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Hosta 'Gold Standard'

Hosta 'Gold Standard' · Asparagaceae

Hosta 'Gold Standard' (Hosta 'Gold Standard')
Photo: Photo by David J. Stang, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Leaves that open green and turn to parchment gold as the season goes on, each keeping an irregular dark green edge.

Size
22 in tall, 3½ ft wide
Zones
3 to 9
Light
Part sun to part shade
Flowers
Grown for its leaves; flowers mid July to early August
Pets
Toxic (mild)
Job in a bed
Drift

A bed built around hosta 'Gold Standard'

The planner designed this bed around hosta 'Gold Standard' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why hosta 'Gold Standard' stands where it does.

A 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) bed at eye level in late July: Hosta 'Gold Standard', Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei', Creeping mahonia, Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet', Northern sea oats 'River Mist', Virginia bluebells, Easter lily, Quamash.
A 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, part sun, seen from the path in late July.
4. Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet'44. Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet'44. Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet'47. Easter lily77. Easter lily77. Easter lily71. Hosta 'Gold Standard'12. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'22. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'22. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'22. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'22. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'23. Creeping mahonia33. Creeping mahonia33. Creeping mahonia33. Creeping mahonia33. Creeping mahonia35. Northern sea oats 'River Mist'55. Northern sea oats 'River Mist'55. Northern sea oats 'River Mist'56. Virginia bluebells66. Virginia bluebells66. Virginia bluebells66. Virginia bluebells66. Virginia bluebells66. Virginia bluebells66. Virginia bluebells66. Virginia bluebells68. Quamash8. Quamash8. Quamash8. Quamash8. Quamash8. Quamash8. Quamash8. Quamash8. Quamash8. Quamash8. Quamash8. Quamash
From above, to scale. Each circle is one plant, as wide as the room it needs.

The plants

  1. 1 Hosta 'Gold Standard' × 1, chartreuse leaves
  2. 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 5, pink
  3. 3 Creeping mahonia × 5, yellow
  4. 4 Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet' × 3, white
  5. 5 Northern sea oats 'River Mist' × 3, green
  6. 6 Virginia bluebells × 8, blue
  7. 7 Easter lily × 3, white
  8. 8 Quamash × 12, blue

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 fine and medium. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.

Why here

  • In the middle. At 22 in it is the step between creeping mahonia (12 in) in front and northern sea oats 'River Mist' (2½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
  • 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 16 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.

Planned as a cottage garden: 25 of the 25 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet' and Easter lily anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there. The most in flower at one time is 3 kinds, in early May.

The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good.

Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.

Where hosta 'Gold Standard' goes in a border

At 22 in it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).

Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.

The colour depends on light: a few hours of morning sun bring out the gold, deep shade keeps it green, and hot sun bleaches it white. A parent of many later hostas.

  • Gold foliage for bright shade
  • Massing
  • A focal point among green hostas

What to plant with hosta 'Gold Standard'

Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:

  • Hosta 'Halcyon': a low mound at the foot of its spires; happy in the same moist soil.
  • Astilbe: adds the flowers, late June to mid July; fine leaves against its bold ones; happy in the same moist soil.
  • Lady fern: fine leaves against its bold ones; happy in the same moist soil.

Questions about hosta 'Gold Standard'

Does hosta 'Gold Standard' need sun or shade?

Hosta 'Gold Standard' grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).

It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.

What zones does hosta 'Gold Standard' 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 'Gold Standard' be planted?

3 ft (90 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3½ ft (100 cm), so a group knits into one patch.

It grows 22 in (55 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.

How many hosta 'Gold Standard' plants do I need?

At 3 ft apart, set out in staggered rows:

  • 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
  • 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
  • 4 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own

In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.

In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.

Is hosta 'Gold Standard' 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 'Gold Standard' look like in winter?

Hosta 'Gold Standard' 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

In these guides

Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9

Every fact on record

Type
Perennial
Size
22 in (55 cm) tall, 3½ ft (100 cm) wide
Plant
3 ft (90 cm) apart
Height class
Medium short (18 to 24 in)
Place in the bed
Middle
Flowers
Mid July to early August; upright spires; lavender
Leaves
Bold texture, herbaceous; chartreuse, variegated
Shape
Mounding, clumping
Hardy in
USDA zones 3 to 9
Light
Part sun, part 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.