Green Gables- 16 x 14 for a total of 30. I don't have pictures with a measuring tape. Will a plate do? I was thinking at the time that it's not dinner plate sized, more like turkey platter. The second picture shows some of Alvatine Taylor who's leaves are 12 x 9 1/2.

30 inches it is. Green Gables is a big plant. A green sport of Sum and Substance. Let's see if anyone can beat it.

Steve

28.5 is the biggest I can get. Not bad though, considering that 2 years ago, I only had 5 hostas! Thanks go to my DH for helping me measure.

Elegans

I am already sitting here in shock, hahhaha

Wow what impressive leaves so far !

Most of my stuff was planted in 2010, and I don't get explosive growth increases, yet... But I sure enjoy seeing great pictures..

No, I am the winner, here is my Sum and Substance in the shade, Christmas Tree in front. The one in sun is older but a little smaller in leaf size.

This is 16 3/4 + 13 7/8 = 30 5/8 inches total.
I assumed it is not permitted to iron out all those folds on the leaf to get to 36 perhaps? Only kidding.
But watch out, my Empress is growing, already 26 inches after 2 years, max will be much larger in a few years! It's fun!
Bernd

Interesting. Three different plants, Elegans, Green Gables and S&S for the first three entries. Who can beat 30 and 5/8 inches. Last year's winner at the NEHS was 35 inches. Can anyone beat that?

Steve

Here are some mature sizes of leaves over 30 inches from data I collected from the internet. These are for hostas I have growing under normal growing conditions :

Empress Wu 28+25 = 53 ,
Jurassic Park 17+15 = 32 ,
T-Rex 20+18 = 38 ,
Sum & Substance 18+15 = 33 inches,
Vim & Vigor 19+13 = 32 .

All except S&S are not close to mature, need probably 5 more years. Bernd

This is a bad time of the year to be measuring hosta leaves,because all of mine are practically gone,but,just for your viewing pleasure,here is a pic of one of Janice's Sum and Substances that was bigger than any leaf I had seen at the time! This pic is from July 2008,when we visited her. I hope she won't mind if I show it. Those are Janices actual hands on the leaf for scale. Phil

{{gwi:992324}}

sON OF A .......tHAT IS one big leaf!

Alas, none of mine will ever get that large. 3 gal plants is all I can handle and then I have to divide them. I can get dinner plate sized ones, but not those whoppers.

Wow Janice!!!

-Babka

Wow, that S&S must must be in the 40s, it's the winner!

On a hosta garden tour last year I saw a Frances Williams with huge leaves. That must have had a permanently humus and wet soil with possibly foliar feedings.

I don't have pictures, however my Sum & Substance was the biggest leaf in the gold category at the NEHS meeting today at 40"!

Well, this is an awesome contest. As a spectator sport, I'm all for being a cheerleader here. But hopefully I can figure out how to do everything right and in a couple of years, have at least ONE LEAF to enter.

I think the plant I asked McTavish about must be the Green Gables plant? So HUGE in your photos, hiding your chairs...
Well, it does look like S&S for sure. Good literary name for it too. All I would have room to plant in my small garden is a couple of giants. Unless we buy the neighbor's property.......depends on how well my hosta grow down in Alabama, humidity and heat and sunshine, but lots of rain.

Robyn,

Since I was at that meeting, I can confirm your S&S at 40 inches. Can anyone beat that?

Steve

You know, most of these leaves would cover the majority of my PLANTS ... Its gonna be tough catching up !

40 inches for S&S, tremendous, and the Hosta Library says 18x15= 33 inches.

Hostabuff, how did you do it? I bet a lot of people who have large hostas would like to know how to grow them to become really big.
Age, 10 years? Soil, good loam, any initial amendments probably have been used up? Horse manure, cow manure, Miraclegrow sprayed on the leaves, compost, several inches of it on the surface? Irrigation daily to the roots?

My 30 5/8 inches S&S sits in sand/clay, 6 years ago had initially leaf compost amended with when transplanted from deep shade to this less shady location, no direct sun. It gets mulch every spring, leaf compost or tree/bark mulch. It gets overhead watering every 3 days when it is hot.

Steve, which other hostas won the other large leaf categories?
Bernd

Lady Isobel Barnett won the Variegated category. I can't remember which won the blue. There was a very big Blue Angel leaf, but I don't remember if that won or not. Robyn do you remember?

If clumps are left undisturbed and not split, ddoes that incline the plant to grow gigantic leaves?

Is it due to more energy being devoted to the root system again after splitting the clumps? Bigger roots rather than larger leaves?

Hostas like to balance root systems and leaves. The larger the root system the more and larger leaves the plant will have. When you divide a plant, you set it back in terms of maturity significantly, both the mother plant and the division will have smaller root systems and thus both fewer and smaller leaves.

Someone at the NEHS told me that he believes that full shade results in larger leaves. The theory is that the plant produces more leaf surface in order to gather more sunlight. I'm not sure if that is true or not. Perhaps others could weigh in with their experience of sun vs. shade in leaf size.

Steve

I observed the same on my 2 S&S. The one I showed above is mostly in shade, perhaps half an hour late afternoon sun. It is about 6 years in its spot after a transplant. It has fewer and larger leaves than the other one.
The other S&S has perhaps 3 hours noon and early afternoon sun, is in that spot for 10 years and has a lot more but smaller leaves.

I noticed the same with Fragrant Bouquet. There the plants in more shade also have better looking leaves.
Bernd

Bernd,
I don't think I have any secrets for growing a big hosta leaf. This Sum and Substance was huge about 7 years ago and then the voles attacked. It has taken seven years to grow it back to a respectable size. Normally I do not fertilize, however, this year I put Chickity Doo Doo on all the hosta gardens. My S&S grows on the east side of the house and only sees a little morning sun. I'm very stingy with the water, however we did have a wet spring and that probably contributed to the size of the leaf too. The leaf I selected for the competition was clearly the biggest on the plant trumping all the other leaves by at least 4".

I have first hand experience to support Steve's comment that leaves will grow bigger in the shade. I had deep shade in my front yard before I lost some trees. My Bressingham Blue hosta leave were almost twice as large when there was more shade.

Well, it's been 3 days since Robyn posted her 40 inch Sum and Substance. I'll give another day, and if no one posts another leaf, I will email Robyn to arrange for her prize. If you've got something bigger than 40 inches, post it.

Steve