Introduced by
Minnie Klopping of Nebraska
in the 1970's and registered by
The American Hosta Society on her behalf in 1986, this large size (21 inches high
by 50 inches wide)
cultivar has medium to dark green leaves with white marginal
variegation. Medium lavender, funnel shaped flowers on 42 inch scapes
bloom in clusters from late July into August
followed by some viable seeds.
According to
The Hostapedia by Mark Zilis (2009), "During the 1980s, 'Francee' replaced 'Undulata
Albomarginata' as the most commonly used white-margined hosta
for landscaping purposes. It offers consistent, attractive
variegation and a good growth rate."
From the
Field Guide to Hostas by Mark Zilis (2014), "By the late 1980s, 'Francee' became the leading
white-margined hosta in the nursery trade and
remained so until two of its sports, 'Patriot' and 'Minuteman',
surpassed it in popularity in the mid-1990s."
The New Encyclopedia of Hostas by
Diana
Grenfell (2009) states: "Increases rapidly and thus is excellent for
landscaping. Superb in a large container. A classic
hosta...Distinctive, bright purple shoots emerge
very late in the season, as they do with all hostas
of the Fortunei Group. The narrowly funnel-shaped
flowers do not always open at the tips of the
scapes."
This cultivar has been awarded
the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit in the
UK.
The following poem by Judy Burns of
Georgia was included in
The
Hosta Journal (2010 Vol. 41 No. 1).
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."
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11 |
16.5 |
1985 #14
1990 #20
1991 #18 |
1992 #18
1993 #14
1994 #10 |
1995 #17
1996 #15
1997 #20 |
1998 #18
2000 #20 |
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