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Hosta Frances Williams is a lush perennial shrub with bluish-green leaves. The exotic culture decorates even the most inconspicuous corners of the garden and looks great in compositions with flowers, conifers and other types of hosta. Due to its high winter hardiness, the plant is successfully grown in most regions of Russia, including those with unfavorable conditions.
Description of Hosta Frances Williams
Frances Williams is an attractive hosta with large oval-shaped leaves (length 20 cm, width 10 cm). The surface is wrinkled, matte. The color is combined: in the center the leaves are green with a hint of blue, with a yellow edging along the edges. The bush is quite tall (up to 80 cm) and at the same time compact (up to 120 cm wide). Shade-tolerant, prefers partial shade from shrubs or trees.
Hosta Frances Williams blooms in late June or early July. It produces several small white flowers with a diameter of 4-5 cm, collected in groups of 8 (the type of inflorescence is a raceme). The bush is characterized by high winter hardiness and can withstand even severe frosts down to -40 °C. This allows it to be grown everywhere in the central part of Russia, as well as in the southern regions of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East.
Hosta Frances Williams has large leaves of unusual colors.
Application in landscape design
Hostas are crops that easily coexist next to most plants, shrubs and trees. Thanks to the interesting coloring of the leaves, Frances Williams will highlight flowers, perennial conifers, ornamental grass and other hosta species. Therefore, in landscape design it can be used in almost any way:
- Rock gardens, rockeries.
- Carpet plantings to completely cover the ground (in this way you can hide nondescript parts of the garden).
- Multi-tiered flower beds, mixborders.
- Compositions with small hosts (for example, June) and high ones (Empress Wu, Dino, Blue Mammoth and others).
- Borders along paths, as well as for zoning different areas of the flower garden.
- In single plantings, on open lawns, next to a bench, gazebo and other places to relax.
Frances Williams is combined with different plants - flowers, shrubs, conifers, for example, peonies, low-growing daylilies, rhododendron, astilbe, garden geranium, forget-me-nots, adiantum foot-shaped, perennial conifers (thuja, dwarf fir, juniper and others) will become good neighbors.
Thanks to its large leaves, Hosta Frances Williams can be planted in the most visible place - next to the road or in the center of the flower garden.
Reproduction methods
Hosta Frances Williams can be propagated in any convenient way:
- seeds;
- cuttings;
- dividing the bush.
Practice shows that the last option is the fastest, simplest and most effective.
It is better to divide adult bushes that are 4-5 years old
The procedure can be started in any warm month of the year, even in September (4-5 weeks before frost).
To divide the bush into several parts, you will need a sharp knife and a shovel. First, the soil is cut out, moving around the bush, then the hosta is taken out and shaken off the soil so that the roots are visible. The hairs are untangled, and the dense rhizome is cut into several parts with a sharp knife, leaving 2-3 buds on each. They are planted at a short distance, watered abundantly and mulched.
Landing algorithm
Choosing the optimal location for planting Hosta Frances Williams is not difficult: the site requires light partial shade. The land may even be infertile, but it is desirable that it be a hill and not a lowland in which melt water and precipitation accumulate.
The optimal time is considered to be spring - the moment when the snow has completely melted and frosts are already unlikely. In the south this is the beginning of April, in the middle zone - the second half of the month, and in the Urals and Siberia - mid-May.
Hosta Frances Williams needs light shade
Planting instructions are quite simple:
- The site is dug up and complex fertilizer is applied, as well as a bucket of humus per 1 m2.
- Form holes with a depth and diameter of 30-40 cm (the rhizome should fit freely into them).
- If necessary, drainage from small stones (5-7 cm) is placed at the bottom.
- Mix rotted manure with garden soil in the same ratio (1 bucket each), add peat (0.5 buckets) and several handfuls of sand. If the soil is acidic, you can add 1 cup of ash.
- Fill the hole with soil mixture, water and root the hosta.
- Fill in the rest of the soil, compact it a little and water again.
- Mulch with pine needles, hay, straw or other available materials.
It is better to purchase Hosta Frances Williams only in trusted stores.
Growing rules
Hostas in general and Frances Williams in particular are one of the most unpretentious garden plants. They do not require special care and tolerate even Siberian winters well, which is why beginners and experienced gardeners love them. The rules of care are quite simple; it is necessary to provide light shading and timely watering:
- as usual – weekly;
- in the dry season 2-3 times a week;
- if there is precipitation - not necessary.
The surface of the soil should be slightly moist: it should not be allowed to dry out or crack. There is no need to fill the hosta with water either.
Watering should be average, it is better not to get it on the leaves, as they can get sunburned.
Periodically (1-2 times a month) the protective layer must be removed (while loosening the soil).
Frances Williams is unpretentious and does not need too frequent feeding. There is no need to apply fertilizers in the first season, then they are added 2-3 times a year:
- In early April, feed with ammonium nitrate or urea. Nitrogen will ensure the rapid awakening of the hosta and the rapid growth of green mass.
- At the beginning of July, when the first flowers appear, potassium sulfate and superphosphates are added.
- Exactly the same composition is added in mid-August.
- There is no need to fertilize in the fall - the hosta must prepare for winter, at which time tissue metabolism slows down.
Preparing for winter
Since Frances Williams is highly winter-hardy, the plant does not require special preparation for winter. In the fall, caring for her consists of the following activities:
- removing all flower stalks (it is better to do this immediately after flowering);
- abundant watering in mid-September;
- mulching the roots for the winter.
It is necessary to remove damaged shoots, as well as leaves affected by diseases. They are taken as far as possible and burned.
Diseases and pests
Another advantage of Hosta Frances Williams is its high resistance to diseases and pests. She is very rarely affected by diseases, but sometimes she is harmed by:
- root collar rot;
- The HVX virus is a dangerous pathogen that parasitizes hosts.
The plant can also be parasitized by:
- aphid;
- black weevil;
- snails;
- slugs
If the first signs of infection are detected (foreign elements on the leaves, spots, tubercles, wilting), all damaged parts must be removed immediately. In such cases, the Frances Williams hosta bush should be treated with an insecticide - this can be Bordeaux mixture, Topaz, Skor, Maxim and others.
Insects rarely settle on foliage, but if they are detected, it is necessary to treat with insecticides
“Biotlin”, “Decis Profi”, “Green Soap”, “Karbofos” or folk remedies (water infusion of onion peels, solution of laundry soap shavings, baking soda, ammonia) are suitable.
If this does not help, the bush is treated with a solution of salt or vitriol (iron, copper).
Conclusion
Hosta Frances Williams can be a real source of inspiration for budding gardeners. This is a truly beautiful plant that requires virtually no care. If you provide normal watering and apply fertilizer 2-3 times per season, you can get a very beautiful shrub with lush, brightly colored leaves.
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