Giant Hostas: 17+ Varieties And More Topic Information

The topic of this article is very exciting because the giant hosta is probably the most unusual garden plant. Here you will find many interesting varieties and a lot of other useful information.

Giant green hostas

Let’s start with the most numerous group – the giant green hosta. Although the color of their leaves is not as unusual as the others, they are nevertheless worth your attention.

Empress Wu Hosta

First on the list is Empress Wu because of its enormous popularity. Everyone who is even a little bit interested in hostas must have heard about this wonderful variety.

It is truly a giant hosta because it reaches about 3 feet tall and 7 feet wide. It will take at least five years to get to that size.

The leaves are round and very large. The color is dark green and very intense.

This hosta needs a lot of space and nutritious soil.

T-Rex Hosta

T-Rex is the next huge variety of hosta that will amaze you with its leaves. They are so huge that they hang down a little under their own weight. In addition, the leaf margin is slightly wavy, which is an additional ornamental advantage.

The T-Rex can reach a width of six feet or more. At the same time, the height is usually up to 3 feet. After a few years of growing, you will have a huge mound of large leaves.

This variety needs a nutritious and light substrate to reach its maximum size. You also need to water and feed it often.

Minke Hosta

Minke is a green large hosta that has some features. First, its leaves have a slightly bluish tint at the beginning of the season, but then they turn green. Second, the edge of the leaf is colored light yellow. These differences make it very interesting compared to other varieties.

This variety can grow up to 3 feet tall and 5 feet wide. To get a bush of this size you need to provide it with plenty of nutrition, water, and loose soil.

However, don’t expect it to reach its maximum size in one season. You will have to care for it for several years.

Lothar The Giant Hosta

The huge leaves of Lothar the Giant can surprise even the most sophisticated gardener. The leaf blade can reach up to 14 inches long! At the same time, it is about 10 inches wide. In addition, the leaf edge is slightly wavy, which makes the hosta even more unusual.

Its slight disadvantage is its slow growth rate. It will take the Lothar the Giant at least five to six years to reach its maximum size (3 feet tall and 6 feet wide).

The color of the leaves is dark green, which looks great in combination with the ribbed texture.

This variety, like all hostas, needs full or partial shade and adequate watering.

List of other giant green hostas

• Green Acres Hosta
• Big Sam Hosta
• Giantland Zeus
• Millennium Hosta
• Jurassic Park Hosta
• Kingsize Hosta
• Lakeside Maverick Hosta
• Hirao Majesty Hosta
• Bigfoot Hosta
• Donahue Piecrust Hosta
• Jade Cascade Hosta
• Big Top Hosta

Giant gold hostas

Add yellow to the large size of the leaves and you have a fantastic combination. In this chapter, I offer you some of the most popular and beautiful varieties.

Sum And Substance Hosta

Sum And Substance is the most famous yellow hosta of large size. It reaches over 2 feet in height and can exceed 5 feet in width.

The leaves are about one foot across. The ribbed texture of the leaf looks very pretty in its greenish-yellow color.

The advantage of this variety is its good sun tolerance. Sum And Substance Hosta can tolerate about 4-5 hours of direct sun in the morning or evening.

Overall, this variety is worthy of your attention and does not require much care.

Key West Hosta

Key West has rounded, heart-shaped, bright yellow leaves. In addition, the leaf texture is ribbed and the edge is wavy. The leaf blade can exceed 1 foot in length.

The width of this hosta can reach 6.5 feet after many years of cultivation and up to 3 feet in height. It needs a lot of space to grow big and beautiful.

In addition, you will have to provide Key West with several hours of direct sun per day to get the yellow color of the leaves.

Sun Power Hosta

Sun Power has bright yellow leaves of big size. The leaf blade is slightly elongated with a sharp tip. The leaf edge is wavy which together with the lemon color gives a stunning result.

This variety can reach about 2.5 feet tall and up to 6 feet wide. It grows fairly quickly so in a short time you will have a large bush of wavy yellow leaves.

Needs some direct sunlight for color saturation. In addition, a nutritious substrate and feeding at least once a year is a must.

Coast to Coast Hosta

Coast to Coast is a huge hosta that has very interesting leaves. First, the leaves are rounded and colored yellow with a hint of lime. Secondly, the leaf blade is ribbed and over time it becomes slightly ruffled. In addition, the edge is slightly wavy.

The growth rate of this variety is medium. After a few years, it is capable of reaching about 2 feet in height and up to 3 feet in width.

At flowering time, the purple flowers are a great contrast to the yellow leaves. However, for the yellow to be more pronounced, the hosta needs to get a few hours of direct sun in the morning.

List of other huge yellow hostas

• High Noon Hosta
• Age of Gold Hosta

Giant blue hostas

Large blue hostas are another category that is highly prized among horticulturists. Huge blue leaves look fascinating and can decorate every garden without exception.

Gentle Giant Hosta

Gentle Giant is a host that stands apart from the others. It has sturdy petioles that hold the huge leaves and do not sag. As a result, the growth habit is almost upright.

The leaves are also very strong and the edge is slightly upward. As a result, the leaves resemble saucers or more accurately, plates. Add to this the blue color and you have something really delightful.

This variety is able to reach more than 3.5 feet in height, making it one of the tallest. In width, it can grow to about 6 feet.

Humpback Whale Hosta

The Humpback Whale is capable of growing more than 6.5 feet wide! It will take many years to do so, but it’s worth it nonetheless. It usually reaches 3 feet in height.

The leaves are an enormous greenish-blue. If the plant grows in full shade, the leaves are much bluer. The texture of the leaf is slightly ruffled. The leaf blade is quite firm so the leaves will not sag despite their heavy weight.

Humpback Whale is a relatively new variety. The first specimens of this hosta were sold at auctions for several thousand dollars!

