow brightest with a little morning sun.
A few varieties go further, with speckles or streaks. Revolution, for example, has a white centre flecked with green.
White and cream variegation looks crisp and cool, and stays bright even in deep shade. Yellow and gold feel warmer and often shift through the season: many yellow edges fade to cream by midsummer, while gold centres turn richer with more light. Blue leaves with a cream or gold edge, such as First Frost or Frances Williams, add a third look. To compare colours side by side, browse our white and cream hostas and yellow and gold hostas.
Size decides where a hosta works best. Miniatures such as Mini Skirt and Mighty Mouse suit pots, troughs and rock gardens, where the pattern can be seen up close. Medium varieties edge a path or fill a border and look best in groups: two packs make a drift of four plants. Giants such as Sagae and Regal Splendor take a few years to reach full size, then hold the centre of a border on their own. Allow about 30 cm between small varieties, 50 cm between medium ones and 75–100 cm between large ones.
Patterned leaves look best next to plain ones. Set a white-edged hosta beside a solid blue hosta, or a gold-centred one against dark green ferns, and both plants gain. Too many patterns side by side cancel each other out, so repeat one variety along a path or a border edge and let a single giant act as the focal point.
Set the crown, the point where the shoots emerge, at soil level, in humus-rich soil that stays moist but drains well. Water at the base rather than over the leaves and add a layer of mulch: pale leaf tissue scorches sooner when the roots run dry. Slugs and snails go for the young shoots in spring, so check the plants after rain. Some varieties, such as Praying Hands, are far less affected; you will find more in our slug-resistant hostas.
New to hostas? A Hosta of the Year winner is a safe first choice, because the award goes to varieties that grow well in many different gardens. Most of the winners we sell are variegated, among them Patriot (1997), Guacamole (2002), Stained Glass (2006), First Frost (2010), Praying Hands (2011) and Liberty (2012). More winners are in our Hosta of the Year collection.
For something different, Raspberry Sundae and Cherry Berry pair a white centre with red leaf stems, while Guacamole and Stained Glass add fragrant flowers in summer. More scented varieties are in our fragrant hostas.
It depends on the pattern. White-centred varieties need shade or light shade, white and cream edges cope with morning sun, and yellow or gold patterns colour best with a few hours of it. Most should be kept out of hot afternoon sun. A few, such as Sagae, Liberty, Fragrant Bouquet and Sugar and Spice, take more light as long as the soil stays moist. See all our sun-tolerant hostas.
Usually for one of two reasons. Some gold and chartreuse patterns naturally turn greener in deep shade or as summer goes on. The other cause is reversion: the plant sends up a plain green shoot. Green shoots grow faster than variegated ones and can slowly take over the clump, so dig them out with a piece of root in spring. White-centred hostas such as Undulata Mediovariegata do this more often than edge-variegated ones.
Edge-variegated hostas are not: they grow as easily as plain green varieties. White-centred hostas ask a little more. They grow more slowly, scorch sooner in sun or dry soil and do best in a sheltered, shady spot with steady moisture. If you are new to hostas, start with an edge-variegated variety or a Hosta of the Year winner.
Miniature and small varieties stay compact enough to live in a pot: Mini Skirt, Pandora's Box, Minuteman and Cherry Berry are good examples. Medium hostas such as Patriot and Fire and Ice also do well in a large container. Use a pot with drainage holes and good potting soil, and water regularly, because pots dry out faster than garden soil.
Design & companions
A good shade border is built in layers: large hostas and tall partners at the back, medium hostas in the middle and small ones at the front. Repeat a few varieties in groups of three or five, contrast broad hosta leaves with fine ferns or grasses, and add spring bulbs for colour before the hostas wake.
4 min read
Order and pay now, and your bare-root hostas ship from 1 March. Here is how pre-ordering works and what to expect when your plants arrive.
3 min read
Bare-root or potted hostas? An honest comparison of price, choice, timing and how well each grows, so you can pick the right one for your garden.
4 min read
