• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Garden design
  • Container gardening
  • Food to grow
  • Gardens to visit
  • Events for gardeners
Garden Making

Garden Making

Inspiring ideas and information for great home gardens

Home » Looking forward to fragrant hostas

Looking forward to fragrant hostas

By Judith Adam Filed Under: Making a Garden

Hosta plantaginea (Photo from GardensPlus.ca)
Hosta plantaginea (Photo from GardensPlus.ca)

A recent heavy, overnight rain renewed plants and sent a message to dormant lawns — start sending up new green shoots. It’s also given me hope for a good showing from fragrant plantain lily (Hosta plantaginea, Zone 3) this month. It’s always a surprise to see these glossy, apple-green fragrant hostas sending up huge white trumpets in August, long after the other hostas have finished flowering. I first encountered the fragrant plantain lily outside an RCMP building where the plants had been growing for years. (No, I was not under arrest.)

Some smart plant hybridizer seized the opportunity and introduced sister plants for H. plantaginea with similar desirable traits. ‘Aphrodite’ (H. p. ‘Aphrodite’, Zone 3) has a large double flower and intense perfume that requires a hot summer to be at its best. (I think we can promise that this year.) ‘Venus’ (H. p. ‘Venus’, Zone 3) has double flowers extending in five-inch (13-cm) trumpets, opening in late afternoon and sending strong perfume into the night air. ‘White Fairy’ (H. p. ‘White Fairy’, Zone 3) is a recent cultivar bred in Japan, and not yet readily available. The Japanese name is ‘Yu Lei’, meaning white fairy. Its stamens have been converted to petals, resulting in triple flowers arranged in a hose-in-hose formation, with the same intense perfume.

These hostas are welcome in August, when other summer perennials are finishing and autumn perennials haven’t quite started. Their bright, shiny foliage makes an attractive filler in beds, with the added feature of fresh new leaves all summer. Almost all hostas put up their full seasonal foliage in spring, but Hosta plantaginea continues sending up fresh foliage throughout the season. Damaged or tired leaves can be removed, and new leaves allowed to fill the space for the remaining weeks of summer. In northern regions, H. plantaginea flowers best in a sunny location. What a useful plant, and we need more of it.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Share this article

Published: August 7, 2012 | Updated: February 6, 2019

About Judith Adam

Judith Adam is a horticulturist, landscape designer and author of several best-selling gardening books, including Landscape Planning. She lives in Toronto.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

Garden Making website

explore

  • Books for gardeners
  • Containers in your garden
  • Events for gardeners
  • Food to grow
  • Garden design
  • Gardens to visit
  • Growing from seed
  • How to
  • Plant ideas
  • Prizes for readers
  • Tips for gardeners

Members

  • Member login
  • Register for free membership
  • Manage your email preferences
  • Add your event listing
  • View events you’ve submitted
  • Backup form to submit event

Events for gardeners

May 24
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Catherine Kavassalis on herbs

Organizer: Brampton Horticultural Society
Laura: 905 799-1929
May 25
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Peterborough Horticultural Society Monthly Members’ Meeting – IN PERSON YAY!

Organizer: Peterborough Horticultural Society
416-846-0778
May 25
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Joyce Hosty on Foodscaping: Edible Landscapes

Organizer: Peterborough Horticultural Society
May 27
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Selkirk Annual Plant Sale

Organizer: Selkirk & District Horticultural Society
(204) 738-2368
May 28
8:00 am - 12:00 pm

Bronte Annual Plant Sale

Organizer: Bronte Horticultural Society
View Calendar

Get email updates

Join 9,702 gardeners who get our email updates. We do not share emails.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Copyright © 2022 Inspiring Media Inc. | GARDEN MAKING is a registered trademark | About | Service | Terms of use | Privacy policy