Favorite dark blue hosta, esp. after fading?

last year

Hi all! I’m looking for a hosta that is a dark blue, even if that means it is a bit more of a rich ”teal” color than ”blue.“ I would really love to find one that carries that deep teal even after the glaucous coating wears off. (Or at least one that holds it well.) I’ve seen some that fade to a sort of sickly grey-green by July…

Ideally, we’d be talking medium-large to large with a bit of an upright habit.

Minneapolis, 5A here. Not as cool as Maine or Vancouver in the summer, but hosta don’t take much of a beating in our summers. ;-)

Featured Answer

djacob Z6a SE WI

last year

In my garden none of my blues are “deep blue “, but Blueberry Muffin holds its color well. Also Blue Hawaii.

debra

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Comments (10)

Pieter Klapwijk
last year
You might want to look at 'Nightlife'.

Pieter
Ian MN thanked Pieter Klapwijk
lindalana 5b Chicago
last year
I think it will depend how much sun or shade you have in the spot you think and what other colors are near. Also some hostas keep wax till fall. One of my best blues are Valley Blue Curacao and Skywriter. Powder Blue and Blue Hawaii fades more but remains gorgeous. Check out Alphabet Blue for pics

Also having good magnesium load in soil helps to keep hosta dark colored.
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peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
last year
Yes to all of the above. Also check out Summer Squall.
Ian MN thanked peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
indianagardengirl
last year
I’m having a bit of trouble visualizing whay you mean, so I’m throwing out some photos. please feel free to critique so we know what direction to go:

Silver Bay which starts out intensely silvery and then fades to this. Presuming this is a big No.

Krossa Regal, which reads blue in spring but fades to this.

Halcyon, blue which darkens to this color.

Blue Angel, which fades to this color.

Again, if you can provide feedback others may be able to chime in.
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hydrangeahead Central WI 4b
last year
My Neptune is quite blue all season long. Also Waterslide....
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Ian MN
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Thank you to everyone who has responded with such thoughtful comments. @lindalana 5b Chicago I like your recommendation of the Valley Blue Curacao.

Color shades are so subtle and so conditional upon climate. If only we could do more side-by-side comparisons.

To that end, I did take some recommendations from growers and ordered a Deep Blue Sea (lower left), a Holar Ice Empress (lower right) and held them next to the hosta I’m trying to replace (Tenryu). It’s close but Deep Blue Sea does have a deeper green as an undertone.
djacob Z6a SE WI
last year
I also agree with hydrangeahead.

debra
hostasrgreat
2 months ago
last modified: 2 months ago
I’m a neighbor across the river in St Paul. Two that stand out are Halcyon and Blue Wedgwood. I would add its all about ’environment’ with blues. You need to carefully select your location for planting.
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porkchop_z5b_MI
2 months ago
Halcyon is an outstanding blue.