H. ‘Francee’

What it looks like

'Francee' has dark green leaves with a white margin (AHS registry). The registry gives a leaf of 9 × 6 in with 10 vein pairs, lavender flowers and scapes up to 36 in. The Hosta of the Year booklet describes its sport 'Patriot' as having "the same dark green center and form of 'Francee', but with a much wider white margin" — so a narrow white edge is the main thing that separates 'Francee' from 'Patriot'.

Registered size

The registry record has no clump size, habit or growth rate, and 'Francee' was never Hosta of the Year, so the booklet gives no size either. No AHS source we checked gives a size for this plant.

Where it fits

With no registered clump size, spacing has to come from a plant you can see: check a mature clump in a local garden or nursery before planning. What the record does give is a leaf of 9 × 6 in, the largest of the green-and-white plants compared below, and scapes up to 36 in.

How it compares

• 'Patriot', its sport, has a 1 in white margin on a glossy 7 × 5 in leaf (registry), and the booklet gives a grown size of 22 × 50 in. Pick 'Patriot' if a 1 in white edge matters more than leaf size; 'Francee' has the larger registered leaf (9 × 6 in).
• 'Minuteman', another sport, has a 0.75 in creamy white margin on a smaller 6 × 4 in leaf and a registered mound-like clump of 24 in across and 12 in high.
• 'First Frost' has a narrow margin too (0.4–0.5 in, yellow turning white), but on an intensely blue-green leaf; registered at 36 in across and 16 in high. Pick it if a blue-green center matters more than leaf size; its registered leaf is 7 × 5 in.
• 'Francee' itself has the largest registered leaf of the four (9 × 6 in), with the narrow white edge the booklet contrasts with 'Patriot'.

Parentage and awards

The registry's sport-parent field gives H. 'Fortunei'; registrants are M. Klopping and the AHS.

• Benedict Award of Merit 2009; also on the 2006 combined Award of Merit and Honorable Mention list (AHS Benedict list).
• Listed in the AHS Popularity Poll in 2001.

Limits and unknowns

The registry record is thin: no plant size, habit, bloom dates or leaf texture. Anything a nursery label adds goes beyond what the registry documents, and no AHS source we checked addresses slugs or sun for 'Francee'. General planting and slug control are covered in our hosta care guide.

Sources

• AHS Registry, 'Francee' #1915
• AHS Registry, 'Patriot' #4245, 'Minuteman' #3792, 'First Frost' #1776
• AHS Hosta of the Year booklet, 3rd ed. ('Patriot' entry)
• AHS Benedict Garden Performance Awards by year
• AHS Popularity Poll results