H. 'Bella' no, make that 'Fortunei Hyacinthina'

Well, it had to happen. The 'single Hosta page' I started out with was simply getting too big to contain all I wanted to convey, so, things have been split up, starting with our 'mystery blue'. This page is really a living document, in that it is constantly being modified and added to. To put things in proper perspective and to illustrate how this page changes as time goes on and knowledge and experience are gained I thought it appropriate to leave the paragraph below in to serve as an example of that very issue.

The more I check things out, the more I'm leaning towards this variety likely being 'Bella', an old varietal. After frequent and repeated visits to that vast repository of Hosta pictures and information called 'Hosta Library' I'm starting to think this variety here quite possibly is 'Bella', an old European cultivar going back to the 1800's. Formerly also known as H. fortunei obscura, it was apparently reduced from species status to cultivar back in 1936. Under the B's, we have 'Bella'. Blue Hosta Yes, I recognize that the description is given as the plant having green leaves, but the picture on the Hosta Library site shows a plant with a quite noticeable blue tone to it. Besides, ours tends to have more or less blue showing depending on where it is grown, and of the two locales we have it in one sees a reasonable amount of morning sun, the other location is completely in the shade. It may very well prove to be 'Fortunei Hyacinthina' (how prophetic that proved to be), or perhaps nigrescens though it doesn't stay cupped long enough after emerging, but, I'll take whatever feedback/input I can get and now that we have many more Hosta pictures up we will be able to have these pictures put to much closer scrutiny by our visitors.

And at long last, on May 20, 2006 someone has come forward with an opinion: 'Fortunei Hyacinthina'. Thanks again Dave!

The picture just below is of taken in the month of July and the location of this clump is on the Northwest corner of our front garden bed. It sees direct sun from about 8-8.30 AM but after 11-11.30 AM or so it is in the shade of the house and the fence you see in the background. Though you cannot see it in this picture, just to the left of this clump is a small patch of 'Ground Master'.

As these pages are first being put together, we find ourselves at the end of April 2005. Seeing as we wish to convey as much up-to-date information as we can, it is an excellent opportunity to start to gather a new series of photographs. And, as we are still trying to get as much feedback as possible in our attempt to establish the identity of this cultivar, documenting it's annual development in both locations we have this variety is something we might as well start with here and now. So, you'll first see a series of shots taken April 28th, 2005, that shows a couple of clumps growing in the same general area as the first picture shows. The clump in the picture at the top of the page has actually been moved Eastward from where it was in the spring of 2005 to make sure that it doesn't obscure the neighbouring 'Groundmaster'.

Hosta BellaThis patch here is farther back into the bed from what you see in the first picture -they're behind the first clump by about 3-4 ft and consequently hardly see ANY direct sunlight at all. I think you'll agree that they pretty much look as being green-leaved. Part of that however is the time of year, it being late April in this picture.

This is actually the same clump you see in the first shot, it has simply been moved to the right of it's former position, a little closer towards the Peonies and a bit farther from its variegated cousin, whose leaf you just see peeking into the picture on the bottom left.

Here we are, 10 days later. And as you can see, a lot of growth has happened in those 10 days. The other thing you'll notice is that there is quite a difference in the apparent colouration of the leaves: they seem much more blue than before. Perhaps. What I mean by that is while there is a noticeable colour difference, a good deal of that difference is attributable to some white-balance tweaking of the original digital image of this one versus the one above; the one above has a lower colour temperature setting than this one -which is set @ 6500º Kelvin- which I made manually in my photo editing program when reducing the image for the website. Reason I did that is to make sure this picture and the next one would have near as possible the same colour balance so that whatever differences are observed in colour between the 2 locations are indeed one of location and exposure to direct sunlight and not one of a difference in colour temperature caused by the auto white balance setting of the digital camera. And, way off topic now, I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that the monitor you're watching this page on is set for the wrong colour temperature, probably 9300ºK, the typical default colour value setting for most computer monitors. But that's another story.........

No doubt you notice a huge difference in the size of the leaves if you scroll back up to the first shot of this stand (look for the chunk of granite on the left hand side of the picture) and again, you'll notice quite the difference between the colouration of the leaves in this shot and the first one because of the above mentioned colour temperature issue. This particular patch sees some direct sun mid-morning, the one right above sees direct sun for perhaps an hour at the most, because it is shaded by the neighbouring Peony.

