What are Hosta Sports & Reversions?
Many Hostas display their fabulous multicoloured leaves only to notice something that looks like it shouldn’t be there.
You get a growth of leaves that are totally different to your precious Hosta’s colours, usually at the side of the clump, but not always.
You want to know what is wrong with your Hosta and why it looks different from the rest. You will also need to know what to do with it.
Many of us choose our Hosta variety because of the way it looks. Like this beautifully variegated Hosta Snake Eyes
The different foliage is either a sport or more likely a reversion. So! Let’s have a look at the difference between the two..
A Hosta sport is a naturally occurring, usually sudden, mutation, on a single shoot, that creates a new & unique leaf pattern or colour.
A Hosta reversion happens when a mutated part of the Hosta mutates again and goes back to look like its original parent.
What is a Hosta Sport?
This is a mutation that differs in colour, margin, or variegation to the rest of the plant. It may even carry different sized or shaped foliage.
A good example of this is Hosta Halcyon which produced a sport with a gold centre, which we all know as Hosta June.
Many new & exciting varieties have been found from keen eyed growers spotting these.
A sport is a whole new variety of Hosta and therefore can be given a new name. Hosta names can be registered. Registration is the process of submitting the name, a detailed description and photos of this new variety to the International Registrar for the Genus Hosta. This registration body limits confusion, provides a permanent international record, and establishes ownership of a cultivar in a central location. This role is performed together by the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and American Hosta Society.
The American Hosta Society publishes registrations on a yearly basis.
It is worth noting that there are a great many Hostas on the market and in people’s gardens that are non-registered Hostas. The grower/person who named the Hosta never went through the registration process, but the Hosta became popular and widely distributed and therefore familiar and well recognised.
A reversion, in general, may be not worth keeping, unless you can positively identify the original parent. It can always be used as that. It's still a free Hosta!
A sport, on the other hand is well worth separating and growing on. You never know, you may have a brand-new variety. unique mutations.
Hosta reversions.
This is when a variegated or speciality Hosta loses its mutation and reverts to its original form or parent (often turning back to a plain solid green or blue)
The danger of not dealing with these new growths is that the reverted shoots generally have more chlorophyll, which makes them grow faster than the rest of the Hosta. If ignored the reversion can starve the rest of the Hosta and eventually take over, killing off the variegated parts.
The next question is :- what do we do about it?
The simple solution is to remove the different foliage. If you have managed to catch it at an early stage, then removal can be as simple as using a knife to cut off the bud of the plant.
The best way to do this is to lift the whole plant or remove from the pot. You can the see where the problem lies.
Don't just cut the leaves off because the root beneath will need to be removed, this contains the information about the plant such as leaf colour.
If your plant has completely reverted, it is unlikely that the variegation or streaking will return.
The practical aspects of removing the unwanted growth is as follows :-
Photos showing stages of Removing Reverted Section From Hosta Dreamweaver
Stages of Removing Reverted Section from your Hosta
1.The first thing to notice is that there is a different looking Hosta in the same pot as your prized Hosta. This needs to be removed.
2. Take the containerised Hosta and remove it from the pot. Remove the crocks from the bottom for later re-use.
3. Carefully decide how you will remove the reverting element from the main Hosta. If you can get it off without any of the parent plant, that’s great. However, in this case, I felt it prudent to take a section including part of the variegated section.
4. A practical way of doing this is to cut a straight line, I prefer a carving knife, being careful to leave plenty of roots on it. I cut a straight line through the crown ensuring little damage to the plant.
5. We are left with a Hosta that no longer has a reversion on it, and a piece of two different looking plants. One green one & one like the parent Hosta.
6. The main plant can now be potted back up, using the crocks, the same pot (cleaned) and fresh compost. Watered, labels replaced, and put back on display.
7. The piece with both green & variegated Hostas can now be cut in half. The variegated one is effectively a free plant and can be potted up for another part of the garden, or maybe give away to a friend. This is an exact replica of the parent plant and will be labelled up as Hosta Dream Weaver.
8. However, the green section does not have a name, but if you wish, can be potted up and used as an unknown variety, somewhere else in the garden.
9. I will keep this one as it is very strong and will form a large Hosta, albeit without a name, and place somewhere in the garden in a space that needs a large green Hosta, later in the year when it has formed some new roots.
This video made a few years ago shows repotting a Hosta with reversion.
Just follow the same process, if you remove your Hosta from open ground. Replant your non reverted Hosta back in the same position, remember to water well. Then pot or plant your reversion if you wish to keep it. Always add labels.
If you think that the piece cut off might be worth keeping the check its parentage at at the Hosta Registry. (Link can be found above) Not only do you get a free Hosta, you never know, you might have a new variety. Lucky you!
At Rewela Hostas, we are delighted to provide a diverse selection of Hostas suitable for collectors, experienced growers, and beginners alike. As a small family-run Hosta business we are more than happy to share our expert advice on everything related to Hostas. Shop now on our on-line shop for a wide range of Hostas, from new varieties to classics.
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John Plant
Rewela Hostas
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