Hostas are native to northeast Asia, specifically China, Japan, Korea and the Russian Far East. They grow in moist, shaded places and are valued in gardens as shade-tolerant foliage plants, hardy in zones 3 to 8 or 9.
Most of the species behind modern hostas were brought from Japan to Europe by Philipp Franz von Siebold in the mid-19th century. The genus was named by Leopold Trattinnick in 1812 for Nicholas Thomas Host, and the older name Funkia honours Heinrich Christian Funck. Hosta plantaginea, the only strongly fragrant species, is often called August lily. The American Hosta Society registers cultivars, with over 7,200 registered or reserved names.
'Halcyon'
A frosty blue, mounded hosta about 60 cm tall and up to 1 m wide that holds its blue colour longer than many. Eric Smith bred it in Britain in the 1960s by crossing 'Tardiflora' with Hosta sieboldiana var. elegans, and it has the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
'Abiqua Drinking Gourd'
A large, thick-leaved hosta with deeply cupped blue-green leaves and white flowers in July and August. It was named Hosta of the Year in 2014 by the American Hosta Growers Association; the breeder was not confirmed in the sources checked.
'Loyalist'
A mounded hosta with nearly white leaf centres and deep green margins, described as a sport of 'Patriot'. Its originator and year were not found in the sources checked.
'Diana Remembered'
A fragrant Hosta plantaginea hybrid about 40 cm tall and 90 cm wide with shiny blue-green leaves and a wide creamy-yellow border. It was developed by J. Kulpa in 1997.