As an aside, it was only when I was doing the picture editing that I noticed the variegated vein/streak in one of the leaves near the top left this morning, I haven't gone outside yet to investigate further.

This is one of the ones in the alternate location in the backyard and it sees NO direct sun at all during the day. It's on the north side of a 6ft tall Emerald Cedar to the left of it and it gets quickly obscured mid-spring by a sizeable stand of Dicentra spectabilis just off to it's right and in the foreground of the shot here. Oh, let's not for get the Trillium ovatum you see here going to seed.

As the growing season goes on, we'll put up some more shots, including more -and closer- shots of the inflorescence. Stay tuned.

A propos of the streaking or variegation I noticed a couple of pictures above, I thought I'd investigate a bit further this past Sunday (May 8th, 2005) and I noticed that there was more than just the one leaf which showed this streak of colour. More importantly though, I also noticed a leaf that looks VERY different from the others in this stand. You see it in the picture below, and it's shape and size are rather reminiscent of 'Sum and Substance'. 'Hyacinthina's leaves are mostly cupped and ovoid, these others are flat, much paler green, and almost round. Now, if you look closely at the first picture and examine the leaf at the far back/left you might argue that you could have seen this earlier, but it was pretty subtle from that angle at that stage of growth. Look at the shot below and you cannot miss the odd man out. No doubt it's a very different leaf.

The likely explanation would be that I at one point must have planted a 'Sum and Substance' root nearby (the lot I bought were roots in rather sad condition and I know at least 2 others that I planted 4 years ago took 3 years before they were worth noting/noticing) and in the intervening time frame the patch of 'Hyacinthina' expanded to the point where it is hard to tell without digging them up whether or not the plant with this different leaf is part of the 'Hyacinthina' patch or not. It is the outer most of this grouping and could very well be unattached to the others; I've seen similar things happen with a couple of lilies that were planted frightfully close to each other. It'll be interesting to see if we get flowers on these 2 at the same time and worth noting the differences. Ultimately only lifting the roots in the fall will really tell the tale. Which it did, it is indeed a small 'S&S' root that now has been potted up and will be grown out to a larger clump before being offered for sale in a future spring sale. And the musing about the differences in flowers between the 2 has become a rather moot point; there is no doubt in my mind of what it is and it is NOT a sport of the clump it had been planted too close to.

For good measure, 4 days later this is what that patch looks like. There are 2 or 3 leaves this year that show minor streaking, it'll be interesting to see if we see those again in 2006.

Hosta 'Bella'Jump ahead about 3 months to the middle of August and this is what you would have seen in one of the patches we have in the backyard.

The other thing you would notice is that on one of the flower scapes in this clump there is a seed pod, the first time we have noticed one on this variety, but admittedly we have not been overly concerned with the sexual reproduction of this plant since it propagates so easily by division. We'll see if the seed is viable and if so then we can think in terms of using the pollen for cross-pollinating with some of the other fertile ones we have: JUST what the gardening world needs, another Hosta hybridizer....

We're now into early May 2006 and look at what is happening. This is right at the same spot of the crown as those streaked leaves were last year. It'll be interesting to see if more leaves on this shoot do the same thing and if they do, this shoot will get separated to see if it stabilizes.

A week later, May 13th to be precise, the leaf has now unfurled and other leaves on two shoots, which appear to have come off the shoot that first showed streaking last year, are showing similar streaking.

This peony flower provides a nice contrast to this stand of 'Hyacinthina'. If you look carefully you can see one of the streaked leaves at the top left of the picture.

On May 26th 2006 we can see a fair number of leaves that have not only streaking, but also variegation. This picture also does justice to the blueish overcast this cultivar can show, just look at the solid coloured leaf in the center, but it's actually much better looking in real life. In full shade I've seen it so dark as to make you think the leaves are almost black.

By early August 2006 thoughts are being given to separating the sporting shoots, but perhaps I'm best off to see how things start off in 2007 and make the division while the leaves are starting to unfurl.

'Hyacinthina' is among the later ones to emerge. This is the mature crown in the backyard on April 15th, 2007, and it will make quite the showing by May/June, I have no doubt.

Just for fun, go back to the first picture with the first signs of sporting and compare that to what we have here by the middle of May 2007.

I could go on about the sporting I'm experiencing with this cultivar, but the documentation of it is getting so extensive now that I have decided to dedicate a separate page to my Hyacinthina sports

For more information on this variety go to Hugo's Database.


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Pages last updated 28 November 2018