Undulata Albomarginata is a long-grown, dependable hosta with medium green leaves edged in wavy white, with gray-green streaks where the edge meets the center. It is one of the first hostas to come up in spring.
It forms a mound about 18 inches tall and 40 inches wide and spreads readily, which makes it useful for mass plantings and edging long shady beds. Pale lavender flowers rise on tall 31 to 45-inch scapes in midsummer.
What it looks like
Oval, pointed leaves in medium green with wavy, irregular white margins and gray-green streaks where the white meets the green. Leaves have a slightly twisted, undulating surface. The plant forms a spreading mound about 18 inches tall and 40 inches wide. In midsummer, tall scapes 31 to 45 inches tall carry pale lavender trumpet flowers high above the foliage. At peak a planting of these forms a continuous band of white-edged leaves with lavender spikes above.
Growing it with lavender
Hostas want shade and steady moisture, the opposite of lavender's hot, dry bed, so give this one a spot under trees or along the north side of the house with ferns and astilbe.
Care
Plant in part to full shade in rich, humus-heavy soil that stays evenly moist but drains well; water deeply during dry spells, especially the first summer. Hardy in zones 3-9. Cut spent scapes after bloom and divide crowded clumps in early spring as the shoots emerge.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Hosta
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Flower color: Pale lavender
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Foliage: Medium green with wavy white margins
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Growth habit: Spreading mound
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Mature size: 18 in tall × 40 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: Early-July
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Peak bloom: Mid-July
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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.