Hosta 'Ice Cream' – Delicious Green Margins with Cream Centers

Hosta 'Ice Cream' serves up a delectable combination of wide, deep green margins and cool, creamy white centers. Registered in 1998 by Rossing, this medium-large cultivar is a visual treat for shade garden connoisseurs.

Botanical Profile

Family:	Liliaceae (lil-ee-AY-see-ee)
Genus:	Hosta (HOSS-tuh)
Cultivar:	'Ice Cream'
Hybridizer:	Rossing
Registration Year:	1998

Cool, Creamy Reverse Variegation

The broadly ovate leaves feature centers of a clean, stable creamy white that brightens shaded areas. The wide margins are a rich, deep green with good substance. The contrast is crisp and refreshing—like the dessert it's named after. The foliage forms a dense, symmetrical mound with leaves held horizontally, showcasing the variegation pattern beautifully.

Growing for Clean Centers

'Ice Cream' prefers morning sun or bright dappled shade to maintain the widest green margins and brightest cream centers. In deeper shade, the margins may narrow. The stable variegation and good substance make it a reliable, low-maintenance choice. It reaches a medium-large size, suitable for mid-border placement or as a specimen.

Rossing's Confection

Rossing's 1998 introduction added a clean, stable, cream-centered cultivar to the hosta palette. The name 'Ice Cream' perfectly captures the cool, refreshing aesthetic of this reverse-variegated beauty.