H. ‘Thunderbolt’

Overview

'Thunderbolt' is a sport of H. sieboldiana 'Elegans'. The originator is A. R. Crowder, the introducer Hawksridge Farms, and the AHS registered it in 2020 under plant patent PP14,232. The center is yellow-green and the margin is dark bluish green, 3 to 5 in wide, with 16 to 19 veins and a glaucous finish. The registry notes that on older leaves the center turns almost white.

In the Garden

The registered clump is upright, 50 in across and 28 in high, with a moderate growth rate in the registration's field, though the registrant's notes call it a vigorous grower. The registry gives no leaf length or width. Scapes are 18 to 22 in. The registration gives white flowers with translucent margins, opening in early June in Pleasant Hill, Missouri.

How it compares

Its sport parent, 'Elegans', is a blue H. sieboldiana form with no variegation. 'Elegans' is on the Benedict lists. 'Thunderbolt' is not, so far.

'Lean on Me' shares the pattern of a yellow center with a blue-green margin. On record it is about the same height, 29 in, but wider at 60 in against 50. Its center is lutescent, turning toward golden yellow rather than fading toward white.

'Continental Divide' is close in size at 26 in high and 52 in across. Its leaf is 14 in by 10 in, with a light green to chartreuse center and a dark green margin of 2 to 3 in. The margin is green rather than blue, and on record it is a mound, not upright. Pick it if you prefer a green-edged mound to a blue-edged upright clump.

'Frances Williams' has the colors the other way around: a blue-green center and a chartreuse-to-yellow margin. It was registered smaller, at 18 in high and 36 in across.

Flowers and other notes

The record says the plant sets viable seed, and gives a 2020 registration year alongside plant patent PP14,232 without explaining the timing. Planting and slug control are in our care guide.

Sources: AHS Registry records for 'Thunderbolt' (#5704), H. sieboldiana 'Elegans' (#5129), 'Lean on Me' (#3327), 'Continental Divide' (#1150) and 'Frances Williams' (#1916), hostaregistrar.org; AHS Benedict Garden Performance Awards by year (2026).