Plant, Tree & Shrub Library

Other Names:  Plantain Lily, Funkia

Group/Class:  Shadowland Collection

Brand:  Proven Winners

Description:

Huge dark green deeply veined leaves of good substance; spikes of reddish violet flowers in early to mid-summer; one of the largest hosta varieties, it is an enormous focal point for the garden or border ends

Ornamental Features

Shadowland® Empress Wu Hosta features dainty spikes of violet tubular flowers rising above the foliage from early to mid summer. Its attractive enormous heart-shaped leaves remain dark green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Shadowland® Empress Wu Hosta is a dense herbaceous perennial with a mounded form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

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

Shadowland® Empress Wu Hosta is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover

Planting & Growing

Shadowland® Empress Wu Hosta will grow to be about 30 inches tall at maturity extending to 4 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 6 feet. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 5 feet apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a slow 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.