Sum and Substance Hosta
Sum and Substance Hosta is a shade perennial suitable for zone 4 gardens. It is a spectacular plant with light green leaves that truly makes a statement in the perennial bed.
It can certainly be the focal point of any planting area, whether you have a bed with mostly Hostas in or a lone Hosta in a bed of other perennials. It is a slower growing Hosta, but well worth the wait.
It is an old standby that I put off purchasing for many years not realizing the form and shape I was missing out on!
Finally I did purchase one and planted it on the North-West corner of our Gazebo and it stayed there for about 5 years. It stayed mostly a green and didn’t turn that great golden color that Sum and Substance is supposed to be, and it didn’t grow very well at all in size.
A Transformation
I decided that it was time to give it a chance in another area and so 3 years ago I moved the whole plant, to another area that is a South East exposure, but with shade during the hottest part of the day, and the transformation has been amazing to say the least.
The plant has grown and doubled in size in the 3 years and it is just a gorgeous specimen now. It blooms great every July with tall scapes of pale lavender flowers and is the golden green color that it should be now that it has more sun.
Beautiful Leaves
As the large leaves mature, they become very rippled and corrugated. Sum and Substance is a very striking golden chartreuse color with a very heavy substance and shiny waxy feeling leaves.
Growing Information
It will grow to about 30 inches tall and maybe 6 feet wide, depending on your soil conditions. It is one of the very large specimens.
