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 A sport of H. 'Choo Choo Train',
this cultivar was registered by
Hans Hansen
and
Shady Oaks Nursery of Minnesota in 2004 and granted a U.S. patent in 2005. The green
foliage is heavily rippled and has a gold marginal variegation. It
is a large size (22 inches high by 62 inches wide) plant that bears pale lavender flowers in July
followed by viable seeds. According to
The Hostapedia by Mark Zilis (2009), "Its heavily rippled character accentuates the contrast
between the medium green center and gold margin."
The New Encyclopedia of Hostas by
Diana
Grenfell (2009) states: "Good growth rate. A superb specimen plant...The
leaf emerges golden yellow, the green center appears
gradually after a few weeks."
The patent application lists the
following as similar cultivars: "The closest comparison plant is 'Journey's End’, a sibling
of 'American Icon’, which differs in having leaves with
the reverse variegation pattern to 'American Icon’;
yellow green centers and green margins. 'American Icon' can also be compared to 'Satisfaction' (not patented), a
plant of similar stature and leaf variegation pattern. 'Satisfaction' is a chimeral mutation of golden foliaged 'Piedmont Gold' (not patented). 'Satisfaction' differs
from 'American Icon' in having less ruffled leaf margins
and by emerging earlier in the spring resulting in
susceptibility to frost damage, particularly in the
Southern regions of the U.S."
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 United States Patent: PP17441 (2007)
Abstract: A new cultivar of Hosta named ‘American
Icon’, a sport of Hosta Choo Choo Train, that is
characterized by its unique variegated foliage with
green centers and yellow-green margins comprising about
one third of the leaf area. ‘American Icon’ has a
mounded plant habit of large broad leaves, a vigorous
growth rate, and pale lavender flowers held above the
foliage in early to mid summer.
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 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. |
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 H.
'American Icon',
H. '' and
H. 'American
Choo Choo'. |
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