Hosta ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ after I brought it home on 4-23-17, #321-9.
Hosta ‘Rainforest Sunrise’
2013 American Hosta Growers Assn. Hosta of the Year
Hosta ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ is a tissue culture sport of Hosta ‘Maui Buttercups’ registered by Jim Anderson of Winterberry Farms in 2003. There are three registered sports of Hosta ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ as well as one registered hybrid with it as one of the parents.
Hosta ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ on 5-31-17, #339-24.
I bought this nice Hosta from Lowe’s on April 23, 2017. It stopped me dead in my tracks with it bright chartreuse-yellow-green leaves with irregular green margins. The leaves are cupped, thick, heavily corrugated, rippled…. What else can I say? I just had to bring one home. Choosing which one was a problem, though.
I planted my new friend in the new shade bed I dug in the spring of 2017. I amended the soil with “The Good Stuff” which is from where the cows have been fed hay that has decomposed for over a year. There is always a lot of grass and weed seed that come along with it which keeps me busy weeding. Sometimes I get behind, so pardon the untidiness in the photos. There is always plenty to do on the farm during the summer or it is too hot to think about weeding. The shade beds are next to grandmas old goldfish pool, so there are also a lot of mosquitos to deter weeding. Give me a few minutes and I will think of more excuses.
Hosta ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ on 6-11-17, #343-24.
When I saw this plant, I pretty much forgot about looking the label over. I just wanted to make sure it had one because I hate bringing home plants without labels, mainly for ID. Truthfully, and this sounds absurd, I didn’t really pay much attention to the fact that it only grows 10” tall until I wrote this page for the blog on February 5, 2018… Well, naturally it would be a small Hosta because it is a sport of H. ‘Maui Buttercups’ which grows to only about 10-14” tall. Umm… It is also on my wishlist.
Hosta ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ on 6-18-17, #345-30.
Parentage… It is pretty interesting how Hosta ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ is a “sport” of H. ‘Maui Buttercups’. You would think both H. Rainforest Sunrise’ and H. ‘Maui Buttercups’ would be much larger than 10-14” tall because of family lineage. Hosta ‘Maui Buttercups parents are Hosta ‘Francis Williams’ and Hosta ‘August Moon’, both grow to well over 20”. The variegation of Hosta ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ apparently comes from H. ‘Francis Williams’ although the variegation is reversed. H. ‘Maui Buttercups’ and H. ‘August Moon’ are neither one variegated but that is where its brightness comes from. All have thick, heavily corrugated leaves.
Hosta ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ on 6-24-17, #349-55.
USEFUL INFORMATION:
Family: Asparagaceae (formerly in Liliaceae)
Origin:
Zones: USDA Zones 3a-8b (-40 to 15° F)
Size: 10” tall x 25” wide.
Spacing:
Flowers: Lavender flowers on 24” stems in midsummer
Leaves: AWESOME! Brightly variegated and corrugated
Light: Part to full shade
Soil: Prefers moist, well-drained soil
Water: Average water needs once established
Propagation: Division every 3-5 years.
Uses: Attracts hummingbirds, shade garden, containers, etc.
Tolerates: Dry shade and high humidity
Resistant: Slugs and snails
Hosta ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ on 7-9-17, #355-24.
It seems Hosta ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ prefers part to full shade because to much light seems to fade the “yellow” somewhat. Although there is “normally” plenty of shade in this new bed, the Japanese Beetles changed that by eating all the leaves on the elm trees. They were really bad in 2017 and even worse in 2018.
Hosta ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ on 7-19-17, #357-41.
I don’t like the leaves of the Hosta being dirty when I take photos, but what can I say.
Hosta ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ on 10-11-17, #382-41.
By the time the above photo was taken On October 11, the Hosta were showing signs that Fall was approaching.
Unfortunately, this Hosta didn’t survive the winter. Maybe someday I will find another and give it a shot.
I hope you found this page useful. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, I would like to hear from you. Please click on the “Like” below if you have visited this page. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. 🙂 Click here for my page about the Hosta genus, growing information and sources. The links below are specifically for this cultivar. There are several good sources of Hosta somewhere toward the bottom on the right side of the page.
The Belmont Rooster 