width is a function of the health and age of the plant ...

it is technically.. limitless ...

height should be standard ... subject to hyper fertilization ...

now.. where is the list of heights ....??? ... hmmm hopefully someone has one ...

ken

Take the average and that's a pretty good guess, but like Ken mentions, the width is relative to the growing conditions. 60" across would be in optimal conditions, with rich acidic soil and constant moisture. Average garden conditions maybe half that, poor garden conditions and it will probably shrink.

The registration information is at http://www.hostaregistrar.org, but that too is highly variable. Many people submit the size at the time of registration, and then they grow a lot bigger. In reality I learned that it is supposed to be submitted as an estimate of the expected size of the plant, even if noone has ever grown one that big yet. And if other information is learned later the registrant is supposed to resubmit new data.

Not sure if that helps much, but it can explain the big differences in sizes listed. Also some want to boast the absolute largest ever measured while others want to downplay the size of a potentially slow grower.

When I established the table of my hostas I found that the Hosta Library was great, but often did not give mature sizes. The Mickfield Hostas site shows information for hostas they have grown, and those height/width numbers made good sense to me for the average garden and for maturity. Bernd

Also location is a factor. Something that grows big in the north [north of I-80] is probably more likely to grow larger than something in the south [south of I-40] with the middle being "the transitional zone" according to hosta guro Bob Solberg. He also theorizes width at about two to 2.5 times the height of the plant.

check out the hosta journal vol 44, no. 1.

ÃÂ_ÃÂ --~

dave

Mature leaf size is a good clue. Smaller leaves are on smaller, shorter plants, whopper leaves grow on larger, taller plants. The Hosta Registry sometimes has that info listed. But again, as the above peeps say, growing conditions are everything when it comes to hosta sizes.

-Babka

Here is a link that might be useful: Hosta Registry

Rose-are you surprised that people like Ken & Chris, (and I don't mean to degrade the others) can't give you an answer. The fact is, there is none that is dependable. If you've noticed even the tags they are sold with have generic information on planting.

I used to want to know the same information, and would use an average from a half dozen sources found in the internet. Now I find height is more dependable. And then expect to have to move some sooner or later. Unless of course you don't mind large spaces of exposed dirt or mulch because you've planted your hosta far apart. I like my mature hosts to almost touch.

Theresa Ann