Hostas have a place in the hearts of both amateur florists and professional landscape designers.
Hostas come in many different shapes and sizes, and anyone can grow them in their garden, even if they have never done it before.
Most blue-leafed varieties resemble sumo wrestlers because their width is significantly greater than their height.
This color spectrum includes plants with leaves that measure up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) wide and small shrubs with leaves that measure less than 12 inches (30cm) wide.
Miniature Hostas
Miniatures are hostas with bushes up to 12 inches in diameter. They look lovely in small flower beds as borders or in groups.
Baby Bunting Hosta
It has blue leaves and is one of the most miniature hostas. It prefers moist but well-drained soils for growth.
It does much better with cold than with heat. It is different from other kinds because its leaves are pointed and heart-shaped and have a distinct pattern.
In addition, it has pale lavender bell-like flowers that bloom in the middle of the summer.
Blue Mouse Ears Hosta
A miniature hosta variety that was bred in 2000. The name “blue mouse ears” comes from how the leaves are shaped.
In July, it will send out shoots with tassel-like inflorescences that are a light lilac color.
Although it can grow in the shade, it thrives best in semi-shades or diffused sunlight.
Theoretically, it could also grow in places with a lot of light, but likely, the waxy scum on its leaves will eventually become so weak that the plant will not only lose its unique color but could also get severely burned.
Hosta’ Fragrant Blue’
Fragrant Blue is a low-growing blue hosta that is highly ornamental but does not grow taller than 12 inches.
The elongated, pointed, bluish-green leaves form a spherical bush throughout the season.
White inflorescences with a light purple tint bloom from July to August. Slugs cannot harm this Hosta.
Medium Hostas
Medium-sized hostas have a diameter of 12 to 23 inches (30 to 60 cm).
In large and medium-sized gardens, these varieties work equally well in mixed borders as they are the centerpiece of smaller plant beds.
Abiqua Drinking Gourd
This type of Hosta, which got its name from how its leaves are shaped, can often be found in the middle of garden plant beds.
This plant has thick, cup-shaped leaves with a clear waffle texture and deep, pressed stripes.
Blooms in the middle of summer with tiny white flowers measuring between 2 and 3 centimeters.
The common garden inhabitant in the middle belt. This variety is a favorite among home gardeners because of its bright coloration and excellent winter hardiness.
It is used in landscape design to make compositions, decorate borders, and fill empty spaces in flower beds.
Plants with leaves that curve inward should not be put in tree root circles. Otherwise, leaves from trees and shrubs will fall into the hostas, which will not only detract from their aesthetics but also attract various pests.
Hosta ‘Blue Shadows’
It’s not just the unusual cup-shaped leaves that make this variety stand out; it also has an exciting coloration (bright light green core and very dark edges).
If you buy Blue Shadow or another hosta because it looks like crocodile skin, be aware that bubbles will start to form on the plant in its third or fourth year.
And this is assuming that it was grown in the appropriate location, was not replanted, and was given at least three different mineral fertilizers throughout each growing season.
Hosta ‘Blue Cadet’
The medium-sized hybrid Hosta Blue Cadet can reach a height of 1.5 feet. The bushes are compact and densely clustered.
Leaf color begins as an emerald blue and gradually changes to a deep green by midsummer.
There are light purple flowers on flower stalks of 15 to 21 inches in height that do not have any scent.
Blooming times for Blue Cadet are from July to August. The Hosta can withstand harsh frosts.
Hosta’ Bressingham Blue’
Bressingham blue is a hybrid of blue Hosta. The bush is 20 inches tall, petite, symmetrical, and shaped like a vase. The leaves are heart-shaped and about 5 to 7 inches long.
They are light bluish-green, and the blue patina is very thin, so it can be easily rubbed off by touch or by not giving the plant enough water.
Bell-shaped, snow-white flowers bloom on a foliated stalk. In July, the Hosta puts out its flowers. Bressingham blue can handle both drought and cold.
Halcyon Hosta
Halcyon is a fantastic crossbreed. The shrub is relatively short (up to 20 inches). The leaves are dark azure.
This Hosta is distinguished by its resistance to damage because of the leaf plate’s waxy layer.
The leaves are elongated, not large, corrugated along the veins, and grow densely.
In the second half of summer, the halcyon blooms with fragrant, numerous bell-shaped purple flowers on solid and leafless peduncles.
Large Hostas
Large (60-120 cm), different shades of blue hostas work well as a background for brightly colored flowering plants.
