Hosta 'Empress Wu'
Hosta 'Empress Wu' · Asparagaceae Popular
The largest hosta of all: dark green, deeply veined leaves up to half a metre across, in a mound that reaches chest height after five years.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 6 ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves; flowers late June to late July
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around hosta 'Empress Wu'
The planner designed this bed around hosta 'Empress Wu' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) cottage garden in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why hosta 'Empress Wu' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Hosta 'Empress Wu' × 1, dark green leaves
- 2 Creeping phlox 'Sherwood Purple' × 8, purple
- 3 Blue star creeper × 18, blue
- 4 White snakeroot 'Chocolate' × 3, white
- 5 Astilbe 'Purple Candles' × 3, purple
- 6 Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' × 3, white
- 7 Virginia bluebells × 12, blue
- 8 Celandine poppy × 8, yellow
- 9 Grecian windflower × 7, pink
- 10 Trout lily 'Pagoda' × 5, yellow
- 11 Yellow trout lily × 12, yellow
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- The only bold leaves here. The rest are medium and fine. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
- A classic partner for Virginia bluebells. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 4 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to astilbe 'Purple Candles' (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A feature plant is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, spring to frost. They cover the 12 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 47 of the 56 plants (84%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Cool colours (purple, blue and pink) with yellow as the warm note, and white to calm things between them. Blue star creeper repeats along the bed to tie it together.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 6 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where hosta 'Empress Wu' goes in a border
At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: specimen. A feature plant with a shape of its own. It stands alone with room around it, and repeats only at a distance.
It takes the place of a shrub, and should be given the same space. Plant spring bulbs and ephemerals around it: they flower before its leaves unfurl and are covered when it expands.
- A giant specimen for a large shady bed
- A substitute for a shrub in shade
- The back of a woodland planting
What to plant with hosta 'Empress Wu'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Black cohosh: adds the flowers, early July to early August; medium leaves against its bold ones; spires rising out of its mound.
- Ostrich fern: medium leaves against its bold ones.
- Virginia bluebells: adds the flowers, mid April to early May; medium leaves against its bold ones; low enough (20 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about hosta 'Empress Wu'
Does hosta 'Empress Wu' need sun or shade?
Hosta 'Empress Wu' grows in part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does hosta 'Empress Wu' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should hosta 'Empress Wu' be planted?
5 ft (150 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6 ft (180 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many hosta 'Empress Wu' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 5 ft (150 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 5 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is hosta 'Empress Wu' poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to dogs, cats and horses. Can cause vomiting and diarrhoea in pets if eaten.
Rated from the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
What does hosta 'Empress Wu' look like in winter?
Hosta 'Empress Wu' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Hosta
- August lily Hosta plantaginea
- Hosta Hosta
- Hosta 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd' Hosta 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd'
- Hosta 'August Moon' Hosta 'August Moon'
- Hosta 'Blue Angel' Hosta 'Blue Angel'
- Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears' Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears'
- Hosta 'Curly Fries' Hosta 'Curly Fries'
- Hosta 'Elegans' Hosta sieboldiana 'Elegans'
- Hosta 'Fire and Ice' Hosta 'Fire and Ice'
- Hosta 'First Frost' Hosta 'First Frost'
- Hosta 'Francee' Hosta 'Francee'
- Hosta 'Frances Williams' Hosta sieboldiana 'Frances Williams'
- Hosta 'Gold Standard' Hosta 'Gold Standard'
- Hosta 'Golden Tiara' Hosta 'Golden Tiara'
- Hosta 'Great Expectations' Hosta 'Great Expectations'
- Hosta 'Guacamole' Hosta 'Guacamole'
- Hosta 'Halcyon' Hosta 'Halcyon'
- Hosta 'June' Hosta 'June'
- Hosta 'Krossa Regal' Hosta 'Krossa Regal'
- Hosta 'Liberty' Hosta 'Liberty'
- Hosta 'Patriot' Hosta 'Patriot'
- Hosta 'Paul's Glory' Hosta 'Paul's Glory'
- Hosta 'Praying Hands' Hosta 'Praying Hands'
- Hosta 'Royal Standard' Hosta 'Royal Standard'
- Hosta 'Sagae' Hosta 'Sagae'
- Hosta 'So Sweet' Hosta 'So Sweet'
- Hosta 'Stained Glass' Hosta 'Stained Glass'
- Hosta 'Sum and Substance' Hosta 'Sum and Substance'
- Hosta 'Wide Brim' Hosta 'Wide Brim'
- White-margined wavy hosta Hosta undulata 'Albomarginata'
In these guides
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Tall perennials and grasses for the back of a border
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 6 ft (180 cm) wide
- Plant
- 5 ft (150 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late June to late July; upright spires; lavender
- Leaves
- Bold texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Asparagaceae
Checked against ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.