Hosta 'Sum and Substance' | Hosta 'Sum and Substance' | {25 Bare Root plants}

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Hosta 'Sum and Substance' {Bare Root Plants, min 25}

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Hosta 'Sum and Substance' (AKA Plantain Lily, Funkia)

Pronunciation: HAH-stuh SUM and SUB-stans
Product: 9359

Shipping description: This product cannot be shipped to AZ, CA, NV, OR, or WA

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25 - 99: $5.17 each	100 - 999: $4.77 each
1000 - 2499: $4.53 each	2500 - 4999: $4.44 each
5000 - 9999: $4.29 each	10000 - 19999: $4.05 each
20000+: $3.82 each

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Content note — AI-assisted: Some images, descriptions, and specs on this page may have been generated with AI and might not be perfect. If you’re new to this plant, please check verified photos [here] and feel free to contact us with questions.

A new cultivar, with elephant-like, deeply veined, golden, rounded, glossy leaves that have heavy puckering, this plant's sheer size alone lives up to its name. Sum and Substance provides bright peridot color in full shade and its leaves average a breathtaking 20 inches long by 15 inches wide.

From July to August, its lavender flowers bloom on tall, 50-inch scapes. They resemble a riot of lavender moths when in bloom. A vigorous grower, Sum and Substance is slug resistant and prefers full shade in any moist, well-drained location.

By a water feature, Sum and Substance gives a very tropical feel. No matter where she is placed in your garden, she offers flowing sheets of showy-green foliage sure to stop visitors in their tracks.

1 eye bare root plants.

Please read about bare root plants (especially the paragraph about bare root grasses) so you know what to expect.

Also read below under Things to Note about trimming.

Interesting Facts
Sum and Substance was Hosta of the Year in 2004.
Sum and Substance is the largest Hosta in the entire world.

Gardener Tips
To enhance its color, Sum and Substance does well with a bit of sunlight. If you have a dappled location, she will do quite nicely for you.

See other plants that go well with this plant.

General information about Hostas:
The goddess of all that is lush and green, Hosta plants are indisputably one of the absolute best and most popular options for shaded garden spots. Of course with over 5000 cultivars, how in the world does one narrow down the choices?

We feature hostas most prized for their hardiness, foliage and flower colors, and overall performance. Essentially, we’ve done the sorting for you and offer you the best of the best at prices that are incredibly affordable.

First, a little technical information. Hostas are herbaceous perennial plants that grow from corms or rhizomes. Their broad lanceolate or ovate leaves vary widely in size, by species, from 1 - 15 inches long and 3/4 - 12 inches broad. Variation among the numerous cultivars is even greater, with clumps ranging from as little as 4 inches across to an astounding 6 1/2 feet across.

The leaf shades of wild Hosta species is typically a vibrant green, although some (e.g. H. sieboldiana) are known for their glaucous coating, lending leaves a hazy blue appearance that tends to be an incredibly soothing effect in a garden. There are natural sports (mutations) of native species that have yellow-green (almost gold) colored leaves or differing leaf variegation (the centers/edges are either white/cream or yellowish).

The (3/4 to 2 inch long) flowers are produced on (up to 31 inch tall) erect panicles. They are usually pendulous, appearing similar to a central beam with loads of miniature lavender loud-speakers growing out of it. The trumpet-like blossoms boast six petals, are generally not fragrant, and typically white, lavender, or violet in color.

Hostas are widely cultivated groundcovers, and they are a particularly perfect plant for shaded locales. Gardeners love getting their hands on those with golden or white variegated leaves. Other traits that make the Hosta such a prized perennial are the facts that they require very little care other than watering and perhaps some fertilizing, and they are a terrific option for erosion control on slopes.

A bank of hostas with thousands of blooms dangling like jewels from their suspended flower stalks is truly a sight to behold. A long-living, relatively disease-free plant that keeps multiplying, is easy to divide in spring or late fall, and promises years of lush, lovely leaves of color, hostas often become addictive to perennial collectors.

How they come: When you buy a Hosta, you will usually receive 1 or 2 eye plants. What are Hosta eyes, you ask? In the spring, you can gently uncover your hosta beds to reveal the green nubs poking through the soil. Each nub is called an eye, and it is the beginning of a complete set of hosta leaves. Eyes can be divided, but it is not necessary. When you move or divide hostas, it can take a year or so for them to be completely reestablished.

Things to Note
Starting in May we cut much of the top foliage off our Hostas before shipping. We feel that the tops are too big to be supported by the roots after transplanting, they tend to lay over on the ground and not recuperate. When the plants are smaller we leave the tops on. If you want us to ship your Hostas without trimming, indicate your desire in the Comments box near the shipping address when checking out. Be aware that you will likely experience the outcome we indicated above, and if this happens to you, simply trim them yourself. It will not harm the plant.

Interesting Facts
Hosta (originally named Funkia) is a genus of 23-40 species of lily-like plants native to northeast Asia. It was once classified in the family Liliaceae but is now (due to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group) included in the family Agavaceae.

The genus name Hosta is after the Austrian physician & botanist Nicholas Host (1761-1834).

Gardener Tips
Hostas reward their gardener with prolific spreading and willingness to divide and relocate with ease. As such, they are wonderfully economic if you have large shaded areas you wish to fill. Plan to purchase enough to fill one area, and within 2 seasons, you’ll have at least double what you started with, providing ample plants for dividing and relocating to another area.

See all Hostas.

Specifications

Cold hardiness zone: 3-9 (-40 degrees F) - Contact your local extension to confirm hardiness if you are in a fringe zone (we cannot guarantee hardiness in fringe zones)
AHS Heat Zone: 9-1
Light: Part sun Shade
Growth rate: Fast to moderate
Mature height: 24-30"
Spread: 50-60"
Spacing: 40-60"
Tolerant of: Wet Conditions, Rabbits
pH of Soil: 5.5 - 7.5, Ideal pH: 6.5 - 7.5
Attracts: Hummingbirds
Grows Under Trees: Conifer - Yes, Walnut - Yes, Other - Yes

Shipping

No unusual shipping concerns for this plant.

FREE SHIPPING - Classy Groundcovers offers free shipping, and your plants never spend more than three days in transit.

Precise delivery - another benefit from shopping with us is that you know hpw to control exactly when your order will be shipped.

Shipping information that applies to all plants:
- When We Ship
- You May Specify Your Shipping Date
- Lookup Shipping Date and Tracking Information
- Special Delivery Instructions
- Changing Your Shipping Date
- Accepting Delivery
- Unpacking Your Order
- Returns

Care

No unusual care instructions for this plant.

General information that applies to all plants:
- Ground preparation, fertilization, pH
- Planting instructions
- Explanation and description of bare roots
- How to plant bare root plants
- If you cannot plant bare roots right away

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Hosta 'Sum and Substance' {Bare Root Plants, min 25}

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