Love Pat Hosta
An excellent choice for those who need their cup-shaped, checkered blue Hosta in the shortest time possible.
Love Pat is unique among its relatives because it can thrive even in direct sunlight without losing its vibrant hue. Its varietal characteristics are already visible in its early years.
Frances Williams Hosta
Almost any garden can benefit from the two-toned concave leaves of this particular Hosta’s unique foliage.
Dark green dominates the heart-shaped leaf plate’s center; lettuce-yellow edges contrast sharply with it.
Canadian Blue Hosta
Canadian Blue is an eye-catching variety. The bright blue large leaves (up to 8 inches) with a slightly wavy edge that cascade down from the tall (up to 2 feet) shrub catch the eye.
This Hosta blooms from July to early September with its large, lavender-colored flowers. It is not afraid of frosts in the winter.
Hosta Blue Umbrellas
The Blue Umbrellas plant is big and has gray-green leaves. The bushes can reach a height of over three feet.
The leaves are about 1 foot long, wrinkly, and hang down at the edges like an umbrella.
During July and August, the Hosta produces flowers that are a delicate lilac color. It can withstand both drought and frost.
Blue Mammoth
The blue mammoth is a large blue hosta. This shrub can grow to a diameter of 5 feet and 20 inches.
The large, wavy-edged, thin leaves form a large dome when they are all stacked on top.
Seasonally, they change color from blue to green.
Blooms In early summer, blue mammoth flowers are softly purple but burn out and turn white at the end of the season. It can withstand low temperatures.
Hosta Blue Ivory
Blue Ivory is a hybrid that was bred from the species Halcyon. This half-meter-long Hosta spreads widely, reaching a diameter of 4 feet.
The leaves of this hybrid are pretty big, but they get smaller as they get closer to the end.
The edges of the gray-blue leaves are white with an off-white tint. The flowers of ‘Blue Ivory’ are blue.
This Hosta can withstand temperature drops in the winter.
Krossa Regal Hosta
Krossa Regal is a classic variety. The shrub has a 3 feet height and a 3.2 feet diameter.
The large, deep-blue leaves are arranged on long petioles and, unlike other hostas, do not lie flat on the ground. The entire bush resembles a bowl on a tall stalk.
This variety grows well in vases. It flowers in August with bell-shaped flowers of a pale color that are closely spaced.
Giant Hosts
This name isn’t an exaggeration because if these giant plants are cared for well, they can grow massive.
One can safely play hide and seek under the leaves of 5 feet beauty.
If you’re planning to grow a giant hosta in one of your beds, keep in mind that it will take up a lot of space over time.
So you’ll need to think carefully about what other plants to put in the area.
Blue Angel
A giant hosta can grow up to 5 feet tall if it is well cared for. Unfortunately, there aren’t wide blue-green varieties that do as well in dry soil as this one.
If you’ve taken care of hostas before, you probably already know how to do it right.
Caring for them is similar to growing plants with leaves of a different hue. There are, of course, some fine points to be considered.
How To Care For Blue Leaf Hostas?
A blue hosta’s leaf plate is green if you lightly rub it. It turns blue because of the waxy bloom that the plant makes to keep moisture from evaporating.
This film thins out or disappears entirely when exposed to heat, sunlight, or rain.
This is why you shouldn’t grow blue-leafed hostas in places where it rains a lot. It will only last until mid to late June in the south.
However, if you live in an area where the sun is scarce or in a cooler climate, hostas can stay blue for most of the growing season.
The blue Hosta can thrive in any soil. On sandy soil, the blue-blue color of the hosta leaves will be stronger, but the bush will be smaller.
You shouldn’t plant the Hosta where there is a lot of standing water (flooded in spring by meltwater, where water runs off the roof and with high groundwater).
You can feed the Hosta four times during the season.
Use a ready-made complex fertilizer (following the directions on the package) or mullein infusion to do this (diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 10).
The best time to apply top dressing is in the morning when the soil is still wet.
If you don’t want to lose the leaf’s lovely blue hue, you can only apply a top foliar dressing to the lower third of the blade.
It will be another season before you can appreciate the extraordinary shade provided by most blue hostas, which only produce leaves once per season.
When selecting a variety, location is an essential factor to consider. Choosing a blue-leaved plant for a sunny location is not the best option.
But you can always select a hosta that doesn’t mind getting sun.
The only drawback to these blue-green beauties is that they cannot be planted in direct sunlight.
In every other way, though, they are the perfect green pet.