Hosta question

last year

Can someone confirm this hosta here is actually hosta sieboldiana ’elegans’? The first pic I am suspecting it was mislabeled when I bought it. I got this one 3 years ago, split it in half and planted it. They haven’t grown as much and it looks wayyy small for an elegans. I did the same thing for ’blue angel’-split in half and plant but they have taken off and are quite big now. They are planted around the same area as my elegans so it can’t be the growing conditions.

The second pic is a hosta I dug up at work and took home. This was last fall and right now it looks like this(second pic). Can someone confirm this is elegans?

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djacob Z6a SE WI

last year

last modified: last year

Since no one else has chimed in (Pieter?), let me quote some of what Mark Zilis has to say from his Hostapedia.

“Elegans also has the distinction of being a cultivar, but not a clone. This is rare among hosta cultivars. The reason for
this is its sluggish growth rate, making propagation by division a slow task. Many years ago nurserymen eager to increase their stock o ‘Elegans’ germinated copious numbers of seeds that were produced each year instead of patiently waiting for a
Few divisions every two or three years. Seedlings with good blue-green foliage were sold as ‘Elegans’, while bluish green
Or green-leaved types would either be discarded or sold as Hosta sieboldana. Thus the plants today are far removed from
the original ‘Elegans’ and are not identical to each other. Yet, they share the common set of characteristics for which
‘Elegans’ is known, i.e. large mound size, thick, heavily corrugated, blue-green foliage and dense clusters of near-white
flowers in early summer.”

He also describes “average mound size 28” high by 61” wide, but can be as large as 33” high by 75” wide; leaves 15 1/2 long
by 11 1/8 wide (16-18 vein pairs); leaf color blue-green for the first six to eight weeks of the growing season, turning
medium to dark green by midsummer; leaf blade broadly oblong-ovate with a deeply lobed base and short, distinct tip;
leaves also slightly wavy and covered with a thick underside bloom; narrow funnel-shaped, ear white flowers, 2 1/4 long
by 1 1/4 wide, produced from mid-June into early July (northern Illinois) in dense clusters on scapes up to 34” high,
many flowers per scape (typically 50-65); forms many seed pods filled with viable seeds”

This cultivar has become the foundation of many breeding programs and one only needs to look in the database of the HL to see how many progeny and sports this hosta has produced..

FWIW, your second picture does look like the Elegans in the Zilis Tome, but I am not sure about the first one. As to growth rate, anytime you move or separate hostas it will set their growth rate back for a bit.

debra

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Comments (8)

djacob Z6a SE WI
last year
Well, it’s very difficult to say with certainty any hosta is Elegans as there are a number of different blue types that have been called Elegans.

I recommend you look up Elegans in the HL and read what it says there about the plant.

debra
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Heruga (7a NJ)
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Thanks for the informative reply. Its been almost 3 years since I divided them but the now I know they have a sluggish growth rate so that explains it. Though the longer I've been growing 'elegans' I don't know why anyone would choose this cultivar over blue angel.
peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
last year
Heruga I grow both and like both but I agree that Blue Angel is a superior plant. Better look, growth rate and fabulous flowers.
Heruga (7a NJ)
Original Author
last year
The suspected mislabeled hosta elegans in question is now sending flower shoots. Way above the plant. Could it be doing that because the plant is stillsmall and flowers just look tall? Or do they flower underneath the foliage no matter what size? Orrr is this a sure sign this is not hosta elegans?
djacob Z6a SE WI
last year
In my opinion, I think you’re correct that it’s a sign that it’s not Elegans. I have read somewhere (?) that Elegans flowers are

just under the surface of the leaves or slightly above. So whatever hosta it is, I must say it’s a beauty! I love the

beautiful coloration on the leaves.

debra
Heruga (7a NJ)
Original Author
last year
Hmm I'm just used to the bigger ones. Can you tell if this hosta species is sieboldiana too?
djacob Z6a SE WI
last year
I’m wrong in my comment about the flowers on Elegans. In the info above Zilis says the flowers are up to 34” tall, which

your appear to be. However read through the info above about leaf size, shape and vein pairs. Maybe you can make

Your own decision.

It certainly looks to be sieboldana in nature, but I am no expert.

debra