Types Of Hosta Plants: How Many Types Of Hosta Are There

Light/Dark Green Hosta Plants
(Image credit: MichelR45)

How many types of hosta are there? The short answer is...a whole lot. Hostas are extremely popular in gardening and landscaping due to their ability to thrive even in deep shade. Maybe because of their popularity, a different hosta variety can be found for pretty much any situation. What are the different types of hosta? Keep reading to learn more about the types of hosta plants.

Different Types of Hostas

Different varieties of hosta can be split into some basic categories. Some are bred not just for their foliage and shade tolerance, but also for their fragrance. Hostas produce stalks of delicate, trumpet-shaped flowers in shades of white and purple, and certain varieties of hosta are known especially for their scent. Types of hosta noted for their excellent, fragrant blossoms include:

  • “Sugar and Spice”
  • “Cathedral Windows”
  • Hosta plantaginea

Hostas also vary greatly in size. If you’re planting hostas to fill out a large shady space, you may want the biggest hosta you can find.

  • “Empress Wu” is a variety that can grow to 4 feet (1 m.) in height.
  • “Paradigm” is another one that can reach 4 feet (1m.) high and 4 feet (1 m.) wide.

Some varieties of hosta come in at the other end of the spectrum.

  • “Blue Mouse Ears” is only 5 inches (13 cm.) tall and 12 inches (31 cm.) wide.
  • “Banana Puddin” is 4 inches (10 cm.) high.

Of course, there are innumerable varieties between the largest and the smallest, meaning you should be able to find just the right one for the spot you have picked out. Hosta color is usually some shade of green, though there is a lot of variety here too. Some, like “Aztec Treasure,” are much more gold than green, making for a sunny splash in the shade. Others are green, like the “Humpback Whale,” and blue, like the “Silver Bay,” and many are variegated, like “Ivory Queen.” Options are nearly endless when choosing hosta plants for the garden.

Liz Baessler
Senior Editor

The only child of a horticulturist and an English teacher, Liz Baessler was destined to become a gardening editor. She has been with Gardening Know how since 2015, and a Senior Editor since 2020. She holds a BA in English from Brandeis University and an MA in English from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. After years of gardening in containers and community garden plots, she finally has a backyard of her own, which she is systematically filling with vegetables and flowers.