My 2011 Hosta WOW

Hosta Alex Summers has become one of my favorite hostas in the garden. Named for one of the founders and first president of the American Hosta Society, Alex Summers, my beautiful specimen was acquired in a Garden Web Hosta Forum swap in 2007. It can take a hybrid hosta up to five years or longer to mature. This hosta only took four years to wow me.

Alex Summers fits the hosta 10 foot rule. The rule is not about the size of the plant. A plant can fit the rule if its form and color are unique and can be easily identified from 10 feet away. Alex Summers grows upright and has very wide leaves with green centers and irregularly streaked chartreuse margins. This plant offers one of the better hosta flower displays too.

I’m not crazy for hosta flowers – it’s all about the foliage for me. Most hosta flowers grow tall, flop and look messy. I prefer hosta flowers that are tucked neatly in the leaves or are growing just above the foliage. However, the flowers on Alex Summers are quite lovely, growing very upright on strong flower stalks. The deep purple color of the flowers was a perfect complement to the Purple Parasols Stokes’ Aster growing below the hosta and the Red Bud Forest Pansy tree behind.

If you like hosta, I would recommend that you plant Alex Summers in your garden.