Hosta Royal Standard Bare Root Plant – Fragrant White Flowers, Glossy Green Foliage

Overview

Introduce timeless beauty to your garden with the Royal Standard Hosta bare root plant. This classic hosta variety is celebrated for its bright, glossy green leaves and sturdy upright stems, providing a lush backdrop to any shaded landscape. What truly sets the Royal Standard Hosta bare root plant apart is its highly fragrant, funnel-shaped white flowers, which bloom profusely from July through August, filling your garden with a delightful aroma. Unlike many hostas, ‘Royal Standard’ tolerates more sun exposure without developing a bleached appearance or burned leaf edges, offering greater flexibility in planting locations. As the first patented hosta, its enduring popularity is a testament to its superior qualities and reliable performance, proving that sometimes the classics are indeed the best choice for a beautiful and resilient garden.

This bare root format ensures a strong start, allowing the plant to establish robust roots quickly in its new environment. The ‘Royal Standard’ hosta is an excellent choice for woodland settings where filtered light is abundant, but its adaptability also allows it to thrive in brighter conditions with adequate moisture. Gardeners looking for a low-maintenance yet impactful addition will appreciate the elegance and resilience of this exceptional hosta.

Key Benefits

The Royal Standard Hosta bare root plant offers numerous advantages, making it a favorite among gardeners for its beauty and adaptability. Its distinctive features contribute significantly to a vibrant and thriving garden space.

• Fragrant Blooms: Enjoy a captivating aroma from July through August with the highly fragrant, funnel-shaped white flowers. These blooms not only add visual appeal but also a delightful scent to your garden, making it a perfect choice for seating areas or near windows.
• Sun Tolerance: Unlike many hostas that prefer deep shade, the sun tolerant hosta ‘Royal Standard’ tolerates more sun exposure without damaging its vibrant foliage. This makes it a versatile option for areas with dappled sun or partial shade where other hostas might struggle.
• Glossy Green Foliage: The bright, glossy green leaves of this green leaf hosta provide a rich, verdant texture that serves as an excellent contrast to other plants in your garden. Its upright habit ensures a neat and attractive presentation throughout the growing season.
• Low Maintenance: This hosta is remarkably easy to care for, thriving with minimal intervention once established. It’s an ideal plant for both novice and experienced gardeners seeking beauty without constant fuss, allowing you to enjoy your garden more.
• Drought Tolerance: Once established, the ‘Royal Standard’ hosta exhibits good drought tolerance, reducing the need for frequent watering. This resilience makes it a sustainable choice for various climates and busy gardeners.
• Long-Lived Perennial: A long-term investment for your garden, this perennial can be left undisturbed indefinitely or divided every few years to expand your collection. Its longevity ensures years of enjoyment from a single planting.
• Versatile Landscaping: Perfect for woodland gardens, borders, mass plantings, or as a feature plant in containers, the ‘Royal Standard’ hosta adapts well to various landscaping designs. Its robust nature and attractive foliage make it a go-to plant for adding structure and color to shaded areas.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Caring for your Royal Standard Hosta bare root plant is straightforward, ensuring a healthy and vibrant display for years to come. These plants thrive in evenly moist soil in partial shade, though their unique sun tolerance allows them to handle more light than most hostas, especially with sufficient water. Once established, hostas can even compete successfully with tree roots in northern climates. In warmer, southern regions, regular watering is crucial to prevent stress during hot periods.

Hostas perform best in average, consistently damp soils that are slightly acidic. A light application of a balanced fertilizer in early spring will encourage vigorous growth and lush foliage. While these plants are remarkably low-maintenance and can perform well even if ignored, providing deep, rich soil amended with compost or aged manure, along with consistent watering, will maximize their potential. An organic mulch around the plant is beneficial for moisture retention and weed suppression, but be sure to keep it away from the crown to prevent rot. The Hosta Royal Standard care routine is designed to be simple yet effective, ensuring your plant flourishes. This fragrant hosta plant will reward you with beautiful blooms and foliage.

These forgiving plants are best divided in spring when new leaves are still furled, but successful division and transplanting can occur throughout the season with diligent follow-up watering. Foliage should be cut back in the fall to eliminate cover for overwintering slugs, though this can also be done in the spring. Very few hosta varieties reflower; cut spent flower spikes off at their base. The ‘Royal Standard’ is hardy in USDA Zones 3-9, making it suitable for a wide range of climates. Understanding how to care for a green leaf hosta like this ensures a long and healthy life.

Size & Details

The Royal Standard Hosta bare root plant is shipped as a dormant bare root, ready for planting upon arrival. This allows for optimal root development and establishment in your garden. Once mature, this hosta typically grows to an impressive size, reaching approximately 20-24 inches in height and spreading 36-48 inches wide, forming a substantial mound of foliage. The sturdy upright stems contribute to its stately presence in the garden. Its relatively fast growth rate means you won’t have to wait long to enjoy its full beauty.

The bare root form ensures that the plant’s energy is focused on root growth initially, leading to a stronger and more resilient plant in the long run. The highly fragrant white flowers emerge on scapes that can reach up to 30 inches tall, standing proudly above the glossy green leaves. This particular hosta is prized for its vigorous growth and ability to fill out a space effectively, making it an excellent choice for creating impactful displays. When considering a sun tolerant hosta, its mature size and spread are important factors for garden planning.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does the Royal Standard Hosta get? A: The Royal Standard Hosta bare root plant typically grows to about 20-24 inches tall with a spread of 36-48 inches, forming a substantial and attractive mound of foliage. Its flower scapes can reach up to 30 inches in height.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: The ‘Royal Standard’ hosta is an outdoor perennial plant, best suited for garden beds, borders, and woodland settings. It thrives in shaded to partially sunny outdoor environments.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: This is a unique sun tolerant hosta. While it prefers partial shade, it can tolerate more sun than most hostas without burning, especially if it receives adequate moisture. Avoid intense, hot afternoon sun in warmer climates.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, the Royal Standard Hosta bare root plant is considered low-maintenance. Once established, it is quite resilient and requires minimal intervention, making it a great choice for gardeners of all experience levels.
• Q: What condition will it arrive in? A: Your ‘Royal Standard’ hosta will arrive as a dormant bare root plant, carefully packaged to ensure its health during transit. This is the ideal form for planting and strong establishment.
• Q: How long until it blooms? A: The fragrant hosta plant ‘Royal Standard’ typically blooms from July through August, usually in its first or second year after planting, depending on growing conditions and establishment.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? A: Yes, the ‘Royal Standard’ hosta is hardy in USDA Zones 3-9, meaning it is well-equipped to survive winters in a wide range of climates and will return year after year.
• Q: What’s the best soil for a green leaf hosta? A: This green leaf hosta thrives in average, evenly moist, and well-draining soil that is slightly acidic. Amending with organic matter like compost or aged manure is beneficial for optimal growth.
• Q: When is the best time to plant a bare root hosta? A: The ideal time to plant a bare root hosta is in the spring, once the danger of hard frost has passed. This allows the plant ample time to establish a strong root system before summer heat or winter dormancy.
• Q: Can I divide my Hosta Royal Standard plant? A: Yes, the Hosta Royal Standard care includes division every few years if desired. The best time for division is in the spring when new leaves are just beginning to emerge, but it can be done throughout the growing season with proper follow-up watering.