H. ‘Summer Palace’

Overview

Registered in 2010, *Hosta* 'Summer Palace' is a large, slow-growing cultivar derived from *Hosta* 'Dorothy Benedict' with an unknown pollen parent. Its most distinctive features are the broadly ovate, twisted leaves of light green with wide (1.5-inch), heavily rippled margins that emerge pale yellow, and a mound-like growth habit reaching 18 inches (45.7 cm) in height and 40 inches (101.6 cm) in diameter.

In the Garden

'Summer Palace' is best suited to partial to full shade, where its light green foliage with pale yellow margins will hold color without scorching. Its substantial size—nearly 3.5 feet across at maturity—makes it an effective specimen or accent plant in the middle to back of a shaded border. The broad, twisted leaves provide textural contrast when paired with finer-textured shade perennials such as ferns or *Heuchera*.

Care Notes

Provide consistent moisture, especially during dry periods, and apply a balanced fertilizer in early spring as growth emerges. Like most large-leaved hostas, 'Summer Palace' is susceptible to slug and deer damage in typical hosta-growing zones.