This is the plant that started it all — a huge blue-flowered Hosta, easy to grow and even boasting early summer flowers! 'Elegans' is a classic that every Hosta lover deserves, and I recommend it wholeheartedly for the back of the shade border, in a place of honor all its own, or dotted among a large planting!
These leaves are huge, rounded, and very heavily scored, the texture just becoming more impressive with each passing year. 'Elegans' reaches about 30 inches tall and then spreads up to 5 feet wide, making it irresistible as a living wall or hedge! It needs partial shade or dappled sun, keeping its color beautifully right through the worst heat of summer.
And unlike the vast majority of Hostas, this one has lovely flowers! They arise in early summer — earlier than you'd expect from a Hosta! — and are set just above the leaves, instead of on spindly stems all by their lonesome in the air! Pure white and quite abundant, they make a nice showing in the garden, and are so unexpected from a Hosta.
'Elegans' has been around for quite a while, and many of today's newer blue Hostas have this plant in their parentage. It's easy to see why — with its vigor, superior leaf texture, and terrific size, 'Elegans' is just "good blood"!
Expect this Hosta to live for decades in your garden. Give it well-drained, enriched soil and plenty of water, particularly the first year, when it's making itself at home. Once the root system is in place, 'Elegans' can put up with a lot of stress (heat, humidity, cold, poor soil, and even drought), but it always looks its best with adequate water and the occasional feeding of compost. The leaves improve with age, but if you want more 'Elegans' plants without spending a dime, sacrifice a few years of leaf texture and divide the plant into several smaller ones. You can really increase your Hosta holdings this way — these plants are easy to divide!
Space plants 5 feet apart in the garden (or closer for a quicker fill-in). Zones 3-8.
