Favorite Hostas!
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I guess I got zapped in the last crash. Ok, so the thread of this is what are your favorite hostas?
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(post #13143, reply #2 of 69)
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Ok, did everybody stop liking hostas after the big crash??
(post #13143, reply #3 of 69)
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Sure, Jeana!.... I like the green one and the variegated white one ;-)
(I was kinda scared to post after you said only the true hosta-philes were welcome)
I have a pot full of hosta seeds sprouting on my windowsill... I got them in a seed swap, and I'm so excited that they're doing well. They're only at the one-leaf stage, and so far I can't see any differences among them, but they're supposed to be a mix from a specialist nursery. Has anyone raised hostas from seed? When can I expect to see signs of variegation, etc?
(post #13143, reply #4 of 69)
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Well, I didn't mean to exclude anyone:::blush:::. Hostas are very easy to grow from seed. But if they're going to be gold or variegated, it usually shows up in the first leaf. So you may have only green ones. However, some of your green ones could turn out to be blues and you could end up with several different leaf types and sizes. Usually, there's only a small number of cultivars that are likely to produce variegated offspring. But, if you can get 'Kabitan,' you can get alot of golds.
(post #13143, reply #5 of 69)
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I got cut off. Also, if you grow your seedlings under lights for 24 hrs. a day, they'll grow much faster. One of very few plants you can grow that way.
(post #13143, reply #6 of 69)
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OK, thanks, Jeana. Not all of the seeds have sprouted... maybe the plain green are quicker to germinate; perhaps I'll still see some varied forms later.
(post #13143, reply #7 of 69)
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Hey! I put a message up after the crash and it is not here! I like all the Big Blue Leaf varieties and I am trying to accumulate them. I refuse to pay outrageous prices though. They are so easy to grow and divide here. I know they are not everywhere. So I could run an exchange with anyone who is interested. I have alot of different plants if you have some big blue hostas to divide.I also have a huge nice middle green hosta I have never seen anywhere else that has large purply-red flowers when it blooms. It is one of the few hosta flowers I like. If anyone wants to try it......
(post #13143, reply #8 of 69)
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I think this is the perfect forum for trading hostas. The big green one sounds interesting, but I just dug and reset almost all of my hostas this fall and they'll have to grow on for a while before I can dig them again. I have 'Royal Standard' if you're interested in a trade. It's a pretty good sized plant with almost shiny green leaves, very handsome, and has fairly tall scapes of pure white VERY fragrant blooms.
(post #13143, reply #9 of 69)
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I just went to Home Depot this afternoon and they had gotten their spring bulbs and plant-in-a-box displays up. I couldn't believe it, but I found 'Patriot' there. The display box said that there was only one plant in each box (all the other kinds of hosta had two per box), but when I got it home and opened it up, there were 2 plants! Not a bad size either for about $3.50. Another really good one they have is 'Wide Brim.'
(post #13143, reply #10 of 69)
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jeana- I would love to have Royal Standard. I can send you some of my name-less cool Hosta anytime after they come up. You can send some in the fall or whenever.I do not care, this is fun!E-mail your address and I will send in a couple of months!
(post #13143, reply #11 of 69)
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Maggie, what part of the country do you live in? I can dig my 'Royal Standard' as soon as it's comfortable for you to get out and replant it. I'd like to dig some out before the leaves unfurl so that the foliage won't be spoiled for the rest of the season. If you're in a colder area than me (Nashville), then I can dig it early and refrigerate it till it's warm enough for you to plant it.
(post #13143, reply #12 of 69)
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HEY! I didn't know hostas were easy to grow from seed! Yea! A new growing experience! Thanks!
(post #13143, reply #13 of 69)
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Jeana- I am sorry to say I do not think I could plant before april here, although, I could pot them up, right? And put them in the cold frame. It has been a very strange winter in up-state New York. It could be 70 degrees next week and stay thay way...I do not know. I'd say april 1st unless something changes.So if you want to hold off til fall, it is fine with me. I am jealous of your warm climate right now though.(I have left other disparaging remarks about february in one of the other folders.)I can't take the heat in the summer though. I am zone 5 1/2.If you are into experimenting, send them on, and I will send mine to you when they appear.
(post #13143, reply #14 of 69)
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I can send them any time, the beauty of hostas. I'll dig mine when the buds begin to swell and either go ahead and ship them to you or stick them in the fridge till April.
My DH was stationed at Plattsburg. He really loved it up there except for the winters and the taxes.
(post #13143, reply #15 of 69)
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Jeez, I've been away! Hosta's are my favorites. Last year I started some Ginko Craig-Open pollinated seeds and got some really interesting looking dwarfs. I can't wait until they come up this year so I can evaluate them further. I did have one very tiny one that bloomed first season with exquisite little bell shaped purple flowers. I also have a patriot that threw a pure white sport!(rolls royce if I could get it to stop rotting :-})This year I planted ventricosa as they are the only hosta that tend to come true from seed (and their mother is delightful) Another all time fav is a plantaginea (sp?) that I got from a friend that is HUGE with 5 or 6 inch white trumpets. I'm pretty shady here, so Hostas are everywhere in my garden. If I didn't have the shade, I think I'd make some just to grow them.
