I GOT TO PAGE 67 IN THE PLANT DELIGHTS CATALOG last night, the first of eight pages of Hosta entries from Tony Avent, Chief Hosta Officer of contemporary horticulture. I was going to allow myself one new hosta this year, but which one? There are now almost 6,000 cultivars in commerce, hosta honcho Tony says, but, “of these, probably 500 actually are distinct and garden-worthy.” Which one can’t you live without, or wish you lived with (perhaps fluctuans ‘Variegated,’ aka ‘Sagae,’ above)?
My clump of ‘Sagae,’ whose highly textural, blue-green foliage is suffused with a warm cream from the edges splashing inward, is probably 3 or 4 feet across now, heading for a maximum of about 6. This is a statement plant: big, bold, beautiful, about 30 inches tall. I treasure it, and was glad to be affirmed in my judgment by the CHO, Tony, who calls ‘Sagae’, the “finest and most dramatic variegated hosta ever introduced.”
Another personal must-have would be ‘June’ (above), the month of my birth and also one beautiful hosta. I have to describe it as not just blue but nearly turquoise in spring, the creamy yellow centers heating up to chartreuse against a vivid blue. I’ve found ‘June’ to be a strong grower, clumping up to about 3 feet across, and have made numerous divisions from my original plants. As summer heats up, the ‘June’ foliage darkens to deep blue with medium green here, but it’s good-looking in that combination, too.
‘June’ is a key element for me in underplanting under deciduous trees and shrubs in my garden, a good partner at perhaps 15 inches tall with Hakonechloa ‘All Gold,’ among many other things.
And then of course I need an all-gold hosta as a filler in such mosaics…and the old-but-good, vase-shaped big blue hosta ‘Krossa Regal’ for my big pots (yes, Hosta pot, why not?), and…you can see where this is going.
So tell me: Which hosta would it be, if it were only one per customer?
Hosta Sources:
I’ve always loved hosta for that surreal blue-green and yellow combination. BUT THERE ARE 6,000????? I could never ever choose and would have to have someone do it for me. Whew.
Do yo really think you can order or only buy just one ??
John
This is too many to choose from, what’s a girl to do.
Blue Mouse Ears is on my list – but I’m waiting for it to be a bit cheaper. At the other end of the size scale is Empress Wu, and I want that too!
Of those in my garden, Royal Standard, Bressingham Blue and Sum & Substance would be hard to live without.
I saw the title of your post and thought oh that’s easy – Hosta plantiginea. It came with my house and has apple green foliage, strong grower and delicious smelling flowers in August/September. But then your photos and then the colors – turquoise! and then you reminded me of another favorite, Krossa Regale and I have to agree with Susan, what’s a girl to do?!!! Mmmm, I have an entire growing season ahead of me to decide…(and find ‘June’!)
I’d be hardpressed to decide between Sagae and H. tokudama ‘Aureonebulosa’.
A wonderful yellow hosta that weathers the summer without trouble is ‘Zounds’. I grow it in a sunken pot (voles, of course) and it attracts the eye from quite a distance.
Welcome, Abby Jane, and yes–Zounds! A great one. Now I have to go lust over H.t. ‘Aureonebulosa,’ too…maybe I shouldn’t have asked people for more ideas, huh? See you soon again.
I love all of the hostas with blue-green leaves.
Diana Remembered, Striptease, Stained Glass? Too tough to choose even three no less one! But how nice of you to get us thinking!
Definitely ‘Stained Glass.’ In my garden, it makes visitors take notice above all others. It’s screaming chartreuse with an emerald green border, 5″ leaves, 24″ in diameter.
I have to agree with Ted: Blue Mouse Ears. I have three of these planted in the front landscape, and they are delightful little hostas, and their physical size and shape truly reflects their name.
I do love your choice of “June,” but one of my favorites has to be the 2004 American Hosta Growers Association winner, “Sum and Substance.” I love the bright green/gold coloring and it’s deep veined leaves. I have two that are right on the edge of a partial shade bed. They receive a bit more sunlight resulting in a brighter gold color in the leaves. Truly stunning.
I twitted to you about “Kabitan” – don’t want to put a link in your comments, but there are numerous pics if it on my blog. I never get tired of looking at it. My “Sagae” is just one year old but in the first year I could see the potential. And “June” – two clumps growing under our guest bedroom window – people just love seeing it first thing in the morning. “Whirlwind” is another one I love – along with “Spilt Milk”, “Litte Sunspot”, “Wolverine” – you can’t have too many hostas you know. :)
I love hostas. I think I like them more than flowery plants. Hmm. I wonder what that says about me? LOL
Welcome, Zach. I think the blue-green thing gets me going most of all, too. Thanks for visiting, an come again soon.
And BTW, @all of you: I have written to Andre out in Lincoln, NE, since obviously we need a specific hosta 12-step program. Perhaps he can organize it for us or at least draw us a group logo or a list of commandments of something? Seems the all-purpose one for addicted gardeners of the generic variety isn’t helping w/this little issue. Yikes.
