Exploring the Beauty of Red Stemmed Hostas
- John Plant
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
Today’s blog is a subject that comes up time after time and therefore needs addressing.
Hybridisers are looking to introduce new Hostas varieties every year.
A firm favourite with collectors are red stemmed Hostas with a variety of leaf colours, and strengths of red in both the leaf stems (Petioles) and flower stems (Scapes). The great news is that every year sees new improved varieties.
Is there anything as attractive as to have petioles & scapes a different colour to the leaves?
So! What is a red stemmed Hosta?
The true definition of a red-stemmed Hosta is from the palest pink, to the darkest purple and all shades in-between. The red colour can be a solid colour down to a speckled red on a paler stem.
They also differ as to how far up the stem the red goes. Some are just the stem whilst others the red will go up as far as into the leaf veins.
The red stems could be set off against a bright yellow leaf or against a dark green leaf.
When growing red stemmed Hostas try and display them so the stems are on show. Such a waste to grow them hidden amongst other plants in a border that hides the red from view. Growing them in a container is a great way of ensuring that you can see them. The front of a border or a raised bed would also be suitable as most of them are small or medium in size.
Red-stemmed Hostas come in a number of interesting foliage combinations.
Hosta Sorbet comes with a large, variegated leaf of green with wide cream margins all set on dark purple petioles, with a very upright habit. A true contrast.
Then you have those with green foliage and red stems. Such as Hosta One Man’s treasure offering shiny dark green leaves and a speckled red stem. Or Hosta Granny’s Smile with long paler green leaves and solid pale purple stems. A Hosta with slightly wider green leaves and dark purple stems is Hosta Purple Heart. The name says it all.
Zucchini Fries offers lanceolate green leaves with purple stems that go well into the leaf. A fabulous, shaped plant where the red stems add even more to the Hosta than just shape.
Of course, we haven’t mentioned the yellow-leaved Hostas that seem so prominent both on the market and on display with an amazing contrast between the leaf colour and stem colour. Wow! Don’t they look good.
Take a look at Hosta Lemon Snap. A small yellow-leaved, very upright Hosta with red stems as well as dark purple scapes. The red bleeds into the leaves to just over half-way up the main vein. Beautiful!
Then there are more recent introductions form the Valley’s team including Hosta Valley’s Lemon Squash, Hosta Valley’s Lemon Limbo, Hosta Valley’s Love Birds, and Hosta Valley’s Pavlova. These all have bright yellow leaves set off by a red stem of different levels of colour.
Let’s not forget one of the best known red stemmed Hostas on the market. Hosta Fire Island. Beautiful wide yellow leaves with the red into the leaf up to half-way. What a great variety!
With many more, new red-stemmed, introductions being added each year, it is only natural that we will add to our sales collection as well. With currently over 60 red stemmed varieties on our website. To make it easier for customers looking for these fabulous red stemmed Hostas, we have added a new search criteria to the home page of our website. Why not take a look https://www.rewelahostas.com/red-stemmed-hostas
This is a hybridisers trend that is here to stay. We are sure to more stunning varieties each year.
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John Plant
Rewela Hostas
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