You might have seen some pictures on the internet of pink hostas and were amazed by their vibrating pink foliage. But, everything on the internet is not right. This raises a question: Are pink hostas real? Or Is it just a fantasy?
Yes, pink hostas are real. There are many online plant sellers that offer pink hostas seeds. But, these are all scams. Scientists have developed many cultivars of hostas by cross-breeding two varieties. These are different in foliage design, colors, shape, and size. However, we do develop a pink hostas cultivar.
If you buy pink hostas seeds from these online vendors. Most likely, you will get a packet of seeds from a provider of this kind, but what kind of seeds are they?
It might not thrive or if they grow, it will be a regular green hosta plant. They are able to keep the scam going for a longer period of time if they at least provide you the seeds of anything. After all, it will take a long time before a hosta reaches its full size and color to confirm that there is absolutely nothing pink about it.
When a large number of customers begin to file complaints, the businesses that provide these services may decide to shut their doors, then reopen somewhere under a different name and begin operating the scam once again.
It’s not new
These types of scams are part of a long tradition of well-known seed frauds, such as the sale of rainbow roses seeds and black strawberries from seed, both of which are impossible plant kinds that are marketed by questionable businesses. Read Rainbow Rose Seed: There Is No Such Thing as Black Strawberries and No Such Thing as Black Strawberries. If you want additional knowledge, you shouldn’t waste your money.
The fact that there are no naturally occurring rainbow roses demonstrates that every single one of them has been artificially colored with flower dye. When creating multicolored roses, florists often start with white roses and then spray them with dye.
What are the giant hosta varieties you can grow in the garden?
But there are such things as red hostas!
Having said that, there are certain varieties of hostas that have an unusual and very recent color, although the shade of these hostas is red rather than pink. At the very least, it was reddish. I believe that is what you saw in the magazine articles that you reference, rather than anything regarding pink hostas, as red leaves are a highly debated topic in the hosta community.
In point of fact, hosta hybridizers have been toiling for a significant amount of time in an effort to develop hostas that have crimson leaves. It is, in point of fact, the pinnacle of hosta crossbreeding holy grail!
There are reddish or purple varieties of so many other garden plants. For example, the bright red of the Japanese blood grass or the dark purple of the Diabolo ninebark.
This particular shade of red originates from anthocyanin, a kind of red pigment that is found naturally in the tissues of a wide variety of plants.
And it is in fact present in hostas, most often in the flower stem, which may subsequently seem fairly crimson. This can be observed in cultivars such as ‘Cherry Berry and ‘Red Hot Poker,’ for instance.
According to logic, it should be feasible to enhance the red pigment in any plant with the correct genetics by continuously crossing plants that naturally have more than the typical amount, and then selecting the reddish plants from their offspring to cross in turn, unless you show up with plants whose pigments actually dominate.
And if you can make the grass or a shrub become red, then why not a hosta?
Leaves with a Pinkish Cast
The enormous green leaves of the ‘Red October’ hosta are carefully scraped aside by human hands so that the burgundy leaf petioles may be seen.
Hybridizers have, for a few years now, been successful in transferring this pigment to at least part of the leaf, namely the petiole, by repeatedly combining hostas with a flower-scape-colored crimson or burgundy. This process takes place generation after generation (leaf stalk). Consider cultivars with names like “Almost,” “One Man’s Treasure,” “Cinnamon Sticks,” “Designer Genes,” “Garnet Prince,” and “Red October.” They have a petiole that is prominently crimson or violet in color.
In hostas with yellow leaves and a red stem, such as ‘Lipstick Blonde’ and ‘Fire Island,’ the red seems to be much more pronounced.
On the other hand, a hosta’s red petioles are not necessarily the most noticeable elements of the plant since they are often covered from view by the plant’s large leaves. In this case, the broad leaves of the hosta are to blame for this phenomenon. They are usually most evident towards the beginning of the season when the blades are still erect and just beginning to unroll. However, they are not as noticeable in the summertime.
The green leaves of the Hosta ‘Purple Heart’ are fashioned like hearts, and each leaf has a splotch of dark purple near its base.
Wouldn’t it be fantastic if the red color could simply go all the way to the leaf blade? To be fair, in certain hybrids it does work… but only just. Some newer hybrids, such as ‘Purple Heart,’ ‘Raspberry Sundae,’ and ‘Beet Salad,’ have a red coloration on the petiole that spills over into the blade of the leaf in at least a little amount. So, we’re off to a nice beginning with this!
But the hosta known as ‘First Blush’ did not appear on the market until 2015, making it the first hosta to be really regarded to have crimson leaves.
It is believed that this cultivar, which was created by hybridizer Bob Solberg, was the first hosta with crimson leaves. The leaves have a rosy color right from the beginning of their development, and they have a type of purple-green coloration with green veins.
They become green gradually as the temperature rises, but they still have a narrow dark red border around the edge of their leaves. Additionally, the petiole retains its crimson color. Even though it has a hazy red color (which is what is meant by the word “blush” in the cultivar name of the plant), ‘First Blush’ is easily differentiated from any other hosts available on the market due to the purple coloring that is produced by a specific combination of red and green.
It is very possible that it will be the first in a long series of hostas to have red leaves, and subsequent cultivars will almost surely be much more brilliantly colored than this one.
Check Web story: Are Pink Hostas Real?
What About the Pink Leaves?
Since there are currently red hostas in existence, the question is: Will there ever be pink ones?
Even though it might not be quite as pink as the fake pink hosta that was shown at the start of this article, a future red hosta that is extremely abundant in anthocyanin and also has variegated sections, which are placed on the leaf where chlorophyll is absent, could very well have some pink variegation.
Colorful hostas
Though there is nothing like pink hostas. You do not need to be disappointed. Hostas is a beautiful foliage plant that comes in many vibrant colors. You can grow multiple colorful hostas in the garden. Here is some fact about the hosta.
The Asparagaceae family includes the huge genus Hosta, which has more than 70 species and hundreds of hybrids and cultivars. Hosta is a member of this family. Hostas are herbaceous perennials that thrive in shade and are planted for their leaves rather than their blooms; nonetheless, they still provide a remarkable range of coloration options. The color of the leaves may range from blue to yellow to green. In addition to such a wide range of coloration, these luminaries of the plant world often exhibit a variegated pattern.
Hostas are a kind of plant that may be used as an effective ground cover in vast gloomy garden areas. They cover the ground with a bed of gentle color while also preventing the growth of weeds. There are very few plants that are simpler to care for, however, they are among the most vulnerable to having their leaves damaged by slugs and snails.
After they have become established, hostas are very simple to reproduce because the root clumps may be divided either in the spring or in the autumn.
If you’re interested in growing colorful hostas, Read this article 12 Colorful Hostas to grow in the garden.
Conclusion
This is a logical conclusion that can be drawn from the information presented here. This often happens in other plants when the red color of anthocyanin combines with the cream color of leaf portions that are deficient in green chlorophyll. The question remains, therefore, why not hostas?
I have a sneaking suspicion that there may one day be a plant like that… in point of fact, most likely sooner rather than later.
- Related Posts: 39 Best Hostas for shade Garden
Resource: LaidbackGardener
Hey! I’m Madhuresh, a passionate content creator, and a Plant lover. I created Shiny Plant to explore and learn about new plants. The purpose is to provide simple and effective Gardening Tips. Hope you’ll find this informative.