Hosta 'Uzu-no-Mai'
 

A cultivar of unidentified parentage, this hosta is from an unidentified originator  in Japan and was registered by Kevin Walek (Hosta Registrar) in 2009 and re-registered with new data in 2018. It forms a miniature size (2˝ inches high by 5 inches wide) mound of ovate, wavy, foliage with smooth texture and better than average substance. Purple, striped flowers bloom in August. Seed set was unknown at the time of registration.

According to The Hostapedia by Mark Zilis (2009), "Whenever I'm asked to identify the smallest hosta, 'Uzu-no-mai' always comes to mind...It would probably be more widely grown by now had it not proven difficult to maintain and overwinter.

The New Encyclopedia of Hostas by Diana Grenfell (2009) states in its Miniature Hostas chapter: "...has no petioles and is virtually impossible to keep alive for more than a year or two."

Mikiko Lockwood in an article on The Hosta Library titled, A Little About Japanese Hosta Terms defines the term fukurin as margined or edged.

An article about H. 'Uzo-no-Mai' by W. George Schmid in The Hosta Journal (2002 Vol. 33 No. 2) states that, "One tiny hosta has caused more consternation and disappointment among gardeners than any other: H. 'Uzo-no-Mai'...Liberally translated, the Japanese name means "dancing eddy." When one views the plant from the top, with some imagination, the leaves look like a whirlpool. Mark Zilis gives the sad results...writing "I have seen it die in both gardens and containers."

W. George Schmid in The Hosta Journal (2009 Vol. 40 No. 2) states that, "In 2007, I published a survival strategy for one of the most challenging, yet fascinating and unique hostas under the sun: Hosta 'Uzu-no-Mai'...This cute little cultivar requires very exacting cultural requirements to remain a bundle of joy in a pot."





   

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