H. ‘Transformer’
Hosta ‘Transformer’ is a registered cultivar () .
| Year registered | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Section class | I-6a (Giant) |
Last checked against the AHS registry:
Overview
'Transformer' (2009) is registered as a sport of a streaked 'Blue Angel', and its name describes what the registrant recorded: the leaf emerges with a streaky creamy white center inside a dark green margin 1 to 3 in (2.5 to 7.6 cm) wide, the center starts turning green in mid-June, and by mid-July it is almost the same color as the edge. The record calls the center viridescent, the term for variegation that greens over.
In the Garden
This is a spring hosta. Until mid-June, by the registrant's dates, it shows a large white-centered leaf; from mid-July the leaf is almost plain green. The plant is registered as upright and 54 in (137.2 cm) across. Buy it for the early show, and place it where the summer greening does not leave a gap in a color scheme. The registered dates come from a nine-year-old clump in Mansfield, Ohio.
How it compares
'Blue Angel', the parent, has a plain blue leaf in its record and is registered at 48 in across and 36 in high, with leaves 18 by 12 in. It shared the Benedict Garden Performance Award in 2016.
'Beckoning' is another 'Blue Angel' sport that changes in the opposite direction: its greenish yellow center brightens (lutescent) late in the season, inside a blue-green margin 2 in wide.
'Continental Divide' (2008) shares the show class and the dark green margin, 2 to 3 in wide, around a light green to chartreuse center, on a mound registered at 52 in across. Its record notes that the center gets lighter and the margin darker as the season progresses.
Flowers and other notes
Pale lavender flowers are recorded from mid-July to mid-August on medium green scapes, 30 to 32 in (76.2 to 81.3 cm), and the clump sets viable seed; for siting, watering and slugs see our hosta care guide.
Sources: AHS Registry records for 'Transformer' (#5800), 'Blue Angel' (#572), 'Beckoning' (#431) and 'Continental Divide' (#1150), hostaregistrar.org; AHS Benedict Garden Performance Awards by year (2026).
Size and leaf
| Clump height | 28 in (71.1 cm) |
|---|---|
| Clump width | 54 in (137.2 cm) |
| Leaf length | 15 in (38.1 cm) |
| Leaf width | 11 in (27.9 cm) |
| Vein pairs | 9 |
| Leaf | creamy white with 1 to 3in (2.5 to 7.6cm) wide, dark green, Slightly to moderately rippled margins; dull on top; glaucous bloom underneath; wavy, slightly corrugated |
| Flower scape height | 30–32 in (76.2–81.3 cm) |
| Seasonal colour change | center is viridescent |
| Notable characteristics | emerges with a streaking creamy white center which, in mid-June begins to turn green and by mid-July is almost the same color as the edge. |
From the American Hosta Society Registry record.
Parentage
- Sport parent: Sport of a streaked H. 'Blue Angel' — H. ‘Blue Angel’
Similar cultivars
Other registered hostas in the same AHS section class (I-6a, giant size):
- H. ‘Continental Divide’ (2008)
- H. ‘Lean on Me’ (2008)
- H. ‘Angel Eyes’ (2009)
- H. ‘Caliban’ (2009)
- H. ‘Foxfire Shadow Dancer’ (2009)
- H. ‘Spinning Wheel’ (2009)
Related guides
Registration data: AHS Registry #5800. How we check this data.