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Hosta 'Sagae'

Hosta 'Sagae' · Asparagaceae

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

Huge, frosted, grey-green leaves with a rippled, creamy-yellow edge, held in a tall vase shape. Regarded by many as the finest hosta of all.

Size
2½ ft tall, 5 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
Specimen

A bed built around hosta 'Sagae'

The planner designed this bed around hosta 'Sagae' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 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 'Sagae' stands where it does.

A 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) bed at eye level in late July: Hosta 'Sagae', Blue star creeper, Creeping mahonia, Feather reed grass 'Avalanche', Swamp milkweed, Astilbe 'Purple Candles', Carpathian bellflower, Easter lily, Asiatic lily, Camassia.
A 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) cottage garden in zone 6, part sun, seen from the path in late July.
4. Feather reed grass 'Avalanche'44. Feather reed grass 'Avalanche'44. Feather reed grass 'Avalanche'45. Swamp milkweed55. Swamp milkweed55. Swamp milkweed51. Hosta 'Sagae'12. Blue star creeper22. Blue star creeper22. Blue star creeper23. Creeping mahonia33. Creeping mahonia33. Creeping mahonia33. Creeping mahonia33. Creeping mahonia37. Carpathian bellflower77. Carpathian bellflower77. Carpathian bellflower77. Carpathian bellflower77. Carpathian bellflower72. Blue star creeper26. Astilbe 'Purple Candles'66. Astilbe 'Purple Candles'66. Astilbe 'Purple Candles'66. Astilbe 'Purple Candles'66. Astilbe 'Purple Candles'69. Asiatic lily99. Asiatic lily99. Asiatic lily99. Asiatic lily98. Easter lily88. Easter lily88. Easter lily810. Camassia1010. Camassia1010. Camassia1010. Camassia102. Blue star creeper22. Blue star creeper22. Blue star creeper22. Blue star creeper22. Blue star creeper27. Carpathian bellflower77. Carpathian bellflower77. Carpathian bellflower79. Asiatic lily98. Easter lily810. Camassia109. Asiatic lily910. Camassia108. Easter lily8
From above, to scale. Each circle is one plant, as wide as the room it needs.

The plants

  1. 1 Hosta 'Sagae' × 1, blue-green leaves
  2. 2 Blue star creeper × 9, blue
  3. 3 Creeping mahonia × 5, yellow
  4. 4 Feather reed grass 'Avalanche' × 3, tan
  5. 5 Swamp milkweed × 3, pink
  6. 6 Astilbe 'Purple Candles' × 5, purple
  7. 7 Carpathian bellflower × 8, white
  8. 8 Easter lily × 5, white
  9. 9 Asiatic lily × 6, yellow
  10. 10 Camassia × 6, 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 2½ ft it is the step between creeping mahonia (12 in) in front and astilbe 'Purple Candles' (3½ 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.
  • Bold leaf against fine. Blue star creeper is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.

Why now

  • Here for its leaves, spring to frost. They cover the 14 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.

Planned as a cottage garden: 34 of the 34 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The most in flower at one time is 7 kinds, in mid July. The scheme leans cool (blue, pink and purple) and uses yellow for warmth, with tan and white to calm things between them.

The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 4 Good, 2 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 'Sagae' goes in a border

At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ 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.

The vase shape lets smaller plants grow beneath it. Give it five years, space and shelter from wind, and it will be the making of a shady bed. Hosta of the Year in 2000.

  • A large specimen for shade
  • An anchor for a hosta bed
  • Underplanting with small woodlanders

What to plant with hosta 'Sagae'

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

  • Japanese painted fern: fine leaves against its bold ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
  • Foamflower: adds the flowers, late April to late May; medium leaves against its bold ones; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
  • Astilbe: adds the flowers, late June to mid July; fine leaves against its bold ones; happy in the same moist soil.

Questions about hosta 'Sagae'

Does hosta 'Sagae' need sun or shade?

Hosta 'Sagae' 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 'Sagae' 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 'Sagae' be planted?

4 ft (120 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 5 ft (150 cm), so a group knits into one patch.

It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.

How many hosta 'Sagae' plants do I need?

Usually one. At 4 ft (120 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 4 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.

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

Is hosta 'Sagae' 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.

Is there a pet-safe plant like hosta 'Sagae'?

These come closest to doing what hosta 'Sagae' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:

Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.

What does hosta 'Sagae' look like in winter?

Hosta 'Sagae' 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
2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 5 ft (150 cm) wide
Plant
4 ft (120 cm) apart
Height class
Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
Place in the bed
Middle
Flowers
Mid July to early August; upright spires; lavender
Leaves
Bold texture, herbaceous; blue-green, variegated
Shape
Vase-shaped, 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.