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Hosta 'White Christmas' (Mobjack form)
'White Christmas' is a stunning hosta, but many people have had difficulty growing it. The original (true) form of 'White Christmas' was introduced by Gus Krossa over 50 years ago. It is described in a 2012 article in The Hosta Journal (Vol 43, No 2) as "a beautiful but delicate plant with a long history of primarily 'failures to thrive' for even the most experienced hosta gardener."
Back when we had a real nursery in Virginia, I used to drive down to Mobjack Nursery in southern Virginia to buy hostas. (I didn't mind the 3 hour drive because there was a gas station down there that had the best fried chicken I've ever had.) Mobjack introduced 'Patriot', 'Minuteman', 'Liberty' 'Night Before Christmas' and other cultivars and had big plants that we could divide and sell mail order. I was always amazed that they could grow such large beautiful pots of 'White Christmas' in tropical Virginia. Naturally, we bought all of our 'White Christmas' from Mobjack and found that despite it's reputation, growing them wasn't all that difficult.
When I read the Journal article I found out why. It's not the same plant as Krossa's 'White Cristmas'. The authors (James Langhammer and Mark Derrick) were not able to find how the plant originated, but suggested that the Mobjack plant should have a different name. That's probably not going to happen so I just list it as Mobjack Form. The four Mobjack introductions listed above are either full or partial tetraploids, probably a result of spraying with a pre-emergent herbicide. I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the changes in this form of 'White Christmas', such as larger leaves, wider margins, and better substance, were also induced by herbicide spraying.
'White Christmas' has earned its poor reputation, and I seldom see it offered any more, but this plant is much easier to grow. I've been growing it for many years. I'm sure I'm not the only source for the Mobjack form, but I've never seen anybody else specify which plant they were selling.