Hosta Sieboldiana Elegans: photo and description

Hosta elegans is one of the most famous hybrid varieties of this plant today. Its large dense leaves are distinguished by a well-defined “waffle” surface relief and an unusual gray-blue color with a steel sheen, which makes them very elegant and decorative. In addition, Hosta elegans is undemanding in care, frost-resistant and grows well on almost any soil, preferring moderate humidity and partial shade. No wonder this luxurious beauty has been loved by florists and landscapers for over a hundred years. Hosta elegans looks great both in single and in group plantings, fits perfectly into any stylistic decisions, and its cut leaves harmoniously complement bouquets and compositions made from fresh flowers.

Description of hosta elegans

Hosta Siebold Elegans (Elegans) is a hybrid seedling obtained in 1905. Its authorship belongs to the German breeder Georg Arends. The elegans variety was bred as a result of crossing Siebold host and Fortune. In AHS (American Hosta Society – American Society of Host Lovers), a patent for it was registered in 1987.

Elegance is Siebold’s hosta variety, beloved by designers and florists, with large, wide leaves of a gray-blue color.

elegans belongs to large-sized hosts: the height of the bush is on average 0,6-0,9 m, and the width is 0,9-1,2 m. The wide oval leaves of this plant with a pointed outer end resemble a heart in shape and reach 25- 36 cm long. They are very dense, have a wrinkled, “waffle” surface structure, on which large veins are clearly visible. The color of the leaf blades of hosta elegans is a rich, gray-blue, turning blue-green in bright light. A bluish wax coating, densely covering the leaves, adds a characteristic metallic sheen to their color.

The flowers of the plant appear in July-August. In shape, they resemble elongated bells, collected in several thick brushes on short peduncles. The size of the hosta elegans flower is up to 6 cm, the color is white, often with a delicate lavender tint. There is no smell.

The fruit of hosta elegans is a dense leathery box, inside of which there are seeds. The latter can remain viable for up to 1 year.

Hosta elegans flowers can be white, with a delicate lavender tint.

Hosta elegans does not tolerate excessive sunlight, preferring to grow in shade or partial shade. It is moisture-loving and in hot periods needs regular watering. In favorable conditions, it grows quickly and easily, forming a lush sprawling bush.

The winter hardiness of the plant is high: according to the USDA (USA Department of Agriculture) scale, host elegans can be grown in climate zone 4, in regions where the average annual air temperature in winter reaches -29-34 ° C. In the Federation, the Moscow region and most of the central regions of the country are considered to be such.

Application in landscape design

Ideas for using Hosta Elegance in the design of the site are inexhaustible. The most common options:

• creation of the lower tier in multi-level flower beds, mixborders;
• landing on the shore of a reservoir or in rockeries surrounded by stones;
• groups with flowering perennials in borders and borders;
• planting in the shade of ornamental shrubs, conifers;
• solitary and group plantings on open lawns, lawns, terraces;
• compositions in gardens of natural style.

Hosta elegans retains its decorative appearance from May to September. Given this, you should choose the right “neighbors” for her so that the landing always looks beautiful:

1. Hosta sprouts begin to break out of the ground in the spring, at the height of the flowering of apple trees, lilacs, primroses and irises.
2. The broad leaves of this plant unfurl at the end of May. During this period, they perfectly mask faded bulbous flowers: crocuses, pushkinia, muscari.
3. Hosta elegans, planted in the lower tier of a mixed multi-level flower bed, will be a wonderful cover for this part of the stems of tall flowering plants – panicled phlox, daylilies.
4. In summer, the sprawling large hosta will create an excellent backdrop for blooming peonies and roses.
5. In the shady areas of the garden, she will be accompanied by astilbes, kupena, brunners, ferns, lobelia, hellebore, marsh irises, morning glory.
6. Landscape compositions that combine elegans and other varieties of hostas in contrasting colors look beautiful and elegant.

One of the options for using elegans in design is to combine it with hostas of other types and varieties.

Breeding methods

The most common hosta breeding methods are:

• dividing the bush;
• cuttings;
• growing from seed.

Most often, gardeners use the first method. The Siebold elegans hosta is usually shared at the end of August. To do this, choose an adult bush at the age of 5-6 years. Before the procedure, the plant is watered abundantly, then carefully dug out of the ground along with the roots. Then, using a knife or a shovel, the rhizome is divided into 2-3 parts, which are planted in separate holes.

In order to propagate hosta elegans by cuttings, the bush does not need to be dug out entirely. At the stage of active growth (from May to early August), a low shoot with a rhizome, the so-called “heel”, should be carefully separated. Half of the leaves on the cutting must be cut off, giving the host the opportunity to direct maximum efforts to the development of the roots. In the first few days after planting the shoot in a separate hole, it should be placed under a transparent “greenhouse” cover, sprayed daily and watered well.

Reproduction of hosta elegans by seeds is a very troublesome and labor-intensive way. In addition, seedlings do not always retain varietal characteristics. Sowing is done in February, in containers with a moist nutrient substrate. After the seedlings get older, they are planted in separate containers for growing. Small plants develop slowly. They can be transplanted into open ground only after 3 years. The soil is previously dug up with the addition of manure and watered well. At the same time, the decorative effect can appear only for 4-5 years of the plant’s life.

Dividing the bush is the most popular method of propagating the hosta.

Landing algorithm

Hosta elegans seedlings are usually planted in spring or early autumn.

If we are talking about dividing the bush, then it is carried out exclusively in the fall: the root system of the Siebold hosta begins to develop only after the leaves unfold. “Delenki” planted in the spring will not be able to take root.

