Wishing Well Hosta Plant
The Best Blue for Part Sun!
Just under 2 feet tall and just over 3 feet wide, this beautifully mounding Hosta sets leaves up to 11 inches long and 9 inches wide, deeply corrugated even from a young age. Slightly twisted and wavy, the foliage is nicely cupped, particularly in heavier shade, and keeps both its texture and its blue-green tones in partial sun. Stunning!
In midsummer, lavender blooms on 26- to 29-inch stems top the foliage, attracting butterflies to the shade, but the real attraction is the amazing foliage. No more "going green" when the weather heats up or the sun becomes stronger! No more flattening out of cupped, rippled leaves! 'Wishing Well' stays true!
Don Dean introduced this fine cultivar, and we heartily recommend it for containers, the border, and the woodland garden. Such blue hues are hard to find in the Hosta family, and such handsome texture a rarity indeed! You will love this Hosta. Zones 3-9.
| Genus | Hosta |
| Variety | 'Wishing Well' |
| Item Form | 1-Quart |
| Zone | 3 - 9 |
| Bloom Season | Mid Summer |
| Habit | Mound-shaped |
| Plant Height | 2 ft 11 in |
| Plant Width | 3 ft 2 in |
| Additional Characteristics | Butterfly Lovers, Easy Care Plants |
| Bloom Color | Light Lavender |
| Foliage Color | Blue, Blue Green |
| Light Requirements | Part Shade, Shade |
| Moisture Requirements | Dry, Moist, well-drained |
| Resistance | Cold Hardy, Drought Tolerant, Heat Tolerant, Humidity Tolerant, Scorching |
| Soil Tolerance | Clay, Normal, loamy, Poor, Sandy |
| Uses | Border, Containers, Foliage Interest, Outdoor |
| Restrictions | Canada, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands |
- Butterflies like a lot of sunlight, so locate your garden in a sunny area.
- If you live in a windy location, plant your butterfly-attracting plants near a building, fence, or hedge to protect them.
- Plant a variety of nectar-rich plants, as well as shrubs and evergreens for shelter.
- Since many butterflies and native flowering plants have co-evolved, try to put in some that are native to your area. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center provides lists of plants native to states and regions.
- Certain colors are particularly attracting to butterflies – red, yellow, pink, purple, or orange blooms that are clustered or flat-topped, with a short flower tubes are especially attractive to adult butterflies.
- Avoid using pesticides, especially around nectar-producing plants.
- Provide a shallow source of water – try a birdbath with pebbles lining the bowl.
- Place a rock in a sunny spot for butterfly basking and resting.
- Create a "puddling area" by digging a shallow hole filled with compost or manure where rainwater will collect and release essential salts and minerals.
- If you want butterflies to breed in your garden, put in some caterpillar food plants, such as parsley, milkweeds, asters, thistles, violets, clover, grasses, and Queen Anne’s Lace.
- Since butterflies need nectar throughout the entire adult phase of their lives, try to create a design that will allow for a continuous bloom – when one stops blooming, another starts.
Shade Lily, Plantain Lily
Planting:
Set plants 15 to 30 inches apart, depending on the ultimate size of the cultivar or species. (Set very dwarf kinds 9 to 12 inches apart.) Hostas are among the best of plants for shaded situations, but some also succeed in full sun, as they become larger and more mature. The hotter the summers, the more shade will be necessary to prevent scorching the foliage. A high shade canopy providing dappled light is ideal.
Those with blue foliage are outstanding in the shade, while the yellow/gold types will effectively light up dark areas, but prosper, too, in considerable sun. Individual cultivars of green-gold or variegated patterns vary appreciably in the amount of sun they can tolerate. While widely tolerant of soils, hostas do best in a well-drained soil that still affords ample moisture – the sunnier the location, the moister the soil should be. Incorporate generous amounts of humus in the soil, particularly those on the limy or alkaline side.
Maintenance:
A winter mulch is extremely important the first winter, to prevent heaving of unestablished plants as a result of alternating freezes and thaws. Once established, hostas can be left undisturbed for many years, but as landscaping needs dictate, can be moved at almost any time during the year, except midsummer.
Zones:
Zones 3-9
