Hosta 'Gold Standard'

Hosta 'Gold Standard': Sunlight Bottled in a Dark Green Frame

Gold centres trimmed in dark green, like somebody's retirement savings finally doing what they were supposed to. 'Gold Standard' is the one investment in your yard that's GUARANTEED TO GROW.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Hosta 'Gold Standard' (a fortunei-type hosta)
• Common Name: Plantain lily, hosta
• Height: 55 cm (22 in) foliage, with flower stems up to about 105 cm (42 in)
• Spread: 100–150 cm (40–60 in)
• Flowers: Lavender and funnel-shaped
• Bloom Time: Midsummer (July to August)
• Foliage: Oval leaves with a gold centre and a dark green margin; the centre emerges green or chartreuse and turns gold
• Features: Benedict Garden Performance Medal

Where to Plant: Plant it where a shady bed feels flat or dark, since the gold centres read like a patch of sunlight from across the yard. It works in the middle of a border, along a woodland path, or as a single bright clump under trees.

Companion Plants: Pulmonaria 'Dark Vader' edges the front with purple flowers in April and May, starting the show weeks before the hosta. Behind, Astilbe 'Amethyst' raises purple plumes to 100 cm in June and July, and purple always looks rich next to gold-toned leaves. Athyrium 'Godzilla' is a big fern at 90 cm, with feathery fronds that contrast with the hosta's solid, rounded leaves. All three share the same full shade to part sun.

Plant Care: Plant it in rich, moist, well-drained soil with compost worked in. A little morning sun brings out the best gold. Hot afternoon sun can scorch the leaves, so give it shade from midday on. Water deeply during dry spells, especially the first year. Deer and rabbits eat hostas, and slugs may chew holes, so keep an eye out. Remove the flower stems after bloom and the leaves after a hard frost. Divide in spring as new shoots appear if you want more plants.

History: Pauline Banyai of Michigan registered 'Gold Standard' in 1976, though accounts differ on whether she found it among seedlings of a fortunei hosta or as a sport in a shipment of Hosta fortunei plants around 1970. The American Hosta Society gave it the Benedict Garden Performance Medal in 2006.

Final Thoughts: Low maintenance, hummingbirds on the flowers and colour that pays out all season. BUY LOW. PLANT NOW.