Product Field NotesCompanion Plants
Wu-La-La Hosta: A Giant Centerpiece for a Shade Garden
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Wu-La-La hosta is the kind of plant you plan a garden around. It is a sport of 'Empress Wu', one of the largest hostas in cultivation, and it carries huge, thick, heart-shaped blue-green leaves outlined in bright apple-green. Give it about five years and it becomes a mound 3 to 4 feet tall and 5 to 6 feet wide, with violet flowers on 4-foot scapes.
It wants shade and moisture, so it will never share a bed with lavender. It can, however, be the star of the shady half of your property.
Wu-La-La at a glance
| Trait | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Botanical name | Hosta 'Wu-La-La' |
| Foliage | Blue-green with wide apple-green margins, thick and slightly puckered |
| Size | 36 inches to 4 feet tall, 5 to 6 feet wide at maturity |
| Flowers | Violet trumpets on scapes about 4 feet tall |
| Bloom | Starts mid-June, peaks early July |
| Hardiness | USDA zones 3 to 9 |
| Light | Part sun to part shade, or full shade |
| Deer | Susceptible |
The shade-side anchor
Most lavender gardens have a problem area: the north side of the house, the space under a big maple, the corner that never dries out. That is exactly where lavender fails and where Wu-La-La thrives. Its violet flowers in late June and early July bloom around the same time as English lavender in the sunny beds, so the color theme carries across the yard even though the plants never meet.
For neighbors in the shade bed, think ferns and astilbe, which share its taste for moisture. Keep them a respectful distance away; a hosta this size will swallow small plants. The Companion Plant Planner is a good place to test the spacing before you dig.
Planting for the long game
- Space: plan for the mature 5 to 6 foot width now. Fill the gap with annuals or small shade plants for the first few years if bare ground bothers you.
- Soil: rich, humus-heavy, evenly moist and well drained. Work in compost before planting.
- Water: deeply during dry spells, especially the first summer. Big leaves lose a lot of water.
- Light: keep it out of hot afternoon sun so the blue-green centers and bright margins look their best.
Care through the year
Cut spent scapes after bloom. After a hard frost, cut the large leaves down and avoid piling heavy, wet mulch over the crown, which can encourage crown rot in spring. Divide crowded clumps in early spring as shoots emerge, though a plant this size is usually left alone to mature.
The thick leaves resist slugs better than most hostas. Watch for mottled, streaked foliage, a sign of Hosta Virus X, and remove any plant that shows it. Hosta foliage is listed as toxic to dogs and cats.
Offered as a plug tray
Wu-La-La comes as a 72-cell plug tray, ideal for growers who want to pot up and grow on their own stock or plant a large woodland area. See the product page for current availability, or visit the Wholesale Hub.
Frequently asked questions
How long until it looks giant?
It grows quickly, but expect about five years to reach its full 3 to 4 foot height and 5 to 6 foot spread.
Can it be used as a screen?
Yes. Screening is one of its listed uses, since a mature clump is tall and wide enough to block a low view in summer.
Will it grow with my lavender?
No. Lavender needs sun and dry soil; Wu-La-La needs shade and moisture. Plant them in different parts of the garden.
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