Hosta 'Aphrodite'

The plain species performs much better than this heavily promoted double-flowered cultivar. Around here (Boston MA Z6a) the flower buds r...Read Morearely open properly. And I hear similar complaints from other gardeners in other parts of the country.

This plant used to flower for me, but in the last ten years, I've had no luck. I live in Ottawa, Ontario (US Z4/Can Z5a), and have no tr...Read Moreouble growing it, in shade or sun. I do have, though, trouble getting it to flower for me. The stems come up quite late (August?), and then the buds wither. Given that that blooms are the best reason to grow this plant, this is very annoying!

This is a sun sensitive hosta. I have it where it receives mostly diffused and reflective lighting off of our white home. Late in the sea...Read Moreson it gets some tip burn even in this protected area. Also it is a thirsty hosta so it must be in a well drained but moist bed. If this plant didn't have such enormous and fragrant blooms, I probably wouldn't grow it because otherwise, it is pretty much plain-jane.

'Aphrodite' was one of the first hosta I purchased when I started my garden. The information about the double blooms was enough to encou...Read Morerage me - plus being told that hosta was so easy to grow. Not knowing anything about gardening at that point I gave 'Aphrodite' a center spot below a birdbath where their was morning and evening sunlight but was shaded by the afternoon sun by pine trees. The plant did not only NOT thrive, it disappeared completely by the spring of it's third year. I'm not sure what happened to it but I know that other hosta are thriving near where this one was planted - could have been a poor specimen or my inability see it was in trouble. Now that I've been gardening a few years I may give this cultivar another try and see how it does - but I'll pick the spot more carefully.