Found you blog and this post via Twitter. This topic is near and dear to my heart…the question give us hosta-holics nightmares, though! How to choose just three, let alone one!? My typical response to this question is “It depends on the day!” However…’June’ and ‘Sagae’ are always at the top of my list. ‘Guardian Angel’ is another beautiful hosta. So that makes three, but there are sooooo many more!
we have a fragrant one with cool leaf edge called pie crust.
I also am officially limited to one each year by my significant other since we are at Hosta capacity in her opinion. Last years was a Francis Williams which did very well. I still sneak in a few extra during the spring and say “that one was already there!”. Ah the fun of gardening in limited space… Great topic! I am now off to check out the new names mentioned above…
Joe C that is a long time tradition in my house too. Question: When did you get that? response: oh, it’s been around forever.
lol
I love Plant delights catalog, it’s so fun! Hostas struggle here what with the arid climate and rampant hail storms. But I love the blue-green ( name unknown) ones that I moved from under our deck to some shade beds.
Welcome to Josh, whose Iowa nursery I just visited while sipping my tea this morning, only to find this great section about (guess what?) HOSTAS. And that new book that’s due out in April, the Hostapedia…oh, my. Thank you Josh for finding me on Twitter. By the way, Josh is @JoshSpece there.
As I read all the rest of your comments, I think: Yes, that’s right, and yes, that’s right, too; I must have that. I am hopeless. You all are as well, it seems. Takes one to know one(s).
One hosta I am embarrassed that I did not list in my post (thanks Christine) is H. plantaginea. The late white flowers are beautiful and so fragrant. What was I thinking leaving that off my list? And its foliage is good all season long. Thanks for that reminder, Christine.
Thank you for the warm welcome, Margaret! I’m glad I found you and your blog! Added it to my feed reader this morning.
Margaret, can we go off topic for a sec? I have a question for the experts who surely know more than I (as I have done it wrong before)
I am wondering the correct time to cut back geraniums we brought in from the garden (they were in big pots outside) and are living in the same pots in our house? Right now they are not blooming but they are pretty darn healthy, and the room is sunny and bout 60 degrees. Last year I definitely cut em a bit late and they didn’t get big till later in the season… thanks
Hi Margaret,
Its hard to limit it to just one! Of the many (MANY!) I have added over the past few years here are my top three recent additions… although you probably already have these ;)
“June Fever” – I think this is a sport of “June” with much more gold coloration (yes, I’m a sucker for gold foliage), and it holds it’s color all season, another plus!I liked it so much I bought two more the next year!
“Brother Stefan” – O Petraszyn introduction, great form and color! very “puckery” (is that a word?).
“Queen of the Seas” – I purchashed this on the “clearance table” fall 2007 and was blown away by the metalic silver blue foliage the following spring! I havent seen anything with color like this one.
Think Sping!
My question is not which hosta BUT how many?
I think everyone has ignored shaded areas somewhere on their property…hostas are a must.
Welcome, Patsi, who brings to us the Manifest Destiny theory of hosta-usage. Yes, they are a must. I have been dividing the oldtimers I began with, sieboldiana ‘Elegans’ and Frances Williams,’ the last few years. I literally had a pickup-truck bedful of each one to spread around. Crazy. Now, relocated in chunks, they are forming the bold element in the groundcover mosaic in the shrub borders at the far reaches of my place. They were formerly right near the house; now the newer types have those spots…but these oldie but goodies are doing ongoing service in the outer reaches. I hope we see you here soon again.
Just one? Okay, it has to be ‘Sweet Home Chicago’. No, make that ‘June’. Wait a minute, I’ve changed my mind to ‘Guacamole”. Yikes, I forgot about ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’. No, it has to be ‘Sweet Home Chicago’, unless… Nope, sorry, it can’t be done.
I have let others choose for me. I have hostas that came with the property, and passalong hostas. The one time I bought a hosta, I chose on the basis of fragrance. Some have very sweetly scented flowers.
Margaret,
Are your hostas planted in a protected area?I am assuming that you don’t have a deer problem?
Best,
L.T. TRAN
I just finished a Master Gardner program and the lecturer for herbaceous plants recommends hosta sieboldiana elegans, because it is one that slugs don’t find so delicious. Glad to hear Margaret that it grows fast and divides well. I have many hostas from friends, but don’t know what they are called. It will be nice to get one that I can share with them.
I am wanting a empress wu but i would like to have one with 10 or 15 eyes instead of just 1 or 2 eyes could you email me back to see how much it would cost I’m the type who likes to have a large clump so it will be bigger I have about 300 hostas and 76 japanese maples I like to buy with a lot of eyes I’m the type who can’t wait 5 or 10 years to wait instead of a small 1 to 3 eyes I would like a large clump. thanks
Welcome, Alan. Apparently ‘Empress Wu’ gets to 4-6 feet across in 5 years from a nursery plant, I have read, so maybe you won’t have to wait that long…or you could buy 3 to start, plant them as if one big clump and get there faster. :)
We’re in USDA Hardiness Zone 8B -coast of southernmost SC. I’ve been told that hostas don’t “do well” here, but would really like to add some to some shady areas of our garden – under the liveoaks. Any suggestions for varieties that might perform better here? I enjoy all the information you share with us!
