Hosta Shadowland® Giant 'Gigantosaurus'

Hosta Shadowland® Giant 'Gigantosaurus': Monster Blue Leaves With Wavy Edges

Very large blue leaves with a wavy yellow margin that turns creamy white in summer. 'Gigantosaurus' is the friendly monster under the maple, and IT WOULD LIKE A BIGGER POT, PLEASE.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Hosta hybrid
• Common Name: Plantain lily, hosta
• Series: Shadowland® Giant, a Proven Winners® perennial
• Height: 76–81 cm (30–32 in)
• Spread: 180–200 cm (6–6.5 ft)
• Flowers: Pale lavender, held just above the foliage
• Bloom Time: Early to midsummer (June to July)
• Foliage: Very large blue leaves with a wavy yellow margin that turns creamy white in summer
• Features: Suits large containers

Where to Plant: Use it as a focal point in a big shady bed, under a high tree canopy, or as a bold backdrop at the back of a border. A few planted together cover ground like a shrub border, and it also suits large containers.

Companion Plants: Use huge 'Gigantosaurus' in a moist, shady bed with pink-to-blue lungwort, red astilbe and maidenhair fern. Pulmonaria 'Dark Vader' opens pink to blue bells at 25 to 30 cm in April and May. Astilbe 'Montgomery' adds deep red plumes at 50 to 60 cm in June and July. Adiantum pedatum brings fan-shaped native maidenhair fronds at 30 to 60 cm. Hakonechloa 'Aureola' edges the bed at 30 to 46 cm with gold-striped blades.

Plant Care: Plant it in part sun to full shade, in rich, moist, well-drained soil amended with compost. Give it the full 2 metres from day one. It will use every centimetre. Water deeply during dry spells, especially while it gets established. Deer and rabbits eat hostas, so protect it if they visit. Remove the flower stems after bloom and the foliage after a hard frost. Big hostas rarely need dividing, so leave it alone unless you want more plants, and then divide in spring.

History: 'Gigantosaurus' was bred by Hans Hansen at Walters Gardens in Michigan and registered in 2021, from a streaked sport of Hosta 'Empress Wu' crossed with 'Blueberry Muffin'. It is sold in the Giant size class of the Shadowland® group of Proven Winners® hostas.

Final Thoughts: Big enough to anchor a bed, happy enough in a giant container. The hummingbirds aren't scared. YOU SHOULDN'T BE EITHER.