Hosta ‘Great Expectations’ is an especially beautiful hosta. When it emerges in the spring, the leaves have a bright yellow center and wide irregular bluish-green borders. By mid to late summer, the yellow leaf centers have become a pale, creamy white.
This is a hosta that grows very slowly, and because it can be one of the more difficult hostas to grow, some people advise starting all Great Expectations in pots sunk into the soil instead of planting them directly into the garden. Supposedly this process promotes root growth by allowing more moisture and nutrients to stay near the root system… until the hosta becomes root bound, at which time it should be planted directly into the garden. I have had no personal experience with this method. I only have two Great Expectations, and I had already planted both hostas directly into the garden before I ever read this advice. Happily they have grown enthusiastically over the years… including the smaller two-eyed Great Expectations that was almost completely decimated by visiting wild turkeys.
Hosta ‘Great Expectations’ mature plant
Both of my Great Expectations produce large numbers of near-white bell-shaped flowers, usually flowering here in early July. The seed pods do mature but I have had very little success with any of these seeds germinating.
Hosta ‘Great Expectations’ leaves… yellow centers with irregular wide green margins
Hosta ‘Great Expectations’ Profile:
Leaves:
12 1/2 inches long, 10 inches wide
2 1/2-inch wide blue-green margin
18 vein pairs
Flowers:
near white
blooms late June to early July
29-inch high scapes
Mound size:
58 inches in diameter
29 inches high
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