Welcome, Pixie, from Zone 8B. Do I have a resource for you: Hosta Czar Tony Avent of Plant Delights (in NC) writes about them a lot, including this article on the most heat-tolerant kinds. For more on Tony’s expert articles, look in the lefthand sidebar on that same page under the H’s… Hope that helps. Do come again soon.
Aren’t hostas also know as “deer candy”? I’d love to plant them, but everyone in my neck of the woods says i’ll be heart broken because the deer eat them.
June is my favorite – looks good all season, slugs leave it along, the flower stalks age gracefully, etc.
Blue Mouse Ears is a nice small blue gray for close-up viewing.
Striptease is always so clean looking and distinctive from so many variegated ones.
I could go on, but you said just one. . . .
Kind friends gave me hostas this year. They are safe from deer, but were hammered by hail in June, and munched on by slugs later….now they look a bit “lacey”. They’re alive, but not spreading. I know they’re tough customers, but will they come back next year?
Welcome, Jules. Don’t worry one bit. The roots are probably busy digging in despite the havoc up top and all will be just fine. I have had them gnawed to the ground by deer (in the early years, pre-fence here) and they just came back anyhow. I forecast a happy hosta year next year for you. :)
BTW, how do you pronounce “sagae”?
@BRenda: I have no idea. I say say-gay, but I don’t think that’s correct. The only site I know for pronounciation of Japanese hosta names is this one, where they say it’s sah – gah – eh. Have a read at that link.
My favorite hosta is Blue Mouse Ears (Deckert) – a nice blue one – and so nice and neat, described as: Very thick small round blue leaves, a Hosta with a different appearance.
But let’s face the facts: There are so many really different, beautiful Hostas, that it’s fun to have a well chosen collection of hostas. So Blue Mouse Ears biggest advantage is: it’s so small that there is enough place left to put there some other small ones.
Welcome, Hubert, and yes, small is better when one has a large appetite. :) ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ is a sweet thing; glad you mentioned it. Hope to see you soon again.
This is a subject near and dear to my heart since I ran a hosta tissue culture lab for 20 years and introduced a number myself. My last introduction was ‘First Frost’ which is actually named Hosta of the Year for 2010 I’m so pleased to say! It is a beauty from the hosta ‘Halycon’ – the reverse of ‘June’ – yellow edge and blue-green center – a real stunner if I do say so myself!
Welcome, Patricia. ‘June’ is definitely my favorite…or maybe… :) Congratulations on getting the big honor with your introduction…no small feat with so many hostas in commerce and new ones coming all the time. Must be a great plant…I am going looking. See you soon!
Thanks Margaret! Wanted to add my favorites to the list. There is going to be a new and improved (sigh!) version of ‘First Frost’ out very soon called ‘Blue Ivory’ that has a wider edge. Walter’s Gardens is actually introducing this one and I have a small plant of it. I do think it’s going to be lovely. I love the whole “mouse” series but I’m excited about a brand new one called ‘Blueberry Waffle’ that should be out very soon because I do love the big, crinkly, VERY blue ones. By the way, I love your website. I only found it recently and have already tracked down several plants that I wasn’t aware of that you’ve recommended and look forward to your e-mails with great anticipation! I live down here in North Carolina, very close to Plant Delights, so our plant choices vary some from yours but many do just fine down here in the south. I’m also a huge hellebore fan and never fail to add hellebores each spring from Tony and the Tyler’s at Pine Knot Nursery.
It’s a beautiful day to be outside gardening in the spring sunshine but I’m inside with a bad cold – what’s a gardener to do? Surf the ‘net’ for gardening topics of course!
While Googling for ‘Blueberry Waffles’ I came across this page and the question intrigued me. I’ve read all the postings and have all the hostas mentioned plus hundreds more.
My question is – could I keep my ‘Empress Wu’, ‘Amos’, ‘Dorothy Benedict’, ‘Gunther’s Prize’, the whole Mouse Ears Family, my Olga hostas, my Indiana Bob hostas, my Bev and Dave hostas, my Brian and Virginia hostas, my Hosta College gift hostas, my convention gift hostas, the ‘Blueberry Waffles’ that I already have on order for first thing next spring from the TC lab, and the hosta I hybridized myself and named for my grandmother and go on from there – or – would I have to give them all back and only have one hosta in my garden?
I wouldn’t even have to think about it, if I could only have one plant I would keep my ‘Anna Blanton Goff’ – the plant I named for the lady who gave me my first piece of hosta 59 years ago when I was 5 years old.
I could only have one hosta what would I do to occupy my time? How would I spend my $$$?
Welcome, Rosie. I think at this stage we have to give you a special exemption from the “choose 1 only” thing — you are already too far around the bend for that! :) I like that even your cold cannot keep you away from plants, if only virtually. Nice to meet you.
Margret,
Have you seen a mature “Liberty’ in the Spring? It’s a Sagae sport and it is stunning.
Hi, Steve — and no, I don’t think I have. Will go looking for it! Thanks for the tip.