Hosta 'First Frost'

Hosta 'First Frost': Powder Blue with a Shifting Edge

Powdery blue-green leaves with creamy margins that fade to white as the season rolls on, like it's slowly getting frosted tips. 'First Frost' keeps that look alive, AND HONESTLY? IT WORKS.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Hosta 'First Frost'
• Common Name: Plantain Lily, Hosta
• Height: 40–45 cm (16–18 in)
• Spread: 80–100 cm (31–39 in)
• Flowers: Pale lavender
• Bloom Time: Late summer (August)
• Foliage: Thick, powdery blue-green leaves with creamy yellow margins that fade to white over the season
• Features: Good slug resistance, Hosta of the Year 2010

Where to Plant: Its tidy shape makes it great for edging a shady path, lining a north-facing foundation or repeating through a woodland border. It's also handsome in a large container, and because the margin shifts from yellow in spring to white in summer, it keeps a shade bed from feeling static.

Companion Plants: Give 'First Frost' a moist, shady bed with maroon hellebores, lilac astilbe and near-black heuchera. Helleborus HGC® Ice N' Roses® Bennotta opens maroon-red flowers at 30 to 40 cm from March to May. Heuchera 'Obsidian' adds near-black foliage at 25 cm. Astilbe 'Pumila' brings lilac-pink spikes at 25 to 30 cm in August and September. Hystrix patula adds a native bottlebrush grass at 60 to 120 cm in flower.

Plant Care: Plant it in moist, rich, well-drained soil with compost mixed in. Keep it in shade or gentle morning sun. Strong afternoon sun wears off the waxy blue coating and can scorch the edges. Water deeply during dry spells, especially while it gets settled. Deer and rabbits like hostas, so protect it where they visit. Remove the flower stems after blooming and clean up the leaves after a hard frost (the real one). Divide in early spring as the shoots appear, if needed.

History: 'First Frost' is a sport of the classic blue Hosta 'Halcyon', with the same thick blue leaves plus a bright margin. The American Hosta Growers Association named it Hosta of the Year in 2010.

Final Thoughts: Thick, tough and mostly ignored by slugs. Pop it in shade and let it chill. COOLEST HAIRDO IN THE BED.