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The world of Hosta 'El Niño'......
Hosta 'El Niño', P.TH. Warmerdam, 2002.
Hosta 'El Niño' has been one of the biggest commercial successes of the past few years. This appealling Dutch introduction by Hosta-nursery Warmerdam, has been launched onto the market in large quantities, in both the USA and Europe. Hence this Hosta has been easily to obtain at a reasonable price. Expectations are that this will stay the same in the next few years.
Hosta 'El Niño' is a Hosta Tardiana (Eric Smith) with a beautyful white margin. In springtime, this margin will stay yellow for a short period of time, but will turn white later on in the season. As all Tardiana-sports, this 'El Niño' has good characteristics in terms of substance of the leaves, growth, pestresistant etc. Both the shape and the colour of the leaves will flourish until late in the season.
Different stories are being told about the parentage of this Hosta. According to some catalogues, this Hosta 'El Niño' is a seedling of Hosta 'Halcyon' (Eric Smith, TF1 x 7) and selected out of hundreds of seedlings. Others think 'El Niño' to be more likely a tissue cultured sport of Hosta 'Halcyon'.
Detail (leave) of Hosta 'El Niño'
The name El Niño means 'little boy' in the Spanish language. It's also the name of changes in weather, due to the heating of earth and certain ocean currents.
Hosta Halcyon is not the only Halcyon with white margins. In the USA, but also in Europe, First Frost, a Halcyon with white margins, is on the market. This Hosta 'First Frost' was introduced by Patricia Scolnik and Bob Solberg in 2002. We're now speaking of a T.C. sport of Halcyon.
The main difference between El Niño and First Frost is the fact that First Frost keeps the yellow margin longer before turning white. The size of the white margin is more or less the same for boths Hostas.
However, these were not the first Tardiana sports with white margins to be registered. In 1997 already, Walter Gardens introduced a Hosta with these characteristics, under the name of Hosta 'Sleeping Beauty'. And, how surprising, again a sport of 'Halcyon'. This Hosta has never been launched on the commercial market and was therefore taken out of the catalogue pretty soon. The reason why is still not known. In the same timeframe, a different blue Tardiana was introduced by Walters Garden, Hosta 'Aristocrat', turning from yellow to creamy white.
Hosta 'Aristocrat' (Walters Gardens, 1997)
This Hosta 'Aristocrat' (Walters Gardens, 1997) has become pretty well known. Aristocrat is a sport of a different Tardiana, Haspen Blue. Haspen Blue is a second generation Tardiana of Eric Smith (TF2 x 7). I'm not too fond of Hosta 'Aristocrat', since in my opinion it turns out to be a slowly growing plant.
I'm certain that in future new sports of 'El Niño' will be developed from Tissue Culture, with an even larger white margin. I've already seen examples at Dutch nurseries that are bound to appear on the Dutch market pretty soon. New sports are due to be launched in the USA as well. They all have a larger crème-white margin in common. Ofcourse, I will keep you posted on developments.
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