Hostas are one of the most popular perennial plants grown in gardens today. While many gardeners grow them because of their shade tolerance, some varieties thrive in sunny sites as well. Hosta foliage offers a variety of leaf shapes, textures, and colors. The flowers of many are fragrant and bloom in various shades of purple and pink as well as white. There are hundreds of hosta varieties from which to choose and more varieties become available each year. In case you are thinking about starting a hosta collection, the Perennial Plant Association has a list of the 100 most commercially popular hostas to start you off. One problem associated with the popularity of hostas and the numerous varieties is incorrect naming. In an effort to end some of this confusion, the Perennial Plant Association has provided a list of correct names and their incorrect aliases. Listed below is a sampling from the list.

Correct Hosta Name	Incorrect Hosta Names
Hosta 'Birchwood Parky's Gold'	'Golden Glimmer','Parkman Shaw 391,''Golden Nakaiana'
Hosta 'Bold Ruffles'	Hosta sieboldiana 'Ruffled'
Hosta 'Bright Glow'	'Golden Tardiana,' Hosta xtardiana T 'Golden'
Hosta fortunei 'Albo-picta'	Hosta fortunei 'Viridis-marginata',Hosta fortunei 'Aureo-maculata'
Hosta fortunei 'Antioch'	'Yellow Boy', Hosta fortunei aurea marmorata
Hosta fortunei 'Aureo-marginata'	'Gold Crown', 'Golden Crown', Hosta fortunei 'Obscura'
Hosta 'Golden Scepter'	'Golden Golden Tiara'
Hosta lancifolia	Hosta cathayana, Hosta japonica
Hosta plantaginea	Hosta plantaginea 'Grandiflora,' Hosta subcordata grandiflora
Hosta sieboldiana 'Elegans'	Hosta glauca, 'Blue Giant'
Hosta sieboldiana 'Frances Williams'	Hosta sieboldiana aureo-marginata
Hosta tokudama	Hosta glauca, Hosta sieboldiana glauca
Hosta undulata	Hosta undulata medio-picta, Hosta undu lata medio-variegata, Hosta variegata
Hosta ventricosa	Hosta caerulea, Hosta coerulea
Hosta ventricosa 'Aureo-marginata'	Hosta ventricosa'Variegata'

This article originally appeared in the June 17, 1994 issue, p. 94.