Francee is a classic, fast-growing hosta with medium to dark green, slightly glossy heart-shaped leaves edged in a narrow, clean white margin. The variegation holds up well even with some sun.
It forms a wide, low mound about 14 inches tall and 3 feet wide. Lavender flowers rise on 30-inch stems from mid to late summer. It has earned many hosta society awards and a Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit, and it is a reliable choice for edging, containers and mass plantings.
What it looks like
A wide, low mound about 14 inches tall and 36 inches wide of heart-shaped, slightly glossy leaves in medium to dark green with a narrow, crisp white margin. In mid to late summer, stems about 30 inches tall carry lavender bell flowers. At peak the plant is a neat green mound outlined in white, with lavender spires above.
Growing it with lavender
Hostas want shade and steady moisture, so grow this one in a shaded bed away from the lavender, alongside ferns, astilbe or coral bells.
Care
Grows in part to full shade and tolerates more sun than many hostas. Give it evenly moist, humus-rich soil that drains well, and water during dry spells; hardy in zones 3-9. Cut the foliage down after hard frost, and divide crowded clumps in spring as new shoots appear. Watch for slugs in damp springs.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Hosta
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Flower color: Lavender
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Foliage: Medium to dark green with narrow white margins
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Growth habit: Wide, low mound
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Mature size: 14 in tall × 36 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 3–9
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Light: part sun to part shade, full shade
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Bloom start: Mid-July
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Peak bloom: Early-August
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Bloom pattern: Single Flush
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Deer resistance: Susceptible
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Pollinator value: Good
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.