The Patriot Hosta, otherwise known as the Hosta X ‘Patriot’ or Common Hop, Golden Hop, is a rather well known climber plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this climber will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
This is why all the topics you need to know in order to achieve this will be covered in this Patriot Hosta Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Patriot Hosta can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Patriot Hosta prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
- Light: Keep your Hosta X ‘Patriot’ in an environment where it can receive full shade to filtered sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Patriot Hosta in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of loam and chalk.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Patriot Hosta this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Patriot Hosta belongs to the Cannabaceae family, the genus Humulus and the species Lupulus, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Hosta X ‘Patriot’ (HOSS-tuh).
As with other Humulus’s, the Patriot Hosta is a herbaceous plant, which means it will die back to the ground every year.
Growing Region
The Patriot Hosta is a plant native to the Europe to Siberia and N. Iran and Morocco.
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Patriot Hosta. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.
With this in mind, the Hosta X ‘Patriot’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 8 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a and the ideal climate zone is between 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, A2, A3.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Patriot Hosta is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, what size of Patriot Hosta are we talking about? What can you expect in terms of height, spread and spacing? Let’s dig in…
The Hosta X ‘Patriot’ can grow up to 15′ – 25′ (4.5m – 7.5m) in 15′ – 25′ (4.5m – 7.5m) and 3′ – 6′ (90cm – 180cm) in 3′ – 6′ (90cm – 180cm).
Water
In terms of watering, the Patriot Hosta is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Hosta X ‘Patriot’ prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Patriot Hosta in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, and occasionally wet properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your Patriot Hosta then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your Patriot Hosta needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Patriot Hosta prefers to have soil with good drainage, and occasionally wet properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of loam and chalk.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Patriot Hosta requires full shade to filtered sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this climber will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Hosta X ‘Patriot’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a herbaceous plant, the Patriot Hosta will die back to the ground every year.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the summer (early, mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your Patriot Hosta to flower around the summer and in the fall months from July to September (summer), and from October to December (fall).
In particular, this climber is well known for its showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Patriot Hosta produces some beautiful purple flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Patriot Hosta have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a opposite organization in its leaves.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Patriot Hosta is well known for being able to attract butterflies, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for drought and animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Hosta X ‘Patriot’ will be fine.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Patriot Hosta? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Most Hosta X ‘Patriot’ owners agree that this climber will look great in most cottage, asian/zen contemporary, and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, city and courtyard, and in mediterranean garden styles.
In particular, the Patriot Hosta’s best location within your garden is in trellises, arbors, pergolas, and in walls and fences, others use it for landscaping in a mass planting, ground cover, firescaping/fire wise, erosion control, edging, container, border, or a woodland garden.
Companion Plants
Patriot Hosta’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Heuchera, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Dicentra will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Patriot Hosta to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
