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Hosta Color Changes

Hosta Color Variation

Hostas come in a wide variety of colors. Some hostas are silver on the underside of their leaves and hosta hybridizers have succeeded in introducing red scapes.

The basic hosta colors are green, blue, and yellow. White can be a center or margin accent color but there are no white hostas (with some Viridescence exceptions). These four colors can appear in any combination of centers, margins, and streaks.

Color and Genetics:

Genetics play the most important role in the color of hostas. Genetics determines the leaf’s texture, shine, amount of green chlorophyll and location of any plastids that affect leaf color.

The leaf’s surface texture affects the color reflected off the leaves. Hostas that are corrugated, have deep veins, and are twisted will cast a different color than hostas with smooth leaves. Some hostas have different types of wax in the epidural tissue (called the cutin) on their leaves that create shiny green leaves or glaucous blue or gray leaves.

Color and External Factors:

Sunlight:

Hosta 'June' grown in different amounts of sunlight.

H. 'June' with more sun

H. 'June' with more shade

The amount of sunlight and its intensity also determines the color of a hosta. Too much sun can have a range of effects, including burning, lightening (bleaching), browning and shriveling the leaves. Some hostas such as H. 'June' (see images) can show drastically different colors based on the amount of sunlight. Hostas prefer morning sun. Some varieties, mostly yellow and some green, can do well in afternoon sun if they are watered regularly and grown in organic, water-retaining soil. Blue or gray hostas will turn green as the wax on their leaves melt. Hostas that do not receive enough sun will eventually shrink and die.

Learn more about how sunlight affects hostas in our hostas and sunlight page.

Soil:

Hostas grown in soil low in nitrogen and magnesium might have less healthy leaves that are yellower than they should be. Both nitrogen and magnesium are needed to create healthy green chlorophyll. Growing hostas in soil of pH 7.2 or higher can cause a hosta to have difficulty absorbing iron, manganese, and phosphorus. An iron-deficient green hosta will turn chlorotic between the veins making a yellow patch. Iron-deficient blue hostas tend to look muddy.

Seasonal color changes in hostas

Seasonal color changes are different than the color change that can be brought on by sunlight. As an example, 'Guacamole' can appear to be at least three different colors depending on the amount of sunlight, not because of viridescence, lutescense, or albescence.

A small percentage of hostas predictably change colors during the course of the season. These changes are: