Captain Kirk Hosta

Size

The perfect shade-garden perennial, Captain Kirk Hosta is a superstar performer. This reliable and hardy plants thick, waxy leaves resist slugs. They are variegated with a sharp color contrast of bright gold centers and wide dark green margins; the gold turns ivory as the summer progresses. It is a large plant 20-inches high, with a 3-feet spread, bearing lavender flowers on 30-inch-tall scapes in midsummer. Captain Kirk is an improved sport of Gold Standard. The Royal Horticultural Society gave it an award of merit. It has a mounded growth habit. While resisting slugs, it attracts hummingbirds and songbirds. It shows some tolerance of urban pollution. This hosta is low maintenance. Use it in the border as a groundcover or as a specimen or focal point. Grow a single Captain Kirk Hosta in a container for a dramatic, sculptural effect. Use it as an underplanting for roses and other shrubs. In a mass planting, its gold color brightens shady areas. Its flowers and leaves are beautiful in floral arrangements. Captain Kirk Hosta Care Plant it in moist, organic soil that can be clay or loamy. If necessary, add organic matter such as compost. Plant at the same level as they are in the pot. Firm the soil and water in. Apply an average amount of water; do not let it dry out. Deep, infrequent watering is better than frequent, shallow applications. Apply mulch in late spring after the soil warms. Enjoying partial shade to shade, Captain Kirk benefits from morning filtered sunlight for best color. It thrives in average or fertile soil that is acidic or neutral with a pH between 5.5 and 7.5. No pruning is necessary. Brown, scorched leaf surfaces or tips is a symptom of sunscald move the hosta to a shadier location. Cut off the stems after they have finished blooming. Do not allow them to set seed or it will take the plants energy away from leaf and root development. Trim back discolored leaves to the ground. No special winter care is needed. Captain Kirk Hosta Spacing When used as a bedding plant or grown in masses, space the plants 36 inches apart. Measure from plant center to plant center.