In my opinion it's all about the foliage and the fact that they are beautiful throughout the season. Many plants offer beautiful flowers, but they are short lived, and only offer a few weeks of interest at a time. Hostas offer beauty throughout the season and their flowers are a bonus. And with the wide variety of colors, size and textures it is easier to create a long lasting eye catching garden, with less effort than attempting to design a garden that is in constant(flower) bloom. And they are also so compatible with other plants. (What doesn't look good next to a Hosta?) They can be the showpiece in the garden or the backdrop of another plant that allows that plant to shine.They are easily grown, and most of the time really don't need us to survive (of course we baby them anyway). But any way I guess I'm one who believes that good foliage plants are the mainstay of the garden and what other foliage plant offers as much as the Hosta? (Walnut 23) - Avon, NY
I don't know if it's something that you can explain. I mean, one persons tea is another persons poison. To me they are just fantastically beautiful plants. Some require you to pay close attention to catch their beauty, other just scream it at you... I wouldn't know how to explain it.. But once they hook you, you're sunk. :) Not to be difficult, but most people don't know the difference between Hosta A and Hosta B or a big leafed plant unless they are really interested in gardening and the Hosta strikes their fancy. To most people, like my sister, they think if they have a green one and a green and white one they have all the Hosta there is and they are happy with that. Those of us that are really smitten by the Hosta know the various Hostas by their color variations, substance, texture of the leaves, type and color of the flower, whether it's scented or not, etc. You need to have a basic interest in plant and go from there. It's not necessarily something that you instantaneously know, you learn it from seeing, experiencing, studying and doing it. Or at least it is for me. :) Diann (Ticker) - Lisbon, IA
Genetics!!! LOL That's kind of like asking what a banana tastes like. You know it's different but the only way you can explain it to someone is to feed them a banana. Perhaps with Hostas part of it is that the plant is ever-changing over almost every day of the growing season. So people who love Hostas come to know each one personally. Daylilies are the only other plant that I feel that way about. Maybe you have to know a beautiful Hosta and watch it grow to understand. (Doss) - Stanford, CA
I think the infinite variety of the foliage in terms of size, color, texture, shape. The fact that many will change color within one season and of course as they mature. It is always fascinating to see what they will look like in each new year. And more and more of them are coming with showy and even fragrant flowers as well. Add all that to a plant that in general does not need a lot of fussy care and you've got a real winner. (ViolaAnn) - Ottawa, ON
They are all like individual little people, with their own set of characteristics. Besides being beautiful, they are very hard to kill which pumps the ego of the not so expert gardener. (LOL) What is the scientific reason a Hosta is a Hosta? I can't give the science but if someone who didn't know asked me to describe a Hosta I would say it is a plant with rounded or heart shaped leaves that thrive in the shade. It is known more for the leaf shape, color, size and variegation than it is for its flowers, although there are several varieties with large flowers and some even with fragrance. The colors of the foliage range from blue/gray to chartruese to green to white and all kinds of combinations in between. The size of a mature Hosta can be miniature to 5 feet across. The variety of color combinations and sizes is what makes it fascinating to collect and grow as there are literally thousands of different types... (pegzhere) - Bettendorf, IA
Hostas, or plantain lilies, are popular because they give color and texture to perennial gardens from mid-spring until mid-fall. Large clumps of basal leaves with pronounced veining and smooth or wavy edges distinguish Hostas. Leaves come in various shades of green, often with variegations. Lily-like flowers on tall stems (or scapes) in white and lavender bloom from late spring to late summer. Size and shape vary tremendously, with petite types a few inches tall for rock gardens at one end of the scale and giants with a single plant the size of a half whiskey barrel at the other. Hosta, Plantain Lily by Betty Barr Mackey
A Herbaceous Perennial that dies back to the ground every fall and comes up in the spring when the temps are adequate. You can hybridize, you can do TC and you can divide. You can plan the parents or you can let the bees do it by Open Pollination. Each cultivar has its own set of DNA. Kelly - Wisconsin
A Hosta by any other name is still a Hosta (stolen from a rose is a rose is a rose) (frans530) - Rankin, IL