Big John Hosta

Big John is a very dark hosta whose color varies from green to blue. The less direct sun it gets, the bluer its leaves will be.

The size of the leaf is astounding as it can be over a foot and a half long and a foot wide. The texture of the leaf is very ribbed and completes the whole picture.

This variety can grow up to 3 feet tall and 6 feet wide. It is a great choice for a large garden as a specimen plant.

Big Boy Hosta

Big Boy is a giant hosta whose leaves can be a foot and a half tall and a foot wide. The color is greenish-blue, but in full shade, it will be almost completely blue. Also, the leaf blade has very deep veins which is an extra bonus.

This hosta usually grows up to three feet tall and six feet wide. This is a great variety for creating a bed of hostas. However, you will have to give it quite a lot of space.

Like most large hostas, Big Boy requires a nutritious substrate and adequate watering. Also, it needs to be fertilized at least once a year with a slow-release fertilizer.

List of other large blue hostas

• Big Mama Hosta
• Blue Angel Hosta
• Blue Mammoth Hosta
• Blue Umbrellas Hosta
• Big Bubba Hosta
• Big Daddy Hosta
• Elegans Hosta
• Kim Hosta
• Ruffles and Ridges Hosta
• Silverback Hosta
• Wind Beneath My Wings Hosta
• Big Zach Hosta
• Devon Giant Hosta

Giant variegated hostas

Huge leaves painted in two or three contrasting colors create a stunning picture. It’s like the work of a talented artist. In this chapter you will learn about several variegated large hostas.

Wu-la-la Hosta

Wu-La-la is a huge hosta which is a daughter variety to Empress Wu. It has large leaves about a foot long. The middle of the leaf is greenish-blue and the edge of the leaf is lime-yellow. This combination is very beautiful.

This hosta reaches up to 5 feet in width and up to 3 feet in height. The growth rate is medium, so it will need at least five years to grow to its maximum size. However, by watering and fertilizing it, you can speed up its growth rate a bit.

Big Kahuna Hosta

Big Kahuna is one of those hostas that are highly prized among collectors of such plants. Its price can easily reach half a thousand dollars. In addition, it is not easy to get it because it is a fairly new variety and is therefore scarce.

It has large leaves that reach about 10 inches across. The leaf blade is colored in three colors. The center of the leaf is yellow with a thin green border while the leaf margin is blue. This gives a delightful effect.

Frost Giant Hosta

Frost Giant is a wonderful hosta with large, slightly elongated leaves. The leaf tip is sharp and the texture is ribbed. The color is blue with a green edge. With a lot of direct sun the color will change to green-yellow.

This hosta usually does not exceed 2 feet in height and up to 6 feet in width. It is well suited as a specimen plant. Its hard leaves make it resistant to slugs.

Great Expectations Hosta

Great Expectations is a large variegated hosta. It reaches a height of one and a half feet and a width of about 3.5 feet.

The leaves are very puckered and ribbed. The leaf color is green with yellow. The colors are combined not in a straight line but in a chaotic pattern, which gives the hosta an energetic and expressive look.

In fact, this hosta is an excellent collector’s plant and is ideal for growing as a specimen plant.

List of other big variegated hostas

• Montana Aureomarginata Hosta
• Dream Queen Hosta
• Dream Weaver Hosta
• Drop-dead Gorgeous Hosta
• Earth Angel Hosta
• Gabriel’s Wing Hosta
• Great White Whale Hosta
• His Honor Hosta
• Liberty Hosta
• Olive Bailey Langdon Hosta
• Terms of Endearment Hosta

What is the largest variety of hosta?

The largest hosta in the world is the Giantland Big Bastard Hosta. In the picture, you can see the originator of this variety, Jeff Miller, with his creation. The leaves of this hosta reach 2.5 feet long and 1.5 feet wide! This is certainly a record at the time of this writing.

In addition, the height of this hosta exceeds 3 feet. As for the width, it is too early to draw any conclusions because Giantland Big Bastard Hosta is a new variety. One thing is for sure, however, that at maturity it is capable of reaching 10 feet wide or even more.

Jeff Miller is the founder and owner of Land of the Giants Hosta Farm. This nursery specializes specifically in the breeding of giant hostas, so we should no doubt expect even larger varieties in the near future.

How to grow giant hostas?

To successfully grow giant hostas, the first thing is to provide them with good soil. Dig a hole at least 3 feet wide and deep.

Mix the resulting soil with compost or soil conditioner. Plant the hosta in this substrate so that the petioles are not submerged in the soil.

Water the hosta with 2 to 3 gallons of water. Then constantly check the substrate for moisture. If it is more than an inch dry, water the hosta. A giant hosta uses a lot of water, so water often, but avoid overwatering.

Fertilize the hosta at least once a season in early spring. Use a slow-release multi-purpose fertilizer. After flowering, fertilize the hosta with liquid fertilizer. Avoid fertilizing later than July.

To grow quickly but not get burnt, the hosta should grow in partial shade. Plant it in a location with up to 4 hours of morning sun per day. But this does not apply to giant blue hostas, they should grow in full or dappled shade.

How to divide a giant hosta?

Divide a giant hosta in the same way as any other hosta. Simply dig it out of the ground and cut it into several pieces. Each part should have at least three eyes.

You can also divide a large hosta without digging it up. Cut it up into pieces with a spade and plant it in other places. Treat the wounds with crushed wood ash or spray with fungicide.

However, if you want a truly gigantic hosta, you should never split it up at all. Plant it where there is plenty of space. Fertilize and water it, and gradually make more and more room.

In five years at the earliest, the hosta can reach its maximum size. If you don’t split it up and replant it for at least 10 years, you will get a really enormous plant.