Product Field NotesCompanion Plants
Maui Buttercups Hosta: Little Gold Cups for Shady Edges
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Maui Buttercups hosta is a small gold hosta with rounded, deeply cupped leaves about 5 inches across. The thick, puckered, corrugated leaves overlap tightly into a dense dome about 10 inches tall and 14 inches wide, and the rims catch the light in a slightly paler gold. In midsummer, slender scapes about 18 inches tall carry pale lavender trumpet flowers above the yellow cups.
Those heavy leaves also hold up to slugs better than most hostas, which every shade gardener will appreciate.
Maui Buttercups at a glance
| Trait | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Botanical name | Hosta 'Maui Buttercups' |
| Foliage | Bright gold, rounded, deeply cupped and puckered |
| Flowers | Pale lavender trumpets on 18-inch scapes |
| Size | About 10 inches tall, 14 inches wide |
| Bloom | Early to mid-July |
| Hardiness | USDA zones 3 to 9 |
| Light | Part to full shade; morning sun brightens the gold |
| Deer | Susceptible |
Small scale, shady side
Big hostas need big spaces. Maui Buttercups is the opposite, a hosta for tight spots: the front of a shade border, a shaded rock garden, the edge of a woodland path or a container by the back door. Its gold cups glow in shade the way lavender's silver leaves shine in sun, so a shade bed edged with it feels connected to a sunny lavender bed elsewhere on the property.
Just keep the two apart. Lavender needs blazing sun and dry, lean soil; this hosta wants shade and steady moisture. Plan the sunny and shady areas together in the Companion Plant Planner. Fittingly, its pale lavender flowers make a small nod to the lavender out front.
Planting and care
- Light: morning sun or bright filtered light gives the brightest gold; hot afternoon sun can scorch the leaf edges.
- Soil: rich, humus heavy, evenly moist but well drained.
- Water: deeply in dry spells, especially in summer heat and the first year.
- After bloom: trim the scapes at the base.
- Dividing: split crowded clumps in early spring as shoots emerge.
Containers and winter
Maui Buttercups is an easy container hosta. Use a pot with drainage holes and good potting mix, and water more often than in the ground. In beds it is fully hardy in Michigan: cut the foliage down after a hard frost to remove slug eggs and debris, and keep the crown in well-drained soil so it does not sit wet. Watch for mottled, streaked leaves that could signal Hosta Virus X, and discard any infected plant.
Which tray?
It comes in a 72-cell plug tray for growers and large edging projects, and a 20-cell plug tray for a smaller shade bed or a set of containers. See each product page for current availability.
Frequently asked questions
Why are the leaf edges brown?
Most likely too much hot afternoon sun or dry soil. Move it to brighter shade or water more consistently.
Do deer eat it?
Deer like hostas. In deer country, plan on fencing or a repellent routine.
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