I don't have anything that big, but it is my understanding that The Empress is the largest thing out there.

Okaayyy, here's my 'Parhelion' but I bet you've seen it before! In this pic. it obviously could have
used a 'drink' of water:

And earlier this year, during the construction behind it:

The dark green leaf with a chartreuse margin sticking up in the bottom of the pic. is 'Lady Isobel Barnett',
also a sport of 'Sum & Substance'!

Ugh--sorry about the messy leaves--this is a difficult spot to have hosta in! I have a 'Catalpa' tree towering
above this corner and it drops spent blooms in June!!!

The blooms are gorgeous, like clusters of orchids (smell great, too) but, too messy! But, I LOVE the tree,
otherwise!

From the internet:

Then, there's the 'Moraine Locust Tree' on the other side--pollen-powder droppings,
another--messy-factor!

All that to say--"sorry about the messy leaves"--again!

Parhelion is only a large hosta, Empress Wu is fairly new to the market so your not going to find many mature specimans, definitely one that will be watched but mine is in it's second year and so far not that impressed but time will tell. Komodo Dragon is a giant, mine has seed pods on it that are bigger than some hostas. sorry no pics but my gardens where hit by hail a few times this year so they just aren't something to look at.

Look into the Hosta Library. It seems that Empress Wu will be the largest. There is a picture with a guy holding a yard stick, Empress Wu seems to get to 34 inches height. Parhelion 30 in tall, Komodo Dragon 28 in. It looks like Empress Wu and Parhelion will have the largest leaves.

My Empress Wu is just a small guy right now, but from all the photo's I've seen, it will be huge some day - lol
Pam

These pictures of Empress Wu blew me away.

Here is a link that might be useful: Empress Wu pictures

My largest is one you didn't mention;T-Rex! Right now,it's leaves are larger than my current biggie,Parhelion. Just a thought. Phil

those are the ONLY pix of EW ... though you might try the seedy fellows website ....

that is brian

and that is brian .. standing on top of 4 to 6 feet of organic compost ...

there is a possibility.. that no one will ever grow EW.. that well ... goodly??? more better-er ..... lol

regardless.. plan on 7 to 10 years to find out.. if you are a normal gardener ..

my KD is bigger than P .. i dont have EW ...

sounds like a SAT question ...

ken

Ok Ken, now go to my acronyms question. LOL
These I can figure out in the context!

I was just thinking of getting a t rex
With the time frame on these big'un's I won't be moving them at that age, not alone at least! :) Best choose a really good spot from the get-go!

Janice, I love the 'Catalpa' tree, doubtful they grow here, but I may look into it! Beautiful!

here is t rex... teenage sized ... copping an attitude.. lol ..

ROTFLMBO .... i should have put a smoking cig in there... lol ..

ken
{{gwi:988096}}

As Ken is suggesting, often the answer is more about culture than the genetics.

Who knows, for example, which will get larger in full sun, given the tendency for the Sum and Substance family to thrive in full sun (with enough water) while other hostas often stay smaller, and have smaller leaves, in brighter light?

Since many hostas will increase year after year, virtually a continuously expanding colony, there is really theoretically no limit. If we are talking diameter, my "largest" hosta is actually a smallish one, some kikutii, that has colonized a large area and that is all "one plant" because it is all connected underground by the rhizomes.

You also have to define what you mean by large - height or width. Empress Wu is being marketed as the largest because it is so tall, but Komodo Dragon is actually listed as having a significantly larger diameter.

I've been through this so many times... don't get lost in the hype. There will always be another "biggest hosta." For years, Sum and Substance was billed that way - long after we knew that green-centered S&S sports grew faster and bigger. In the old days we had fortuneis that were large and designated things like 'Fortunei Gigantea.' And there was Big John, Big Daddy, etc etc etc.

T-Rex got a lot of attention... then faded in favor of Komodo Dragon for a couple of years... now Empress Wu...

Of course, as a collector, I have them all and I'll be able to answer this question better in a decade - but by then, I guarantee, there will be at least five more major "giant" marketing hostas...

Decide where you want a giant, then plant one that doesn't cost too much. If you want green, buy one of the green ones. If you want yellow, buy one of the yellow ones. Frankly, I'd concentrate more on the form of the clump and the quality of the leaves. I am guessing that in about five years, I'll be picking a large green Niagara Falls over a giant (but relatively "plain") Empress Wu.

Did you plant the Empress on top of all that free horse manure you got at Canterbury? ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Downpayment on 4 to 6 feet of the stuff?

yes... as a matter of fact... I spread a 4" layer, then dug it in, planted EW, then side-dressed EW and the nearby Komodo Dragon and ... I forget... either Colossal or Immense... with more compost.

Absolutely the only profit I've ever gotten from going to the racetrack...