Hostas are often touted as the best shade garden plants, which would be hard to dispute. Hosta species are found in the wild in China, Japan, and Korea, in both shady woodlands and open, sunny prairies. In cultivation, hosta plants readily mutate and have produced thousands of novel colors and leaf forms. Add hosta breeders to the mix and now there are now over 6,000 named hostas on the market...of course, not all 6,000 are gems. Plant Delights has evaluated thousands of hostas and has assembled a large and diverse collection of the very best hosta for sale.
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For the best performance, hosta plants prefer woodland garden conditions…light shade to a couple of hours of morning sun. Good soil preparation and moist soil is the key to growing a hosta well. At the northern end of their hardiness range, hostas can even be grown in direct sun with adequate soil moisture. The purple or white tubular flowers arrive during the summer. Some are sweetly fragrant, others are not, but all attract hummingbirds.
Plant Delights Nursery continually works with the country's best hosta breeders to evaluate new introductions choosing only those cultivars that have the very best and most unique traits. We also have our own hosta breeding program at Plant Delights Nursery and have released dozens of unique hosta varieties. Breeders like us focus on creating great leaf variegation patterns, leaf color (there are white, green, yellow and even blue hosta), leaf corrugation, flower fragrance, and plant habit (from extreme dwarfs to massive giants).
Our hostas are all container-grown and are usually multiple-division plants...our price is for an entire container of 1-20 divisions. When you buy hostas from Plant Delights, you are often getting large plants that you can immediately divide. Plant Delights Nursery does not offer small, recently tissue-culture propagated hostas for sale and we challenge other nurserymen to do the same. When hostas are divided under nursery conditions, they often take on immature leaf characteristics, including more pointed leaves as well as reduced cupping and corrugation. The leaf forms that are pictured and described will redevelop in one to two growing seasons in the shade garden...please be patient. Since we grow our hostas here, you are able to buy hostas direct from the grower. When you're are ready to buy hostas for your woodland shade garden, we hope you'll check out our select list of hosta plants for sale below.
Since 1988, Plant Delights Nursery has been the choice of serious gardeners and plant collectors looking for the best and rarest perennial plants. We are pleased to have received the Perennial Plant Association Retail Award in 2011, the American Horticulture Society Commercial Award in 2002, and to have been selected as one of the Best Mail Order Plant Sources - Garden Design Magazine 2010. Welcome to our family of plant lovers!
This Walters Gardens' introduction is a sport of the popular Hosta 'Revolution'...probably a tetraploid version (double the proper number of chromosomes). The 1' tall x 20" wide clump is composed of dark green twisted leaves, highlighted by a wide white center, which is in turn dotted with small green flecks. The clumps are topped with short spikes of hummingbird friendly lavender flowers in midsummer. A portion of the sales of each plant sold is donated to the Project EverGreen, the green industry group that supports our troops. (www.projectevergreen.com). Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
Hosta 'Autumn Frost' is the latest in a long line of fantastic sports from Hosta 'Halcyon'. Hosta 'Autumn Frost' is a probable tetraploid sport of the lovely Hosta 'First Frost', which is a creamy-edged sport of Hosta 'Halcyon'. The 1' tall x 16" wide clump is composed of thick powder blue leaves with an exceptionally wide creamy yellow margin...simply stunning. In late spring, the clump is topped with stalks of light lavender flowers...a hummingbird delight. Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
Hosta 'First Lady' is our 2010 introduction from a cross of ((Hosta 'Swoosh' x Hosta longissima) x Hosta 'Red Neck Heaven') x Hosta 'Elvis Lives', that we made in 1995 (Hosta 95-413). The result is a 14" tall x 3' wide clump of long (9" x 3"), deeply-veined green leaves, edged with a wide creamy yellow border. The clumps are topped with stalks of lavender hummingbird attracting flowers in late July and early August...very nice and unique! Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
