Hosta Big Daddy

Also known as plantain lilies, hostas are grown for their beautiful foliage and delicate flowers. Hosta Big Daddy, a Hosta sieboldiana hybrid, is a clump-forming, herbaceous perennial with huge, deeply puckered, rounded to heart-shaped leaves, which are a wonderful glaucous blue and make an impressive clump. In July and August, the plant bears violet-tinged white flowers on slender stems. Blue-leaved sieboldiana hybrids are more resistant than most hostas to slugs and snails, but if you grow Big Daddy in a pot, mix soil into the compost to guard against vine weevils. Remove dead leaves at the end of the growing season, and mulch in spring to conserve moisture. Hosta Big Daddy holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Site: Sheltered
Soil: Fertile, moist, well-drained soil, preferably slightly acid to neutral
Position: Best in partial shade; tolerates full shade, and full sun if soil is reliably moist
Season of interest: Spring to autumn, July and August in particular
Hardiness: Fully hardy
Height: 39” (1m) Spread: 39” (1m)