(post #13143, reply #16 of 69)
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Charles, I don't know if you saw the post, but if you like growing them from seed, you *must* get 'Kabitan.' It throws lots of golds, lots of different leaf shapes and size of plants.
The problem with your 'Patriot' sport is that all plants need chlorophyll to live and pure white hostas or ones that are almost pure white can't survive. I have a white seedling come up every now and then. You're right though, you'd have a gold mine if you could get it to live off of its mother.
(post #13143, reply #17 of 69)
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Yeah, I know. There's nothing to be done with the white patriot. I plan to take some pictures this year before the necrosis sets in. It is a lovely thing when the buds pop from the soil though.
I will definitely be looking for "Kabitan" this year. I've got about 30 varieties so far and usually get lucky finding what I want without paying the big prices. DW will not let me go looking with too much dinero in my pocket.:-}
(post #13143, reply #18 of 69)
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Charles, do you have a list compiled of your hostas? Maybe we could do some swappin'.
(post #13143, reply #19 of 69)
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I know the feeling! This is the only discusssion group I've ever felt comfortable with. I know a bit about quite a few things, and a lot about a few... And it's fun sharing. This group doesn't seem to hold it against you if you post in ignorance. They set you straight alright, but GENTLY. I like that! Meanwhile, I learn LOTS. And I like that!
(post #13143, reply #20 of 69)
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i currently have about 75 different
hosta's...my favorite remains to be regal splendor
i like moon shine too ...but francee is still the best for mass planting and dividing..
(post #13143, reply #21 of 69)
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i currently have about 75 different
hosta's...my favorite remains to be regal splendor
i like moon shine too ...but francee is still the best for mass planting and dividing..
(post #13143, reply #22 of 69)
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I also love hostas, but I live in Northern California where our winters are short and warm (that isn't a complaint, mind you). It gets into the 30's at night for a few weeks at most, and those weeks are not generally consecutive, they're mixed with weeks of warmer (40's at night) weather. The result is pretty anemic hostas. Does anybody have suggestions for hostas that would do well in warmer regions?
(post #13143, reply #23 of 69)
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That's a *really* good question. Have you tried H. plantaginea, 'Royal Standard', or 'Honeybells'?
If you want to email me, I can send you a hyperlink to the guy I get my hostas from. He's in Wisconsin, but he'd know which ones do better in warmer climates.
(post #13143, reply #24 of 69)
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A list? Why no, I've never really done that yet, but I will! If I could leave the stupid computer alone for a while, I might actually get some work done.
(post #13143, reply #25 of 69)
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Charles, I can't believe you don't have a list. I do an inventory every year so that I'll know what the voles ate and what I already have so that I don't order the same plant twice.
(post #13143, reply #26 of 69)
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My favorite hosta is one I just saw in a catalogue. It is called 'Little Black Scape'. It has chartreuse foliage and black bloom scapes. I have never seen anything like it. The company wants $50.00 for it and even though it may seem insane, I may buy it if any are left. Hosta 'Patriot' looks alien and 1950's suburbia to me. If I had one, it would be next to the pink plastic flamingos.
(post #13143, reply #27 of 69)
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Yep. We used to keep practically up-to-the-minute lists, but just seem to have gotten side tracked this year. I did put in markers for the new varieties of hosta I planted, so I'll get caught up eventually. I've had hosta on the property for over 20 years, but have only just started collecting seriously. I'd say I have about 30 or so different varieties. Will make that list! Got a "great expectations" in the fall, can't wait to have that one come back. Has anyone got a "samuri?"
(post #13143, reply #28 of 69)
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I have 'Samurai'...one of my favorites. My 'Great Expectations' has been slow as dirt, but I can't blame it entirely. The voles ate most of it one year. I'm expecting it to "leap" this year. Do you have 'Golden Sceptor'? I have scads of it if you don't.
(post #13143, reply #29 of 69)
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The only one I have in the Tiara group is Golden Tiara. Golden Sceptor would be wonderful though!
I'm in awe of "serious collectors" who've populated their entire lanscapes with hostas. I received a message from bevie (GW forum maybe?) She's just put in 12 new hosta beds with over 100 different cultivars - whew makes me sweat just thinking about it.
(post #13143, reply #30 of 69)
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Golden Sceptor isn't part of the Tiara series, though that would make sense. But it's still a small, about the size of a Tiara and yellow/gold. It multiplies rapidly and will live anywhere, I think. I even have it on a slope under a maple tree, its roots being undercut by voles. It just keeps going and going and going....
(post #13143, reply #31 of 69)
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..blame it on Diana G. in her hosta book. That's where she stuck it. ha ha. I thought I'd look it up so I could at least "sound" like I knew what I was talking about.8^)
Do you know of any hostas that can REALLY take a lot of sun and heat? I've tried a few that the books recommend in my "micro desert," but have moved them out again when they started looking so pitiful I was sure they were expiring.