Give it lots of room to grow! It's a beast. You won't want to have to move it so plant it where it has the space it will need. It lights up a dark corner here.

It can grow in zone 1?!!!! That is AMAZING!!!!!

I've had it in my garden for at least 15 years. Just got around to dividing it last year and it didn't miss a beat. It turns the most intense chartreuse yellow in the Fall.

It makes those pots look tiny!

I saw a garden with something almost as big in one corner, and if you looked carefully, a tiny version of it (I think it was Mouse Ears) in another. I don't always like host as but that was a fun surprise.

prairie_rose, I had several of them in my last house (in zone 5) before. I loved them! But as much as I am a hosta fan, I am so scared of getting hostas these days because of the HVX issue.... and our frequent hail storms really shred them to pieces too! Anyway, where did you find these two beauties from?

Great to know such a Jurassic looking plant can grow in cold zones!

I too am concerned about HVX and decided to plant them in a secluded corner away from the other hostas. I've accepted the risk of HVX, it sounds almost impossible to avoid completely. They were from the Canadian Tire in Airdrie.

While HVX can come anywhere there are sources and wholesale companies as well as retail suppliers that are doing everything they can to prevent the spread of this disease. The box stores are not one of them. After ripping out my whole hosta collection a few years ago I urge you to return these and order from someone like fundy beauties. Sum and Substance is still listed as having a high infection rate in commercial/box stores. Good luck either way.

This is mine in its second summer from fundy beauties

Thank you SCG! I am glad to hear you have good experiences with Fundy Beauties/Hostageek, their prices are quite reasonable for their hosta collections! If I could go back in time, I would have exclusively bought a hosta collection from them. Unfortunately I started growing hostas before knowing about hvx, almost all of mine are already from big box stores. Perhaps one day when the symptoms show, I may similarity wipe them all and start fresh. At least I only have six varieties, it's not a big deal to remove them if needed.

I think this is a Sum and Substance Hosta. North side of the house. Probably around 13 years old. It's hard to get a sense of scale but the thing is gigantic.

shazam, that doesn't look like Sum & Substance, which has light green leaves that are quite big...yours looks bluish/glaucous and the leaves are smaller.

I think you're right. I have another hosta that I think is S&S. It's never done well until this year after some extensive fertilization.

The one I posted though has massive leaves. Each leaf is bigger than my hand.

That is a massive hosta Shazam! Good to know hostas respond to fertilizer.

SCG, good call on a test kit for HVX, I certainly am curious if mine have it already, and testing them would be helpful if I ever move them in the future. I probably won't be adding any more anytime soon, took a walk in a public garden today and a couple of hostas in their hosta garden definitely had HVX.