Product Field NotesCompanion Plants
Chance Encounter Hosta: Blue Leaves with a Watermark Halo
Save
Chance Encounter hosta is named for a detail you have to lean in to see. Its heart-shaped leaves have powdery blue centers and wide margins that open apple green and turn gold, and where the two colors meet a pale, watermark-like halo appears. It is the kind of plant that rewards a slow walk.
It is low, just 12 to 16 inches tall, but spreads more than three feet wide. Like every hosta, it wants shade and steady moisture, so it lives in a shady bed of its own rather than beside the lavender.
Chance Encounter at a glance
| Trait | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Botanical name | Hosta 'Chance Encounter' |
| Foliage | Powdery blue centers, wide margins from apple green to gold, pale halo between |
| Flowers | Near-white to very pale purple bells on 14- to 18-inch stems |
| Size | 12 to 16 inches tall, 36 to 42 inches wide |
| Bloom | Starts mid-June, peaks late June, for about three weeks |
| Hardiness | USDA zones 3 to 9 |
| Light | Part sun to part shade, or full shade |
| Deer | Susceptible |
The shady side of a lavender garden
Most lavender properties have a shady corner somewhere: the north side of the house, a bed under a maple or the strip along a fence. Lavender will not grow there, but Chance Encounter will. Its blue leaves give a cool, calm tone that echoes the silvery-blue feel of a lavender bed, so the shady beds and the sunny ones still look like part of one plan.
Because it spreads low and wide, it fits near the front of a shade border, where you can see the halo up close. Pair it with ferns, astilbe or coral bells. Sort out sun and shade zones in the Companion Plant Planner.
Planting and care
- Spacing: give each plug room to reach three feet or more. It looks sparse for a season or two, then fills in.
- Soil: humus-rich, evenly moist and well-drained. Avoid spots that stay waterlogged in winter.
- Light: shade from afternoon sun keeps the blue coating and prevents scorch.
- Water: during dry spells, at the base of the plant.
- Slugs: watch for them in damp springs, and keep mulch thin near the crown.
- Fall: cut collapsed foliage after hard frost to reduce slug eggs and disease.
Divide crowded clumps in spring as shoots appear, and remove any plant with mottled or distorted leaves.
Getting the best blue
The powdery blue on hosta leaves is a waxy coating. It is brightest in shade and wears off faster in sun, heat and hard rain. Water at the soil rather than overhead, and site the plant where morning light is gentle. By late summer the gold margins glow against the blue, which is when the watermark band stands out most.
About the plug tray
Chance Encounter is offered as a 72-cell plug tray, a good fit for planting a large shade bed or potting up stock. See the product page for current availability, or visit the Wholesale Hub.
Frequently asked questions
Why are the leaf margins green instead of gold?
They open apple green and turn gold as the leaves mature, so give them time.
Can it grow in a container?
It can while young, but its three-foot-plus spread makes it happiest in the ground.
Share how it went in your field