Every spring, there’s a moment in the garden center when the hostas wake up. Some have been here all winter, tucked safely beneath blankets in their pots or just below the mulch and snow, waiting for the soil to warm. Others begin their journey as bare roots that we pot up ourselves, slowly pushing out new shoots as the days lengthen. And every year, without fail, something magical happens: garden goers flock to them. Maybe it’s the reliability, maybe the sheer variety, maybe the way they unfurl like they’ve been waiting all winter to show off. But this year, more than ever, these are the hostas that have claimed their place as top sellers once again.
What’s remarkable is not just their popularity, but their staying power. Many of our best sellers this season have been customer favorites for years—some even for a decade or more. People come in searching for them by name, the way you might ask for a friend you haven’t seen in a while.
There’s ‘June,’ still the quiet star of the shade garden with its soft gradients of blue-green and gold. It’s the plant that seems to glow even on cloudy days, the one gardeners return for after they’ve watched it settle happily be
neath their trees.
‘Autumn Frost’ and ‘First Frost’ continue to charm with their cool tones and fros
ty blue leaves with yellow margins fading to creamy white in summer, reliable as old favorites and just as striking as the first time you saw them. These are the hostas that anchor a bed—steady, hardworking, always looking elegant even in the dog days of summer.
Then there are the bright personalities. ‘Island Breeze’ brings that tropical energy, leaves streaked with gold and outlined in deep green, like it wandered in fr
om someplace warmer and decided to stay. ‘Rainbow’s End’ is the show-stealer—bold, striped, and unapologetically vibrant. It looks like someone took a paintbrush to each leaf.
Some of our most whimsical sellers return year after year too. ‘Silly String’ with its long, narrow, playful foliage—always a conversation starter. ‘Praying Hands,’ upright and tightly folded, a sculptural oddity that gardeners either fall in love with instantly or spend a season warming up to. And of course, ‘Blue Mouse Ears,’ the crowd favorite that no one can resist. Tiny, round, and utterly charming, it’s the gateway hosta for many who later find themselves filling entire beds with the larger varieties.
And then there’s the newcomer everyone has been buzzing about this year: ‘Bloodline.’ New in 2025, it arrived with deep, dramatic tones that caught people the moment they walked past. There’s something almost electric about it—the rich veins, the saturated with red color, the sense that it’s a plant with presence. It didn’t take long for it to climb into the top sellers list, and it held its place all season long.
‘Wheee!’ continues to earn its place in the shade garden, its ever playful edges swirling with just enough movement to make it distinctive. It’s a plant people choose because it feels both unique and familiar. It has become one of those plants people bring home simply because it makes them smile.
As the season winds down, one thing is clear: hostas aren’t just plants people buy. They’re plants people come back for—companions in shady corners, reliable anchors in quiet gardens, the leafy backdrop to summertime memories. And whether they’ve been beloved for years or are brand-new arrivals, it’s easy to see why they hold their place at the top.
Hostas tell the story of the garden in slow, elegant chapters. And this year, their story was one of color, texture, nostalgia, and just the right amount of excitement for what’s new.