Hosta 'Wide Brim'

Hosta 'Wide Brim': Puckered Green Framed in Cream

Rounded, puckered leaves with wide creamy yellow edges, like a fancy sun hat at a garden party. 'Wide Brim' has never met a derby day it didn't dress for. HATS OFF. ACTUALLY, HATS ON.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Hosta 'Wide Brim'
• Common Name: Plantain Lily, Hosta
• Height: 45 cm (18 in), with flower scapes to about 60 cm (2 ft)
• Spread: 90–115 cm (3–3.75 ft) at maturity
• Flowers: Pale lavender bells on scapes above the leaves
• Bloom Time: Midsummer (July to August)
• Foliage: Rounded, puckered, blue-green to dark green leaves with wide creamy yellow margins that turn creamy white over the season
• Features: RHS Award of Garden Merit

Where to Plant: Use it to edge a shady walk, fill in under mature trees, or bring a pale outline to the front of a woodland border. Mass several for a broad, rippling groundcover, and plan on protection in deer country.

Companion Plants: Dicentra 'Alba' arches to 90 cm with white hearts in May and June, filling space while this hosta is still unfolding. Tricyrtis hirta flowers white in August and September, right after the hosta's lavender blooms. Asarum europaeum carpets the ground at 10 to 15 cm with glossy leaves, a neat finish below the hosta's wide leaves. All three suit a shady bed with some part sun.

Plant Care: Plant in spring or early fall in moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil. If your soil is heavy clay, mix in compost before planting. Water deeply in the first year and during long dry spells. Mulch helps keep the roots cool and moist. Morning sun is fine, and it brightens the margins. Hot afternoon sun can scorch the leaf edges, so give it shade from midday on. Remove the flower scapes after blooming if you like a tidy look. Cut back the foliage after a hard frost or in early spring. Divide in early spring when the shoots are just up, every few years or whenever you want more plants.

History: Paul Aden of Baldwin, New York bred 'Wide Brim' from a cross of 'Bold One' and 'Bold Ribbons' and registered it with the American Hosta Society in 1979. The Royal Horticultural Society later gave it its Award of Garden Merit.

Final Thoughts: Low maintenance and pretty in shade. Plant one where your guests can admire it from a lawn chair. THE BEST HEADWEAR ON THE BLOCK.