Engler 1888/AHS 1993
Hosta Lancifolia
This is the old standby. We call it “Joe Hosta”. Soon you’ll be giving shovels full of it to your friends, because it increases rapidly.
‘Lancifolia’ was the first hosta introduced to Western botany. No one really knows where it originally came from but it showed up in 1692 by Kaempfer and then was taken to Holland in 1829 by Von Siebold. It is thought to come from the sieboldii line.
Mature plants are 2 feet across, a foot tall and mound shaped.
The lance-shaped leaves are about 5” x 3” and are smooth and a shiny. The top surface is a medium green and the underside is a glossy lighter green. The undulated leaves have 5-6 veins. The green scape has reddish dots on it.
The funnel-shaped violet flowers are striped. They bloom late, and are sterile. The plant looks similar to forcathayana which is fertile.
‘Lancifolia’ is both sun and drought tolerant but prefers light shade. Lancifolia is one of the first hostas to come up in the spring and one of the last to go dormant, making it one of the most reliable ground covers around. It is sometimes found under the names ‘Saji Giboshi’ or ‘Koba Giboshi’.
You will get plenty of extra eyes with this one.
$5.00