Hosta 'Maui Buttercups'

Hosta 'Maui Buttercups': Little Gold Bowls to Brighten the Gloom

Little round gold leaves, cupped and puckered like tiny bowls of melted butter waiting for the popcorn. 'Maui Buttercups' is compact, golden and BUTTERS UP EVERYONE WHO WALKS BY.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Hosta 'Maui Buttercups'
• Common Name: Plantain Lily, Hosta
• Height: 20–25 cm (8–10 in)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–23 in)
• Flowers: Pale lavender to near white bells
• Bloom Time: Midsummer (July to August)
• Foliage: Rounded, deeply cupped and puckered gold leaves of heavy substance
• Features: Good slug resistance, compact

Where to Plant: It's ideal for the front of a shade border, along a path, or in a container where you can look down into its cupped leaves. A cluster of three makes a bright patch under trees and reads well from a distance in the darkest part of the yard.

Companion Plants: Use small gold 'Maui Buttercups' in a moist, shady bed with picotee hellebores, a tassel fern and dark bugbane. Helleborus HGC® Ice N' Roses® Dark Picotee opens white flowers edged in dark red at 30 to 45 cm from March to May. Polystichum polyblepharum adds glossy evergreen tassel fern fronds at 45 to 60 cm. Cimicifuga 'Chocoholic' brings dark leaves and mauve-pink spikes at 90 to 120 cm from August to October. Carex 'Bowles Golden' adds bright gold blades at 60 to 90 cm.

Plant Care: Plant in part sun to full shade, in moist, fertile, well-drained soil with plenty of compost. Gold hostas colour up best with a little morning sun, but keep them out of hot afternoon sun. Water regularly in the first season and during dry spells. Remove the flower stems after bloom if you like and clear the leaves after a hard frost. Divide in spring if the clump gets crowded. Deer and rabbits still enjoy hostas, so protect it if they visit.

History: William Vaughn of Illinois hybridized 'Maui Buttercups' and registered it in 1991. It came from a cross of 'Frances Williams' and 'August Moon', which gave it heavy, corrugated leaves and all-gold colour.

Final Thoughts: Good slug resistance and big gold colour in a small package. Tuck it at the front of the shade bed. SMALL PLANT, BIG GOLD RUSH.