Plant Care Library

Other Names:  Plantain Lily, Funkia

Description:

This unique variety has long, narrow, heavily rippled leaves that emerge silver-blue, maturing to blue-green; lavender striped flowers appear in mid-summer; unusual texture and great color for beds, borders or containers; quite hardy and low maintenance

Ornamental Features

Wild Imagination Hosta features dainty spikes of white tubular flowers with lavender stripes rising above the foliage in mid summer. Its attractive twisted narrow leaves emerge powder blue in spring, turning bluish-green in color with hints of silvery blue throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Wild Imagination Hosta is an herbaceous perennial with tall flower stalks held atop a low mound of foliage. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Insects

Wild Imagination Hosta is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Wild Imagination Hosta will grow to be about 15 inches tall at maturity extending to 24 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 30 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 24 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in partial shade to shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Wild Imagination Hosta is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.