The American Hosta Society Announces Updated Host of the Year Program

AHGA Hosta of the Year (1996-2025)

The American Hosta Growers Association established the AHGA Hosta of the Year program in 1996. The winners were selected by a vote of AHGA members. Award winners are hostas that are good garden plants in all regions of the country, are widely available and in sufficient supply, and retail for $15.00 to $20.00 in the year of selection. The AHGA Hosta of the Year program was terminated in 2025. The criteria used by AHGA was primarily for marketing purposes.

The AHS Hosta of the Year (2026-Forward)

​With the termination of the AHGA Hosta of the Year program in 2025, the American Hosta Society Board decided to continue the Hosta of the Year program with new guidelines for selection of the AHS Hosta of the Year. The winner of the AHS Hosta of the Year uses the winner of the Benedict Garden Performance Award as the Hosta of the Year for the following year. If the Benedict Garden Performance Award winner has previously been an AHGA Hosta of the Year selection, a previous recent Benedict Garden Performance Award winner is selected as the next AHS Hosta of the Year. The new criteria used by AHS are not for marketing purposes but are meant to guide gardeners to hostas that have demonstrated excellent garden performance.

​The AHS Hosta of the Year for 2026 is Hosta ‘Halcyon’

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‘Halcyon’, a tried-and-true hosta, was introduced by Eri Smith in 1961 and registered in 1988 by the British Hosta and Hemerocallis Society. It is the result of a cross between Hosta tardiflora and H. sieboldiana ‘Elegans’ (see https://myhostas.be/db/hostas/Halcyon). It received the Alex J. Summers Distinguished Merit Hosta in 1987. Known for its very blue foliage, it is a stalwart of any shade garden reaching a mound ​about 2 to 3 feet wide and about 18 inches tall, depending on specific growing conditions and location (i.e., southern v northern gardens). A reliable bloomer in July and August, the flowers are pale lavender appearing on tall flower scapes (24 to 30 inches, again depending upon growing conditions). Leaves are beautiful blue with prominent veins and heavy substance. It has been used in breeding programs and produced an impressive list of progeny, many becoming popular on their own (see the aforementioned website for a complete list of sports and progeny).
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