The best place to grow Hosta elegans should be in deep or openwork shade and be protected from drafts and strong winds. The soil needs light, nutritious, water and breathable (ideally, slightly acidic loam).

Elegance hosta seedlings are advised to buy in the winter, in a “sleeping” state. They should have strong, healthy roots and well-marked, developed leaf buds. “Sleeping” seedlings are recommended to be stored in a dark, cool place (basement, refrigerator, on a glazed loggia). Immediately before planting in the ground, the rhizome must be inspected, if necessary, cut off the rotten places, disinfecting the sections with greenery, and treat with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Landing hosts elegans is performed as follows:

• on the site they dig a hole about 40 cm deep, the length and width of which will correspond to the diameter of an adult bush;
• drainage is poured to the bottom;
• the soil for planting, selected from the pit, is filled with humus, compost, rotted manure;
• a mound is formed in the hole, on which the elegans host seedling is placed vertically, making sure that the root neck is at ground level;
• gently straighten the roots of the plant;
• pour soil into the hole and lightly press it so that there are no “air pockets” below;
• water the hosta abundantly;
• mulch the ground with sawdust, crushed tree bark, peat or dry humus.

Growing rules

Hosta elegans is an undemanding plant. Caring for her is not difficult, but must be done correctly.

Hosta elegans performs best when planted in shade or partial shade.

Basic rules:

1. Hosta elegans loves moist soil, but without stagnant water. It must be watered in a timely manner, making sure that the earth at the roots does not dry out – about 1 time in 3-4 days. It is best to do this in the morning or evening. Excessive moisture at the roots can cause them to rot.
2. Host elegans is fed three times during the season, alternating mineral fertilizers with organic ones. It is advised to observe this regimen: the first time in the spring, when the period of its active growth begins, then during flowering and after it ends.
3. Loosening the soil under Hosta elegans should be done with caution. The roots of the plant are very close to the surface of the earth, so they are easy to injure. It is best not to loosen, but to mulch the soil, especially since the hosta leaves little room for weeds to grow.

Preparation for winter

Although hosta elegans has good frost resistance, it also needs to be prepared in a certain way for the onset of winter. The complex of necessary measures depends on the climate in which it grows. The more severe the winter is expected, the more responsible it is to organize special care during this period.

Preparing hosta elegans for winter includes the following activities:

1. In autumn, after the plant has faded, it is necessary to prune it. Some gardeners remove exclusively flower stalks, but at the same time leave dying leaves on the bush so that in winter it additionally covers the roots of the plant. Another part of the gardeners in the autumn must cut off all the yellowed leaves from the host. They motivate their actions by the fact that slugs and snails usually spend the winter in the old foliage, which, having awakened in the spring, will begin to actively eat young greens. The specific dates when hosta elegans should be cut are usually not called, but it is advised to carry it out two to three weeks before the expected cold weather.
2. Top dressing elegans in the autumn period is not carried out. Phosphorus-potassium compounds introduced into the soil in mid-July and early August help the plant recover after flowering and prepare for the cold.
3. Before the onset of winter, the soil under the elegans host is mulched with a layer of humus or peat about 15-17 cm thick. If severe frosts are expected, you can additionally cover the bush with coniferous spruce branches or “breathing” agrofiber.

Some flower growers recommend cutting the yellowed and wilted foliage of the hosta for the winter, others advise leaving it as a winter shelter for the roots.

Diseases and pests

Hosta elegans is considered resistant to most diseases and pests. However, some of them can still seriously harm the health of the plant, so you should know how to recognize the symptoms and how you can help the flower.

A dangerous, but, fortunately, infrequent disease is root collar rot. Hosta elegans can be exposed to it for the following reasons:

• grows in a too dense flower garden;
• the soil on the site is too dense, does not pass water well, remains damp for a long time;
• when planting, the bush was too deep into the ground;
• applied too much fertilizer.

A sign of the disease is discoloration and quickly dying leaves. Sometimes they dry out, other times they soften and become sticky.

To save hosta elegans, it should be dug up, cut off the rotten parts with a sterile knife, treat the rhizome with a fungicide and transplant the bush to a new place.

Root collar rot can kill the host if not taken care of in time.

Occasionally, a plant can infect phyllosticosis, a fungal disease that manifests itself in the form of brown increasing spots on peduncles and foliage. With a severe course of the disease, the host elegans may die. To save the bush, the affected organs must be cut and burned, and the host must be treated with Vectra or Abiga-Peak preparations (twice with an interval of 10 days). Additionally, you can spray the leaves with an aqueous solution of colloidal sulfur (100 g per 1 bucket).

Slugs and snails usually cause significant harm to hosts. They eat holes in the young leaves of the plant and leave traces of silvery slime on their surface. The preparations “Thunderstorm” and “Slizneed” are effective against these pests. You can also set beer traps under the plants, mulch the soil with pine needles, broken eggshells, wood ash, and collect vermin by hand. But it is worth noting that thin-leaved varieties most often suffer from these pests. Hosta elegans, with its dense, durable greens, is usually too tough for them.

Conclusion

Hosta elegans is an unchanging classic among the large large-leaved representatives of this genus. Bred over a hundred years ago, the variety is still very popular in ornamental gardening. Among the undoubted advantages of hosta elegans are its unpretentiousness and frost resistance, as well as low susceptibility to diseases and pest attacks. By planting a bush in moist, fertile soil in a corner of the garden protected from the sun and providing simple care for it, you can admire the beautiful “queen of the shadow” from late spring to early autumn. Luxurious thick “fountains” of gray-blue leaves with a bluish waxy sheen will adequately decorate any composition and help to embody the most intricate design idea.

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