Info | The correct name for these plants is just plain H. 'Undulata' . The name used is still in widespread use, though. Mass marketers learn very slowly. H. 'Undulata' is unstable in the long run (years). It starts out as a mostly center-white hosta and slowly turns into a half-center white. Then it progresses to just having a white stripe and is called H. 'Undulata Univittata' , which finally turns all green and is called H. 'Undulata Erromena'. In the 1950's my mother planted many H. 'Undulata' plants in her Detroit garden. Just before she passed away at age 89 (in 1992), I visited her place for the last time and all of her plants were all green. It took about 40 years for the plants to turn from mostly white to all green. To identify this very variable plant: If it is 50% or more white (by area) it is considered H. 'Undulata'. If it is less than that white it is called H. 'Undulata Univittata' (meaning with a stripe [of white]). I know that there are borderline cases but they solve themselves sooner or later by reducing their white to just a center stripe in short order. You can see the instability in the fact that no leaf is like the other. and some leaves are clearly H. 'Undulata' while others on the same plant are H. 'Undulata Univittata'. I have even seen all three types of leaves on the same plant. Hope this helps and this is one that requires changing of labels as time goes on. If you would like more information, refer to page 114-115 of my book, where the whole history of this plant is given with all the applicable synonyms. If you can not figure it out and are puzzled, think of von Siebold who had the same problem in 1861. He had a plant with ! the leaves striated in white (one of the transitional stages) and gave it the name Funkia argenteostriata. I guess he was confused too. [GS] |