Hosta 'Snow Cap' – Crisp White Margins on Classic Green Foliage

Hosta 'Snow Cap' delivers a clean, refreshing look to shaded gardens with its precisely defined white margins on deep green leaves. This 1980 introduction by Aden has remained a reliable standard for white-margined hostas for over four decades.

Botanical Profile

Family:	Liliaceae (lil-ee-AY-see-ee)
Genus:	Hosta (HOSS-tuh)
Cultivar:	'Snow Cap'
Hybridizer:	Aden
Registration Year:	1980

Clean, Classic Variegation

'Snow Cap' features medium green, ovate leaves with evenly wide, pure white margins that maintain their crispness throughout the growing season. The contrast is sharp and clean, without the feathering or instability seen in some variegated cultivars. The leaves have good substance and a slight sheen, forming a dense, symmetrical mound of medium size.

Reliable Performance

Four decades after its introduction, 'Snow Cap' continues to be valued for its stability and dependability. It shows excellent resistance to spring desiccation burn that can affect white-margined hostas. The cultivar grows at a moderate rate, forming a well-behaved clump that rarely requires division for size control. It performs well in both garden beds and containers.

Legacy of Aden's Breeding

Aden's 1980 registration of 'Snow Cap' contributed to the foundation of modern white-margined hosta breeding. Its enduring popularity testifies to the success of selecting for both beauty and garden reliability—a combination that remains the gold standard in hosta cultivation.