Product Field NotesCompanion Plants
Wind beneath My Wings Hosta: A Giant Blue Mound for the Shady Side
Save
Wind beneath My Wings hosta is a big plant with a soft personality. Its heart-shaped blue leaves have ruffled, wavy edges that make the whole clump look like it is rippling, and it spreads into a mound far wider than it is tall. Pale lavender trumpet flowers rise above it in early to mid-July.
It is also the opposite of lavender in almost every way that matters to a gardener. Lavender wants baking sun and dry roots; this hosta wants shade and steady moisture. So it belongs in your plan, just not in your lavender bed.
Wind beneath My Wings at a glance
| Trait | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Botanical name | Hosta 'Wind beneath My Wings' |
| Foliage | Blue, heart-shaped, ruffled and wavy, with a matte waxy finish |
| Size | About 30 inches tall and 79 inches wide |
| Flowers | Pale lavender trumpets on scapes 26 to 43 inches tall |
| Bloom | Starts early July, peaks mid-July, single flush |
| Hardiness | USDA zones 3 to 9 |
| Light | Part sun to part shade, or full shade |
| Deer | Susceptible |
A shade companion, not a bed partner
Plant this hosta next to lavender and both will be unhappy. Where it earns a spot in a lavender-lover's garden is on the shady side of the same plan: under trees, along the north wall of the house or in a woodland corner. Its pale lavender flowers still echo a lavender field.
Its partners there are ferns and astilbe, which share its taste for shade and moisture. Sketch both sides of the yard in the Companion Plant Planner so the sun bed and the shade bed read as one garden.
Keeping the blue
The blue color comes from a waxy coating on the leaves. Heat and strong sun melt it away, and the leaves drift toward green. Afternoon shade is the single best thing you can do to keep the clump blue into late summer. The thick leaves also resist slug damage better than most hostas, though long wet, humid spells can still bring slugs out and spot leaves, so leave room for air to move.
Planting and care
- Room: plan for a mound more than 6 feet across at maturity. This is a specimen or a space filler, not an edging plant.
- Soil: rich and humus-heavy, evenly moist but well drained.
- Water: deeply during dry spells, especially the first summer.
- After bloom: cut spent scapes back to the base.
- Fall: cut the big leaves down after a hard frost and keep heavy, wet mulch off the crown.
- Dividing: split crowded clumps in early spring as the shoots emerge.
Watch for mottled, streaked leaves, a sign of Hosta Virus X; remove any plant that shows it. Hosta foliage is listed as toxic to dogs and cats, so site it with pets in mind.
Offered as plug trays
Wind beneath My Wings comes as a 72-cell plug tray and a deep 20-cell plug tray, both made for growers and anyone potting up their own stock or planting a large shade garden. See the product pages for current availability, or the Wholesale Hub for tray orders.
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow this hosta in full sun next to lavender?
No. Sun burns off the blue coating and dry soil stresses the plant. Give it shade and moisture somewhere else on the property.
How fast does it reach full size?
Large hostas take several seasons to fill out. Space it for the mature width from the start so you are not moving it later.
Share how it went in your field