Hosta 'Fragrant Queen' is the best of the wide creamy-edged sports from Hosta 'Fragrant Bouquet' (an improved Hosta 'Sweet Innocence'), although it actually mutated from Hosta 'Fragrant King', which is a sport of Hosta 'Fried Green Tomatoes', which is a sport of Hosta 'Guacamole', which is a sport of Hosta 'Fragrant Bouquet'...sounds incestuous, don't you think? The vigorous 16" tall x 2' wide clumps are composed of rounded, glossy, dark green leaves, each edged with a wide creamy border and topped in midsummer with stalks of light lavender, very fragrant flowers...a hummingbird hangout. Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
Hosta 'Goodness Gracious' is another in a long line of wonderful sports that originated from Hosta 'Piedmont Gold'. Hosta 'Goodness Gracious' was actually discovered as a probable tetraploid sport of Hosta 'Satisfaction', which arose originally from Hosta 'Piedmont Gold'. The 20" tall x 2' wide clump is composed of thick, corrugated blue-green leaves, each edged with an extraordinarily wide golden border. The clumps are topped with stalks of pure white flowers that attract hummingbirds in midsummer...stunning! Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
Hosta 'Keepsake' was a seedling (Hosta 'Fascination' x op) in 1998 when hosta breeder Gil Jones moved from his Michigan garden south to Georgia. Something about it was so charming that we enticed Gil to share the plant. We've kept it growing over the ensuing decade, so it's finally time to share. Hosta 'Keepsake' forms a tidy 9" tall x 2' wide clump of small, medium green, wavy leaves, each surrounded by a nice, creamy-gold border. The clumps are topped with 1' tall scapes of light lavender flowers that entertain hummingbirds in late spring. Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
Hosta 'Linda Sue' is a Van Wade introduction, discovered as a sport on Hosta 'Frances Williams'. Hosta 'Linda Sue' has a dramatically wider gold margin than its parent and forms a stunning 2' tall x 40" wide clump of thick, corrugated blue leaves surrounded by a wide border and topped in late spring with short spikes of pure white flowers...a hummingbird treat. Unlike its famous parent, Hosta 'Linda Sue' doesn't show the same leaf scorching tendencies, lending credence to the supposition of its increased ploidy level (extra chromosomes). Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
Hosta gurus Dave and Roberta Chopko discovered this sport of the giant gold Hosta 'El Dorado' in their NJ garden. The 20" tall x 45" wide clump is composed of large, green, heavily-rippled leaves, edged with a wide golden border. Clumps of Hosta 'Ocean Isle' are topped with 3' tall scapes of light lavender flowers that attract hummingbirds in early summer. Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
Hosta 'Prestige and Promise' is a probable tetraploid sport of Hosta 'Cadillac', which we introduced for our friend, the late Ed Skrocki, back in 1999. Hosta 'Prestige and Promise' forms a 14" tall x 18" wide clump of thick, cupped and corrugated green leaves, each highlighted with a central band of gold that ages to creamy white. The clumps are topped with stalks of hummingbird-friendly light lavender flowers in midsummer...very nice! Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
(aka: Hosta 93-068) Hosta 'Sunny Side Up' is a selection from our 1993 cross of Hosta 'Spritzer' x Hosta yingeri. In spring, the 8" tall x 20" wide clump of glossy, ruffled, golden foliage glows like few plants in the woodland garden. Like its parent Hosta 'Spritzer', the viridescent foliage changes to green during the heat of the summer. The clumps are topped with 14" tall scapes of medium purple hummingbird-friendly flowers in midsummer...you have to see this in spring to believe it. Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
