This
tissue culture sport of H. 'Frances Williams' is a
non-registered hosta from
Klehm
Nursery in Illinois. It has the
characteristics of its mother plant except that the blue-green
foliage has a very thin white marginal variegation. The leaves
tend to "drawstring" later in the season.
According to
The Hostapedia by Mark Zilis (2009), "I first saw this pitiful plant in a collector's garden in
the early 1980s...the leaf margin rips and tears as the center
expands and grows. Plant 'Exotic Frances Williams' in the back
(far back!) of the shaded border."
An article by Warren I. Pollock in
The
Hosta Journal (1992 Vol. 23 No. 1) states that, "Why
would any wholesale nursery propagate 'Exotic Frances Williams' and offer it to
garden centers and nurseries across the country? Pity the unsuspecting home
gardeners that buy it...H. 'Exotic Frances Williams' is the ugliest hosta I've
ever seen. It has the drawstring effect. The leaves are distorted. The center is
a muddy green, not 'Frances Williams' handsome blue-green. The border is narrow
and white, not 'Frances Williams' medium-to-wide yellow-gold...I threw away my
plant years ago."
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