Brighten your shade garden with Hosta 'Guacamole', an award-winning plantain lily prized for its bold, apple-green foliage, fragrant lavender flowers, and vigorous growth. Large, glossy leaves feature luminous chartreuse centers surrounded by deep green margins, creating a tropical look that brings vibrant color and texture to woodland gardens, borders, and containers.

In mid to late summer, tall flower scapes rise above the foliage with large, fragrant pale lavender blooms that attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators. One of the few highly fragrant hosta varieties, 'Guacamole' is a favorite among shade gardeners for its impressive foliage, easy care, and reliable performance.

Perfect for foundation plantings, woodland gardens, and mixed shade borders, this low-maintenance perennial provides season-long beauty from spring through fall.

🌿 Key Features

🍃 Large glossy variegated foliage

🌸 Fragrant pale lavender flowers

🌿 Bright chartreuse centers with dark green margins

🦋 Attracts hummingbirds and pollinators

🌳 Excellent shade garden perennial

🌱 Easy to grow and low maintenance

🏡 Perfect for woodland gardens and borders

❄️ Cold hardy in USDA Zones 3–9

🌱 Plant Details

Botanical Name: Hosta 'Guacamole'

Common Name: Guacamole Hosta, Plantain Lily

Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial

Foliage Color: Apple Green Centers with Dark Green Margins

Flower Color: Pale Lavender (Fragrant)

Bloom Season: Mid to Late Summer

Mature Height: 18–24 Inches

Spread: 36–48 Inches

Growth Habit: Mounded, Clump-Forming

Light Requirements: Partial Shade to Full Shade

Water Needs: Moderate

Soil: Rich, Moist, Well-Drained Soil

Hardiness Zones: USDA 3–9

Characteristics: Fragrant Flowers, Shade Tolerant, Low Maintenance, Pollinator Friendly, Large Foliage, Woodland Plant

🌼 Garden Uses

Perfect for:

• Shade gardens
• Woodland gardens
• Foundation plantings
• Mixed perennial borders
• Underplanting trees
• Container gardens
• Cottage gardens
• Landscape edging
• Mass plantings
• Pollinator gardens
• Patio containers
• Focal point foliage gardens

Its oversized foliage creates bold texture and brightens even the darkest shaded areas.

🌸 Companion Plants

Pair Hosta 'Guacamole' with:

• Japanese Painted Fern
• Astilbe 'Fanal'
• Heuchera 'Palace Purple'
• Pulmonaria 'Silver Bouquet'
• Tiarella 'Spring Symphony'
• Brunnera 'Jack Frost'
• Hellebores
• Carex (Sedge)
• Hakonechloa (Japanese Forest Grass)
• Hydrangea

🌱 Care Instructions

Plant in partial to full shade for best foliage color.

Grow in rich, moist, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter.

Water regularly during dry periods, especially during establishment.

Apply mulch annually to retain moisture and suppress weeds.

Protect emerging foliage from slugs and snails.

Divide mature clumps every 3–5 years during spring or fall if desired.