This is a sport of H. 'Francee' that was found in a group of seedlings by John Machen, Jr and he registered it in 1991. The same group of hosta seedlings at his Mobjack Nursery in Virginia also produced Hosta 'Minuteman'.

It forms a medium size (12 inches high by 30 inches wide) mound of slightly wavy, smooth texture foliage with good substance. The medium "violet" flowers bloom from mid-June into July on scapes about 30 inches tall. This is a 'Fortunei' type hosta.

According to The Hostapedia by Mark Zilis (2009), this cultivar "...ranks as the first recognized tetraploid   hosta sport...it has become the most popular white-margined hosta for landscaping purposes."

The Hosta Journal, (2000 Vol. 31, No. 1) states that H. 'Patriot' - ranks as the first recognized tetraploid   hosta sport. It was the 1997 "Hosta of the Year" by the American Hosta Growers Association.

From the Field Guide to Hostas by Mark Zilis (2014), "...quickly surpassed its mother plant, 'Francee', as the top-selling white-margined hosta upon its introduction in the early 1990s."

The New Encyclopedia of Hostas by Diana Grenfell (2009) states: "Leaves emerge late from rich violet shoots. Among the most popular variegated hostas ever introduced. Superb in the border and in containers. Named Hosta of the Year by the American Hosta Growers Association in 1997."

"What can one say about 'Patriot', the sport of 'Francee' with a very wide, white border, that hasn't already been mention...Maybe very little, other than at the 1992 AHS National Convention in Columbus, Ohio, a several division clump won the top award in Division II (Container Grown Hosta) of the Cut-Leaf Show. And when the same clump was up for sale at the auction, it went for the highest bid that afternoon (I think $875!). Very noticeable in any planting; the eye spots it quickly and stays riveted to it. Being a fortunei, it needs a fair amount of sun for good growth. Also, sunlight is needed to develop the clean, white border color. Second flush leaves have a yellowish white edge."

An article by Warren I. Pollock in The Hosta Journal (1996 Vol. 27 No. 2) states that, "H. 'Patriot' is among the five best hostas registered in the last five years. It's a 'Fortunei'-type with "dark green" leaves having a wide "white" border."

An article by Bob Solberg (nurseryman, noted hybridizer and past president of The American Hosta Society ) in The Hosta Journal (2000 Vol. 31 No. 1) states that, in his opinion, the Top 10 Hostas of the past Millenium would be:

An article by Warren I. Pollock in The Hosta Journal (2008 Vol. 39 No. 2) states that, "H. 'Paul Revere'...also medio-variegated, is like 'Loyalist', or perhaps even identical to it. Also found in tissue-culturing 'Patriot', 'Paul Revere' has leaves with a dark green margin and wide white center. I'm now seeing all-green leaves on a few old 'Paul Revere' clumps. Do hostas with these green tetraploid leaves have a name? Mark Zilis calls them H. 'Midnight Ride'..."

An article titled Too Many Lookalikes by Bob Keller in The Hosta Journal (2010 Vol. 41 No. 2) states that, "There are other examples of lookalikes being registered. H. 'Ellerbroek' and 'Fortunei Aureomarginata' are nearly identical in my view, as are 'Antioch' and 'Spinners'. H. 'Patriot' and Minuteman'; 'Great Escape', 'Sleeping Beauty', 'First Frost' and 'El Nino'; White Bikini' and 'Risky Business' - the list goes on...H. 'Blue Flame' and 'Secret Love', are both sports of 'Fragrant Blue', are very similar. There are a host of margined 'Sum and Substance' lookalikes."

An article by Warren I. Pollock in The Hosta Journal (2015 Vol. 46 No.2) states that, "During the 50 or so years that 'Francee', a diploid...has been cultivated, some 75 sport descendents have been reported. About 20 are diploid and for the most part of lesser interest...the tetraploid sports...have been of principal attention. Examples are first generation H. 'Patriot' that sported...H. 'Loyalist' that sported...H. 'Revolution that sported...H. 'Independence'...H. 'Minuteman' and H. 'Pathfinder'...sported several tetraploid second generations of commercial interest."

An article by Warren I. Pollack in The Hosta Journal  (2020 Vol. 51 No. 1) titled Doppelgänger Hostas: Fancy Name for Look-alike Hostas, included a long list of hostas which various hostaphiles, published articles or other sources have indicated "look" the same. Some of these are, in fact, the same plant with two or more different names. Others are hostas that vary in some minor trait which is not immediately discernable to the casual observer such as seasonal color variations, bloom traits, ploidy, etc. So, as Warren mentions, hostaphiles may differ as to the plants listed but then, their opinions are based on visual observations and interpretations.

H. 'Minuteman', H. 'Patriot' and H. 'Trailblazer'.

15 12.0 1994 #19 1995 #7 1996 #7 1997 #5 1998 #3 1999 #4 2000 #5 2001 #7 2002 #7 2003 #17 2004 #15 2005 #18 2006 #23 2008 #20 2009 #24