Where do all those beautiful new cultivars of hosta come from anyway? Well, from people! A cultivar means a cultivated variety which means that it is being grown by people and is not found in nature (that would be a species). The people who discover or propagate a new looking hosta and then register them are known as the originators.

The American Hosta Society is currently in charge of the International Hosta Registry. A volunteer from the group acts as the International Registrar for the Genus Hosta.

Following is at least a partial list of the major originators of hosta cultivars.