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My hosta is losing its stripes #880356

Asked August 06, 2024, 8:18 AM EDT

My green and white hosta is turning green. It's already flowered once. I read online that it can't grow back. I don't know what variety it is but I transplanted it from another section of my yard. Our yard used to been pretty shady with 4 trees but we've cut down a lot of the trees to allow more sun for grad to grow. Our yard was mostly moss before. We've scraped and seeded grass. Now the yard gets full sun and later in the afternoon the neighbor's trees give later afternoon shade (after 5pm). Our soil is pretty acidic and we've been trying to correct it over the past two years. The green leaves appear less wavy and some parts have not turned fully. But the new leaves look like they might come in green. How do I know if it's greening because it's the kind that turns green towards the later part of the season versus reversion? Is it too late to cut away the green leaves or could I split the plant?

New Haven County Connecticut

Expert Response

Hi - it's really not easy to determine what is happening. You seem to know that often variegated hostas get less variegated the less light they have. It looks like a reversion to me. I would dig it up and discard the green leaved part and replant the variegated one. This happens to variegated plants a lot more than you would think. It could be all the rain last year and the rain and humidity this year has stressed the plant out a bit and it knows that green leaves are better at producing photosynthate than the variegated ones are so it's just trying to make the best of its situation.
An Ask Extension Expert Replied August 06, 2024, 9:13 AM EDT
Was that more or less light?

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 6, 2024, at 9:13 AM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:


The Question Asker Replied August 07, 2024, 8:55 PM EDT
You would like the variegated hostas to ideally receive morning sun and/or late day sun and be in the shade during the hottest part of the day. Mine seem to stay variegated with about 4 hours of sunlight each day but it is mostly morning light.
An Ask Extension Expert Replied August 07, 2024, 9:25 PM EDT
Thanks for your help. I'll see if I can replant the variegated part and replant it in a different location.

Kimber


On Wed, Aug 7, 2024 at 9:25 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied August 08, 2024, 5:18 PM EDT

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