Hosta 'After Midnight'
 

This large size (24 inches high by 40 inches wide) hosta is a sport of H. 'Five O'Clock Somewhere' which was registered by Bob Solberg of Green Hill Farm in North Carolina in 2009. It has intensely blue-green foliage with a golden yellow marginal variegation. The leaves are lightly twisted, slightly folded, slightly wavy, broadly ovate and moderately corrugated. Pale lavender flowers bloom on scapes up to 36 inches high from June into July.

The registration materials state: "...very wide margined, narrow centered, heavily substanced, tetraploid-like characteristics, unique color..."

According to the 2019 AHS Online Auction webpage, "There is a shaggy-dog story involved with this choice hosta.

It starts with the late Mildred Seaver's old, highly regarded, large gold-leaved 'High Noon' of unidentified parentage, which wasn't registered until 2004. Its cultivar name comes from the title of the Oscar(R) Academy Award winning movie "High Noon" staring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly.

H. 'High Noon' was tissue-culture propagated by Bob Solberg's Green Hill Nursery and a green-margined sport was found. Very aptly and cleverly, Bob named it 'Five O'Clock Shadow': "shadow" of course referring to its margin. He registered it in 2000.

H. 'Five O'Clock Shadow' was TCed and 'Five O'Clock Somewhere' (there's an apt story about this name, too) sported with green margin and thick leaves. Bob registered it in 2004.

H. 'Five O'Clock Somewhere' sported (not in TC) 'After Midnight', which Bob registered in 2009.

H. 'After Midnight' makes a tall upright clump having heavily-substanced leaves with very wide, deep yellow margin and narrow blue-green center. Variegation is unusual, perhaps unique. Leaves have tetraploid-like characteristics (but are not partial or total tetraploid). Check out the leaf

       


   

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