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H. ‘Frances Williams’

Photograph of Hosta 'Frances Williams'
Photo: David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Hosta ‘Frances Williams’ is a registered cultivar () , originated by F. Williams & C. Williams.

Year registered1986
RegistrantF. Williams & C. Williams
Section classI-5b (Giant)

Last checked against the AHS registry:

What it looks like

'Frances Williams' has large, rounded blue-green leaves with a chartreuse-to-yellow margin (AHS registry). The leaf is almost as wide as it is long, 12 × 10 in with 12 vein pairs. Flowers are white, recorded in Massachusetts from mid June into August, on scapes about 30 in tall.

Registered size

Source Height Width Leaf (L × W)
AHS Registry record (1986) 18 in (46 cm) 36 in (91 cm) 12 × 10 in (30 × 25 cm)
AHS Hosta of the Year booklet not listed not listed —

It was never an AHGA Hosta of the Year, so there is no second AHS size figure. The registry record does not say how old the measured clump was.

Where it fits

A large hosta on paper: the registered clump is 36 in across and 18 in high, with a 12 × 10 in leaf. The registry gives no habit, so the shape of a grown clump is not documented. The record gives white flowers from mid June into August in Massachusetts, on scapes of 30 in.

How it compares

  • 'Elegans' is the parent: a bluish gray-green leaf with no margin, 10 × 9 in, on a registered clump of 40 in across and 20 in high (registry #5129).
  • 'Liberty' also combines blue-green with a yellow margin, but the margin is much wider (2.5 in), the registered habit is upright, at 39.4 in high and 39.4 in across, and the booklet says the margin turns creamy white by mid-season.
  • 'Earth Angel' has a slightly blue-green leaf of similar size (12 × 9 in) with a 0.5–1 in creamy white margin, registered at 39 in across and 16 in high; the booklet gives a separate figure of 30 × 60 in.

Parentage and awards

Sport of 'Elegans' (registry). Registered by F. Williams and C. Williams in 1986; clump history is given as Massachusetts.

  • Listed in the AHS Popularity Poll in 2001 and 2002.
  • No AHGA Hosta of the Year or Benedict garden performance award appears in the AHS sources we checked.

Limits and unknowns

The registry entry is short: no habit, growth rate, leaf texture or bloom color beyond "white", and no AHS source we checked covers how it handles sun or slugs. For general planting and slug control, see our hosta care guide.

Sources

Profile written and checked against the sources above on .

Size and leaf

Clump height18 in (45.7 cm)
Clump width36 in (91.4 cm)
Leaf length12 in (30.5 cm)
Leaf width10 in (25.4 cm)
Vein pairs12
Flower scape height30 in (76.2 cm)

From the American Hosta Society Registry record.

Parentage

  • Sport parent: Sport of H. 'Elegans'

57 published registry records name Hosta ‘Frances Williams’ as a parent: 17 sports and 40 seedlings.

Sports of H. ‘Frances Williams’ (17), by registration year
  • H. ‘Maple Leaf’ (1972)
  • H. ‘Golden Sunburst’ (1984)
  • H. ‘Aurora Borealis’ (1986)
  • H. ‘DuPage Delight’ (1990)
  • H. ‘Queen of Islip’ (1990)
  • H. ‘Kingwood Center’ (1993)
  • H. ‘Forever Frances’ (1996)
  • H. ‘Broadway Frances’ (1997)
  • H. ‘Golden Circles’ (1998)
  • H. ‘Sara's Sensation’ (1998)
  • H. ‘Linda Sue’ (1999)
  • H. ‘Sunlight’ (2001)
  • H. ‘Susan-elizabeth’ (2001)
  • H. ‘Time Tunnel’ (2001)
  • H. ‘Table Six’ (2003)
  • H. ‘Columbus Circle’ (2009)
  • H. ‘Samurai’ (2010)
Seedlings of H. ‘Frances Williams’ (40), by registration year
  • H. ‘Golden Nugget’ (1969)
  • H. ‘Midwest Gold’ (1969)
  • H. ‘Green Formal’ (1971)
  • H. ‘Great Lakes’ (1973)
  • H. ‘Blue Lace’ (1977)
  • H. ‘Blue Saucers’ (1977)
  • H. ‘Green Saucers’ (1977)
  • H. ‘Polly Bishop’ (1977)
  • H. ‘Sea Blue’ (1978)
  • H. ‘Sea Foam’ (1978)
  • H. ‘Frances Williams Baby’ (1980)
  • H. ‘Joybells’ (1980)
  • H. ‘Mildred Seaver’ (1981)
  • H. ‘Helen Doriot’ (1982)
  • H. ‘Bold Edger’ (1983)
  • H. ‘Julie Morss’ (1983)
  • H. ‘Pin Stripe’ (1983)
  • H. ‘Top Banana’ (1983)
  • H. ‘Quilted Skies’ (1985)
  • H. ‘Eleanor J. Reath’ (1986)
  • H. ‘Hoarfrost’ (1986)
  • H. ‘Blue Bayou’ (1987)
  • H. ‘Breeder's Choice’ (1987)
  • H. ‘Connie’ (1987)
  • H. ‘Galaxy’ (1987)
  • H. ‘Formal Attire’ (1988)
  • H. ‘Robert Frost’ (1988)
  • H. ‘Maui Buttercups’ (1991)
  • H. ‘Foxy Doxy’ (1994)
  • H. ‘Smokerise Frosted Vase’ (1994)
  • H. ‘Celebrity’ (1995)
  • H. ‘Old Hump Back’ (1999)
  • H. ‘Roscoe’ (1999)
  • H. ‘Stormy Seas’ (2004)
  • H. ‘Blue Steel’ (2009)
  • H. ‘Mad About Blue’ (2009)
  • H. ‘Pin Stripe Sister’ (2009)
  • H. ‘Fringe Benefit’ (2010)
  • H. ‘Witten Lodge’ (2015)
  • H. ‘Kirkside Blue’ (2018)

From the pod, pollen and sport parent fields of American Hosta Society Registry records.

Similar cultivars

Other registered hostas in the same AHS section class (I-5b, giant size):

Related guides

Looking for ‘Frances Williams’ on Amazon

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Registration data: AHS Registry #1916. How we check this data.