Great Expectations Hosta

Hosta 'Great Expectations'

Great Expectations Hosta is a compact shade-loving herbaceous perennial primarily grown for its foliage.  The large puckered basal leaves have wide dark green margins and fern green streaks between the margins and the ever changing center, which emerges chartreuse than shifts to yellow, then cream, then white as the season progresses.  Small bell-like pale lavender flowers raise up in terminals from the tall spikes in mid summer attracting butterflies and pollinators.  Best color in partial sun and moist well-drained soils.  Blue Cadet has good slug resistance.

MAINTENANCE NEEDS:   Low maintenance.  Snails and slugs can cause severe problems if left unchecked.  Foliar nematodes can cause interveinal browning. Plants infected with Hosta Virus X (HVX), tobacco rattle virus or tomato ring spot virus should be immediately removed from garden areas and destroyed.  Otherwise, little to no problems.

LANDSCAPE USES:  Accents or Group Plantings, Borders, Woodland Gardens, Naturalized Areas, Rock Gardens, and Containers.

COMPANION PLANTS:   Columbine,  Lungwort,  Bleeding Heart

IMAGES: Photo by David J. Stang,  Hosta Great Expectations 1zz, CC BY-SA 4.0, (2) Deb Nystrom, Hosta variety, mid-spring garden, 2016, (3) Jereme Rauckman, Hosta and ferns, (4) Jean Jones, Hosta

*As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown.