Sun can greatly affect how a hosta looks and even how fast it grows. "Paul's Glory" is a good example of that. I grow it in full sun here in Vancouver, WA. The center turns whitish yellow later in the summer for me. The one my friend grows in shade has green centers. Mine is also larger than his, although they're roughly the same age. "June" is another one that looks different depending on how much sun it gets. I have one in full sun and the centers are yellow. My other one grown in shade has a green center that is barely noticeable against the blue edges. The size on those two is roughly the same, though, so it doesn't seem that the growth rate is affected as much by sun as "Paul's Glory" seems to be.

Hello, Bkay...I'm no expert, but have learned from experimenting with sunlight and moving my hosta around, e.g. That the amount of sunlight is key to colour...Same plant, different location as I did with June and Frances Williams. I also have Striptease which I've split into two nice sized pieces, etc. not afraid to try anything! having said that, I think your 'green' remains that way due to more shade as opposed to more sun...mine get sun from sunrise to 1:30 pm approx.. And striptease is finally showing central colour...FW reacted to extreme heat two weeks ago and looks fried around the edges...even the shade did not help...here's a pic of striptease..as summer progresses, the gold centre will be more pronounced. I will post another picture when it's achieved more gold. Hope this helps? Jo.

Forgot to mention one significant thing: Frances Williams can tolerate more sun than given credit for...this one was dug up (yup, just starting to produce flower scrapes) two weeks ago to make more plants and I originally gave this piece away and it grew bigger than my own!!!! I was a little envious lol

everyone, check out the yellowish 'skirt', I think it's a sport which I will call Eve (the person who received my division)...cool, huh? I'd love comments.

That sport is interesting. My Frances Williams never looks good. It always has spring desiccation (3 years in a row). I'm going to put in under a table or such next spring, so that it doesn't get sun or frost doesn't settle on it. I notice, though, that most people's FW's have ugly brown hickies on them.

bk

That's the only drawback about France's Williams...the meltdown of the margins, and only with high temps and humidity which seem to increase every summer. I think the only thing to do to minimize this effect is to provide a cooler environment but with dappled light to maintain some vigour for the hosta-not necessarily an easy thing to do...It's a struggle trying to achieve the right balance of sun, shade and cool location.

On a positive note, you may very well be envied for the zone you live in...a longer growing season, zone 8...I'm in 5 with lots of snow in winter but that's a good thing...shelter for perennials et al.

I have to admit it bothers me to have any hosta I own look bad, but sometimes I remind myself that Mother Nature will do as she pleases regardless whether my hosta like it or not! Don't laugh, but I take scissors and "trim" all desiccated leaves on my FW when she needs it..she looks pretty good after the haircut!!! I've even thought of running a fan on her during the real hot days!!!!! Now that's going too far, huh? Lol

I love that FW with the gold skirt!

A friend of mine who is a plant disease specialist at the University of Arkansas thinks that FW desiccation is some kind of a virus or something. She took a leaf of one of mine to test it. It will be interesting to see if she is right.

Sandy

My June in the sun is a lot more yellow than the one in the shade. With even more sun than we have had yet this summer, it will get almost white in the centers.

Sandy

This thread is full of pretty plants. That FW is amazing. I'm also looking forward to seeing Striptease as it lightens up.

Sandy and anyone else reading this thread...have you seen a hosta with this type of colour before? It seems to me to be unusual, kind of goldy/chartreussey..I am hoping it does not darken over time...will keep an eye on it and send any interesting progress on it as well. I am referring to my pic of Frances Williams's "gold skirt".

Here is a pic of June in sunshine sporting a blue sport. It developed last year. Should I be removing it soon? Can't decide whether, when I do, to place in shade or experiment with sunshine. Any comments?

Sandy, your June is glorious surrounded by periwinkle!!!

Weekend weeder...I will for sure post more pics of Striptease as colour progresses. :)

This is the shaded June sporting a blue sport..same question...when is it a good time to separate sports?

Cut off the blue sport at eye level (at the crown) if you don't want to make a separate plant. If it comes back next year you can separate it then if you wish. Don't dig up the plant if you don't have to.

-Babka

Chlorophyll production is triggered by the amount of sun. Less sun and more green is produced to accomplish the require photosynthesis. More sun and a lesser amount of Chlorophyll is produced and leaves will lighten or even burn.

The trick is to find a location where you get the best color. It varies with the species, your latitude, shade conditions and certainly the hosta. The darker the color, the thinner the leaf, the more shade required The lighter the leaf, the thicker the leaf the more sun it can take or requires. Lighter leaves have less Chlorophyll and require more sun to thrive.

Those in higher latitudes are proponents of placing hosta in more sunshine. Those in lower latitudes would find this poor advice.

Jon

i dont have time to read everyone's reply this morning ...

but in general ... on all plants ...

presuming it doesnt brown them ...

it intensifies all color ... until it browns them ... which is usually a function of providing enough water ...

as to hosta... everything but blues will intensify ...

but the waxy blue coating can wear down .... especially thru watering overhead ...

and then there is the whole sun intensity as you go further south ...

ALL will grow with more vigor... even if they burn to the ground in the high heat of summer ...

used to be.. when they were field grown.. they all grew in full sun .. as they were harvested in fall.. and put into coolers for spring sale.. so they really didnt care how they looked.. they were striving for root growth .. leaves be damned ...

so its really a function of your insistence of being pretty all season.. that limits sun ...

ken

ps: and consistent with our discussion on taking pix ... they will be more intense .. but because you will be squinting looking at them.. it might be hard to tell .. as it would be to capture a good pic in full sun ...

Thank you, Babka (would you be Polish?) for reminding me not to dig if I don't have to. If I leave it alone this year, what are the chances of it reverting eventually? I'm not honed on all the "reversion" hoopla and really am not uptight about the solid blue sharing space with the more colourful June parts. I AM excited about having such an anomaly in any of my plants and it sure is fun discussing it with you all.

BTW: it boggles my mind the wealth of knowledge and expertise that this forum contains! Kudos to you gurus of hosta...boy, will l learn this year!

Josephine,

Please follow this link which is on the same subject. In it I have taken pictures of the same species of hosta; in sunnier and shadier locations showing how sun affects coloration.

I do not agree that increased sun increases color in hosta as it is my opinion that levels of chlorophyll control the coloration. The more sun a hosta gets the less chlorophyll it produces causing less coloration. The less sunlight the more chlorophyll a hosta produces and the more color. I think my pictures in the referenced post show this clearly. Click on Affect of sun on hosta color (below) and the post will be brought up.

Jon

Here is a link that might be useful: Affect of sun on hosta color

Jonny, thanks for linking to that thread. Those photos were instructive. I don't have too many doubles in my garden so I haven't any evidence of sun intensifying color or variegation. But I do know that too much sun bleaches out certain leaves on my hosta.

Sandy...yes, please keep us informed regarding the university study your friend is conducting re Frances Williams...I would very much be interested in the outcome, thank you.

Jon...as you suggested, I visited the link you provided (thank you) and read all comments regarding sunlight and the effect on various hosta. It was informative and enlightening lol

What I took away from that link was this...you can't paint it all with the same brush.

After all is said and done, my thrill in gardening is basically to push the envelope, try what some are afraid to try (they likely are wiser than me), but above all, I just LOVE watching plants grow and flourish, hosta or otherwise. When they grow too well, I just pot them up and share them...most people love freebies, don't they? I get such immense pleasure and my soul just soars when I am gardening. For me it's a spiritual connection to Mother Earth.

This forum allows me to interact with other gardeners who appear to be primarily hosta lovers and I am enjoying myself immensely. As MS would say, "it's a good thing". :) Jo.

The gold leaved version of Frances Williams is called Golden Sunburst. I have one that used to be a Frances Williams. I had an FW a few years ago,that kept changing. Sometimes it would put out a half yellow,half blue leaf. Then,one year it put out a couple all gold leaves,like your gold skirt. The year after it turned up all gold. I still have it,but the problem is,the all gold version has the dessication that regular FW's have,but now the whole plant has it! I have to move mine again to an area of deeper shade. Phil

That's great news Phil!!! I mean...about your experience with gold FWs..it's too bad about the desiccation tho'. Can't wait for the university findings Sandys friend is conducting re desiccation..glad tho to have someone with gold offspring of FW....possible to see some pics??? Please and thank you.