Hostas are a classic shade garden staple known for their showy foliage and ease of care. While the most common hosta varieties sport green leaves you can also find many cultivars with beautiful purple foliage that will add striking contrast and dimension to your landscape. If you’re looking to add a pop of regal color to brighten up shaded areas growing purple hostas is a must.
An Overview of Purple Hostas
Hostas exhibit an incredible range of leaf colors beyond the typical green Varieties with purple leaves come in a wide spectrum of rich hues ranging from deep royal purple to light lavender The most intense purple colors are often seen in new spring growth, with leaves mellowing to blue-green shades as the season progresses.
While solid violet leaves make a bold statement, many popular purple hostas actually have variegated foliage. Variegation adds extra visual interest, with golden, white or green margins contrasting with purple centers. The shifting color gradients create a striking, painterly effect.
Purple hostas span all sizes from towering giants to cute mini varieties. This diversity lets you incorporate purple accents throughout the garden. Plant a bold clump of large purple hostas as a focal point, or mass smaller varieties as a vivid groundcover.
Growing Tips for Purple Hostas
Luckily, caring for purple hostas is just as easy as growing the green varieties. Here are some top tips for success:
Site Selection
Like most hostas, purple varieties thrive in partial to full shade Providing shade is particularly important for purple leaves, as too much sun can cause the rich hues to fade Look for sites with morning sun and afternoon shade or dappled light all day.
Soil Preparation
Hostas grow best in rich, moist soil amended with organic matter like compost. Work some compost or other organic material into your planting area to create an ideal loamy soil environment. Maintaining consistent soil moisture will also keep your purple hostas happy.
Division & Propagation
Mature hosta clumps can be divided every 3-5 years in early spring or fall. This propagation method allows you to multiply your favorites. Alternatively, you can grow new plants from seeds (if available) or tissue culture. New hosta tissue culture plants offer a disease-free way to expand your collection.
Pest Management
Slugs and deer love to munch on hosta leaves and can quickly ruin the ornamental foliage. Scout regularly for slugs and use organic baits as needed. For deer, fence or chemically treat vulnerable new growth. Be vigilant about pest damage, as just a few bites can mar the beauty of purple hostas.
Seasonal Care
Hostas generally emerge in spring, reach peak size by summer, then go dormant after first frost. Cut back spent foliage before winter. Apply a fresh layer of mulch over the dormant roots for cold protection. Water during droughts to prevent stress.
Captivating Purple Hosta Varieties to Try
With hundreds of purple hostas to choose from, where do you start? Here are some of the most popular and visually stunning purple varieties to spotlight in your garden:
‘Purple Sensation’
An award-winning classic, ‘Purple Sensation’ features thick rounded leaves with lightly rippled edges. New growth unfurls in rich royal purple before mellowing to blue-green. The huge 2-3 foot wide clumps make a dramatic statement in shady borders.
‘Curly Fries’
For something more petite and playful, look to ‘Curly Fries’. This fun twist on green ‘Blue Curls’ sports ruffled, spiraling leaves etched with purple. The 10-inch tall mounding habit works nicely along walkways and edges.
‘Empress Wu’
Giant ‘Empress Wu’ holds the record as the largest hosta in the world, with massive 5 foot wide clumps possible. Thick blue-green leaves have purple undersides. For maximum drama, use it as a focal point. Give it room to grow into its enormous potential.
‘Purple Haze’
Smoky purple centers swirl into green margins on the pointed leaves of ‘Purple Haze’. This medium-sized variety reaches about 18 inches tall and wide, forming a neat mound. The two-tone foliage provides artistic contrast.
‘Guacamole’
With its apt spicy name, ‘Guacamole’ serves up large rounded leaves with chartreuse margins and juicy purple-green centers. This fast-growing variety can spread into a 3 foot wide clump at maturity, mixing nicely with its all-green namesake.
‘Blue Angel’
A classic huge hosta, ‘Blue Angel’ impresses with its massive 2 foot long corrugated leaves in frosty blue-purple. Combine it with golden hostas for maximum impact. Expect a 4-5 foot wide clump at maturity. This one works well planted behind smaller varieties.
‘Minuteman’
For miniature hosta lovers, ‘Minuteman’ is a perfect little purple. The petite pointed leaves emerge dark purple before turning blue-green. It only reaches 6 inches tall but spreads into a dense 1 foot wide clump ideal for containers or edging.
‘Twilight’
Twisting, spiraling leaves give ‘Twilight’ loads of texture and charm. Bluish-green leaves are framed by wide, irregular yellow margins that light up the dusky purple centers. This unique variety grows 16 inches tall and wide, shining along walkways.
‘Paul’s Glory’
Variegation sparkles on ‘Paul’s Glory’ thanks to rippled leaves with bright gold edges and vivid purple centers. Rapidly forming wide 30 inch clumps, the color show lasts from spring to frost. Few other hostas can match its radiant glow.
Designing With Purple Hostas
When it comes to designing with purple hostas, you have many options for spotlighting their dramatic colors. Here are some ideas to try:
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Mass a single variety as a bold groundcover under trees or shrubs.
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Use contrasting purple and chartreuse hostas together for a lively color pop.
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Plant purple hostas behind lighter green-and-white variegated varieties to make them pop.
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Edge a pathway with repeating clumps of petite purple hostas like ‘Minuteman’.
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Mix purple hostas with purple-leaved heucheras and dark mondo grass for a regal vignette.
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Underplant purple-leafed shrubs like smokebush with vibrant purple hostas.
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Highlight large purple hosta specimens in decorative containers placed in focal areas.
Bring Some Royal Color to Your Shade Garden
Looking to add rich, regal color to your landscape? With their diverse sizes, shapes, and shades of purple, hostas are the perfect choice. Splashes of purple foliage will electrify the view, whether used in overflowing masses, as accents, or for edging. Any shady nook or borders will gain vivid interest from these easy-care perennials. Choose a few of the eye-catching purple varieties highlighted here to start your collection. Then sit back and enjoy the royal treatment as you watch your new hostas grow into gorgeous specimens.
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6 “MUST HAVE” Hostas for a small nursery
Where can I buy purple hostas?
But proper care will prevent them from affecting your plants. Purple hostas are available online. You can purchase several online shops, including Thompson & Morgan, Suttons, and Primrose. Some of these shops can do home deliveries and render expert horticultural advice.
Do purple hostas grow in shade?
Also known as funkia, purple hostas are perennial hardy plants in zones 3 to 9. They thrive in rich, well-drained soil in part to full shade conditions, although sometimes you can bring them out to take early morning sun. Due to their size varieties, you can use them in gardening containers.
What is a purple Hosta lily?
Also known as Purple Plantain Lilies, the purple hostas has many exciting features, including sizes, heights, textures, and colors. But its interesting part is that it has a stunning purple flower that appeals to every plant enthusiast, and the fact that it is straightforward to grow and maintain.
What is a rare purple Hosta?
Rare, Intense Purple Blooms! You’ll love its rare, intensely purple flowers! This vibrant green hosta with heavily rippled foliage makes a pretty statement in shady borders and pots, but it’s the summer blooms that really shake things up.