This cute little hosta makes a small, 18" wide clump of teaspoon-shaped, deeply-cupped green leaves. In midsummer, the small clumps are topped with a lovely floral show of 20" scapes of hummingbird-friendly lavender flowers. Without question, Hosta 'Teaspoon' is one of the best green leaf hostas on the market today. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Imagine a more vigorous Hosta 'Great Expectations' with an equally dramatic, central creamy-white leaf pattern that remains bright all summer, and you can visualize Hosta 'Hudson Bay'. Hosta 'Hudson Bay' is technically a sport of Hosta 'Eskimo Pie', but with a narrower white center. To follow the family tree back a few generations further, Hosta 'Eskimo Pie' is a sport of Hosta 'Northern Exposure', which was a sport of Hosta sieboldiana 'Elegans'. The stunning 20" tall x 3' wide clumps are topped in May with short spikes of pure white flowers...attractive to hummingbirds. Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
This amazing introduction was the surprise hit at the 1999 American Hosta Society Convention. This small-to-medium sized hosta makes a 2' wide mound. Each medium-green leaf has a wide center of creamy white, dotted liberally with green flecks. Hosta 'Allegan Fog' (named after Allegan County, Michigan) is truly one of the most distinctive hostas to hit the market in years. The clumps are topped with a 2' tall spike of light lavender flowers in midsummer...a hummingbird favorite. Hosta 'Allegan Fog' is a viridescent Hosta 'Fortunei'-type and will turn mostly green by late summer. Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
This fabulous, new, fast-growing hosta from Minnesota's Hans Hansen is a greatly improved version of Hosta 'Fried Bananas'. This sport of Hosta 'Cathedral Windows' is composed of large, brilliant, glossy, gold leaves on an 18" tall x 3' wide clump. A hummingbird treat in late summer, the clump is topped with 30" tall spikes of huge, fragrant, light lavender flowers...what a stunning plant! Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
This old Japanese cultivar is found in virtually every established US hosta garden...and with good reason. The thick, corrugated, golden leaves are surrounded by a wide blue edge...SPECTABULOUS! In early summer, the 42" wide clumps are topped with near-white flowers on 18" tall scapes...a hummingbird delight. Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
This Hosta 'Sum and Substance' sport has proved to be the best of several white-edged mutations. Hosta 'Winter Snow' makes a massive 5' wide clump of huge chartreuse leaves, each with a nice white border. The clumps are topped with arching spikes of large lavender flowers in early summer...a hummingbird haven. Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
From the late hosta wild man, Chuck Purtymun, comes this still hard-to-find gem. Hosta 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd' (Hosta 'Tokudama' x Hosta sieboldiana) has round, cardboard-like, deeply-cupped, powder-blue leaves on a 2' wide clump. In early summer, the clumps are topped with white hummingbird flowers. In a garden, few hostas will evoke more favorable comments! Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
(aka: H. 95-558) This 2008 Plant Delights introduction is from a cross involving Hosta 'Swoosh', Hosta longissima, Hosta venusta, and Hosta 'Bright Lights' that resulted in a vigorous, fast-multiplying small clump to 8" tall x 18" wide. The clumps are composed of small, 3.5" long x 2" wide green leaves, edged with a wide creamy-white border...great as either a small specimen plant or used in a woodland border. The clumps are topped with 15" tall scapes of medium lavender flowers in June...hummingbird acclaimed. We have not had Hosta 'Appetizer' tissue-cultured, so supplies are limited. Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
This amazing sport of Hosta 'Edge of Night' is a clump I couldn't take my eyes off of in the garden of Minnesota's Hans Hansen. The heavily-cupped and corrugated dark green leaves with a wide creamy-white border are turned upwards instead of lying horizontally, forming a 28" tall x 55" wide clump that resembles hands clapping; hence, the name. A mature clump of Hosta 'Applause' ranks right up with Hosta 'Praying Hands' in the unusual category. Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
Hosta 'Atlantis' is a superb tetraploid mutation of our Hosta 'Abba Dabba Do' from Michigan's Hans Hansen. This amazing hosta makes a huge 5' wide clump of slightly wavy, pointed, green leaves. Each leaf is bordered with a very wide, light yellow margin. In midsummer, the vigorous clump is topped with 30" spikes of hummingbird-attracting light lavender flowers...stunning! Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
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