Guacamole Hosta

Bright Apple-Green Foliage for Shade Gardens. Guacamole Hosta is a colorful, variegated hosta grown for its broad, glossy, heart-shaped leaves with apple-green to chartreuse centers and darker green margins. The foliage has a bright, tropical-looking glow that helps illuminate shaded beds, woodland gardens, and mixed perennial borders. Its strong variegation gives the plant depth and contrast, making it an easy way to add structure and color where flowering plants may be limited. Fragrant Flowers Above Bold Foliage. In late summer, Guacamole Hosta produces fragrant white to pale lavender flowers that rise above the foliage on tall scapes. The blooms add seasonal height and can attract hummingbirds and pollinators to the shade garden. While the foliage is the main reason gardeners plant Guacamole Hosta, the fragrant flowers are a valuable bonus that extend its ornamental appeal later in the season. An Award-Winning Hosta with Strong Garden Presence. Guacamole Hosta was named the 2002 Hosta of the Year and remains popular for its bright color, dependable growth, and versatile size. It typically forms a medium-to-large clump, making it useful as a specimen, mass planting, edging plant, container feature, or focal point in shaded foundation beds. Its bold leaves pair beautifully with ferns, astilbe, heuchera, hellebores, brunnera, carex, Japanese forest grass, bleeding heart, and other shade-loving perennials. Best in Part Shade to Full Shade. This hosta performs best in part shade to full shade, with morning sun or filtered light helping intensify the leaf color in many gardens. Guacamole Hosta can handle more sun than some hosta varieties when the soil stays consistently moist, but hot afternoon sun can scorch the leaves, especially in warmer climates. Plant it in moist, average to fertile, well-drained soil and mulch the root zone to keep soil cool and evenly moist. Low Maintenance with Honest Pest Expectations. Guacamole Hosta is easy to grow in the right site, but it is not deer-proof. Deer commonly browse hostas, and protection may be needed in landscapes with regular deer activity. Slugs may also chew hosta foliage, especially in damp shade. Keep the garden bed clean, remove old foliage, water at the soil level when possible, and monitor early in the season to help protect the leaves as they expand.