Hostas have been one of my favorite plants for a while now. I know they’re common and everyone has at least one in their yard, but there’s something about those lush, exotic leaves, especially the tropical looking ones, that catch my eye. Although hostas aren’t tropical, they’re a hearty perennial that can grow almost anywhere that has well draining soil.
Hostas can survive in most lighting conditions but as a good rule of thumb: the cooler the hue of the hosta the more shade it requires.

Hostas bloom white or lavender flowers from early to mid summer. Most of my hostas bloomed in July, with the exception of my hosta Aphrodite, which started to bud in August.

Did you know there are over 700 varieties of hostas? Upon finding this out, I attempted to identify which ones I had... Identifying plants is one heck of a job. It seems like there’s always one tiny detail that doesn’t align with a photo or description. I normally use a plant identifying app, but it didn’t have a full library of every hosta variety. Instead, I browsed online catalogs of hostas for weeks until I finally matched them up. With that being said, I’m 90% sure I have the plants listed below:

Royal Standard Hosta

Solid green leaves that are heart shaped and slightly cupped
Blooms tall fragrant white flowers in mid-late summer
Prefers partial sun to mixed shade

Hosta Invincible

Large shiny chartreuse colored leaves
Blooms lavender flowers in late summer
Prefers partial sun to mixed shade

Maui Buttercup Hosta

Round chartreuse leaves with deep ripples, slightly cupped
Blooms lavender flowers in mid summer
Prefers partial shade to mixed sun

Hosta Aphrodite

Giant lustrous green leaves
Blooms large white fragrant flowers in late August
Prefers full shade or morning sun

Hosta Francee

Shiny elongated spear shaped leaves, bright green in color with painted white edges
Blooms light lavender flowers in mid-late summer
Prefers partial to mixed sun

Robert Frost Hosta

Wide green leaves with yellow-green painted edges. Thick rigid texture.
Blooms lavender flowers in early summer
Prefers partial to mixed shade

Hosta Lancifolia

Narrow deep green spear shaped leaves that are dense and grow in a fountain shape
Blooms lavender flowers in late summer
One of the few hostas that can tolerate full sun but does best with mixed sun