  This large size (26 inches high
by 53 inches wide), arching hosta of unidentified parentage was developed by
Henry Ross
and registered in the name of his
Gardenview
Horticultural Park at Strongsville, Ohio in 1981. It also holds
U.S. patent number PP7046 which was the second hosta
to receive a patent. The leaves are broadly ovate, slightly rippled and
corrugated with thick substance. Very pale lavender flowers
bloom from late June into July.
'Solar Flare' was
re-registered in 2010
as a giant size hosta which grows up to 40
inches in height with a spread of around 120 inches.
The
registration materials state: "Page 41 of the '2010
Registrations' supplement to THJ provides the
RE-registration details for H. 'Solar
Flare'."
 According to
The Hostapedia by Mark Zilis (2009), "Given good conditions, 'Solar
Flare' becomes a magnificent, mammoth-size plant that can be
the focal point of any shaded landscape. By now it should be
gracing every shade garden, certainly every host collection, but
that is not the case. After Henry Ross was granted the patent
for 'Solar Flare' in 1989, a few companies were granted
permission to market it. When they stopped offering it, 'Solar
Flare' became a rare find...In 2006 my nursery (Q&Z Nursery,
Inc.) began offering it to the wholesale market and it's once
again available."
Zilis also states, "described in
the U.S. patent application...from a mixture of
open-pollinated seedlings descended from 'Frances
Williams', 'Tokudama
Aureonebulosa', and 'Fortunei Aurea'..."
The New Encyclopedia of Hostas by
Diana
Grenfell (2009) states: "Leaves become flatter with the edges more widely
undulate when grown in full shade. Midrib and veins
usually remain green."
 Q&Z Nursery closed in the fall of 2014.
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United States Patent: PP07046 (1989)
