Just curious, I would like to add a few more but would like to hear some good reviews before choosing.
Thanks,
Teresa in KY
What would be your top 5 hosta last summer and why?
Guacamole
Cathedral Windows
Stained Glass
Paul's Glory
Lakeside Shoremaster
Sum & Substance
O.k., that's 6, but I live in the coastal south and not only did these thrive in the long, hot, muggy summer they looked good until frost.
Honestly, I can't come up with five because almost all of mine are 1-2 years old and really aren't too spectacular at this point. The only one that is, is Regal Splendor which is in it's fourth year. I just really love the form of that hosta. June looked nice for it's second year. And a third for me would also be Stained Glass, which grew a lot in it's second year. Good growth rate is important for me, since life is short and I lack patience. Also slug resistance is a biggee. ( I put a copper collar around Stained Glass which seemed to keep them at bay)
One that was new to me last year was Heatwave, which I kept in a pot all season. That one seemed to grow a lot over the summer, so I am looking forward to seeing how it looks this Spring.
I had a new garden and quite a few new Hostas in it last year. Will have to think about this a bit. A first look through pictures from last year and I came up with 24 favourites. LOL
Noreaster - Regal Splendor is indeed gorgeous and would usually be on my favourites list, but I wasn't too pleased with how it did last year. I moved it into the new garden and thought it would be a centerpiece, but I think it found it too dark. I decided NOT to move it again last fall because we had substantial pruning done on the trees. I'm looking forward to seeing how well it does this coming season.
I'm still only able to whittle my list down to 7 favourites. Here they are:
Allegan Fog - lovely misty leaves.
Second is Ghost Spirit. New to me in 2008, but it shows promise of being an outstanding plant.
Three - June A perennial favourite which seems to look good at all times of the year and in all light conditions.
Fourth - (and these are just the top 7 in alphabetical order) - Peppermint Ice.
This perky little one always looks good. I divided it last spring to share with Sandy and it still looked wonderful.
Fifth - Remember Me
I love the way its leaves emerge BRIGHT yellow in the centre and gradually turn creamy. But it doesn't melt out in the centre like some of the others do.
Sixth - Rootin Tootin. This was also new in 2008 and shows great promise. It just commands one to take notice.
Garden Party
War Paint
El Nino
Dragon Tails (mini)
Cracker Crumbs (mini)
Could go on and on! But you just asked for 5, so these have done well for me.
Rose
Seventh and finally - White Christmas. This is another which looks good for me all season and it practically smiles at the camera.
Next after these 7 would be:
Blue Wedgewood
Cherry Berry (mine does NOT seem to be affected by slugs)
Deja Blu
Grand Tiara
Invincible
Jewel of the Nilie
Lakeside Elfin Fire
Loyalist
Raspberries and Cream
Sitting Pretty
Summer Breeze
Rose - I'm glad to see you list Dragon Tails. It was new to me last season and I wasn't terribly impressed, but we'll see what it does this year. Often a second year can make a huge difference.
My top six list of favorite hostas could easily change every five minutes, but here's the first ones that come to mind:
Fragrant Bouquet-absolutely beautiful leaf and fragrant flowers http://www.hostalibrary.org/f/f.html
Cutting Edge- wavy blue leaves http://www.hostalibrary.org/c/c.html (including my own pic since I like it better ☺)
Fair Maiden-my favorite small, white margined hosta http://www.hostalibrary.org/f/f.html
Praying Hands-no other hosta has this unique upright, folded leaf http://www.hostalibrary.org/p/p.html
Gunther's Prize-huge, amazing streaked and mottled leaves http://www.hostalibrary.org/g/g.html
Foxfire Flash-retains it's great gold leaf color all season and can take the sun http://www.hostalibrary.org/f/f.html
(The links to the Hosta Library apparently only get you to the correct page of the alphabet.)
That's really pretty, Marie. So is White Christmas, Ann. Do you find that slugs gravitate to that one much? They seem to go for the white parts in my garden, regardless of leaf thickness.
Marie - glad to see your Cutting Edge. Mine was new last year and didn't quite make my list, but it sure showed promise. Also glad to see what you had to say about Fair Maiden. Mine was anything but fair in its first year, but looked better last year. I'm still reserving judgement on it. And I also got Praying Hands last year. Too soon to say it's a favourite. Have you had success in taking a good picture of it?
Gunther's Prize looks like it has the potential to get really big. Too bad. I'll just have to admire from afar.
Noreaster - I've not had any slug problems with White Christmas.
Ann
Rose, how fast has El Nino grown for you? I just added that last year and it was pretty small. I really am looking forward to seeing that one grow because the pics I've seen of mature ones are just stunning.
Last year was my third season for El Nino. It was beautiful last year. For me it was one that you don't really notice and then all of a sudden it's there and gorgeous!
Ann....I didn't have any luck finding a pic of my Praying Hands. That's one that I like so much that I've bought it again....on purpose! I've had my oldest one since 2004 and it has been very slow. It does however look healthy and tall, and I can't believe that it hasn't bloomed for me yet. I re-did the bed that it is in late in the season and very carefully did not disturb it. My second Praying Hands was small and inexpensive 3 years ago, and it is still on the small side, but has increased the number of eyes it has.
What I did find was my fav pic of the first year that I had Fragrant Bouquet. It was in a mixed container grouping on my deck.
I can't choose just five. It was painful enough getting the list down to these.
Guardian Angel - the most commented about hosta in my garden through June
June- the most remarked upon hosta from July into October
Sum and Substance- everyone needs a big gold hosta that can take lots of sun
Spilt Milk- larger than expected, I love the splash of white
Thunderbolt / Dream Queen- wonderful color contrast
Pandora's Box- just too cute not to be here
Jewel Of the Nile- but a groundhog ate mine last year
Allegan Fog -beautiful, my best misted
also add a big blue hosta to this list but I'm not sure which I like best
mao
Thanks, for everyone's post. I think mine would be:
Guacamole
June
Fragrant Bouquet
Love Pat
Sagae
I loved Blue Mouse Ears too!
Stained Glass
Paul's Glory
Blue Mouse Ears - even prettier when in flower!
Spilt Milk
Paradise Joyce
I like Paradise Joyce so much that I've orderd more for this year too. Don't want to wait for divisions.
I had to google the paradise joyce to see what that one is like & it's a nice one! going on my wish list along with spilt milk, love pat & a few others.
Hey, some of you people are forgetting the WHY you like these particular Hostas.
Oh Ok - Well, Let's see.
Stained Glass - the contrast between the dark green edge and the pale gold green center area stays in sharp contrast through out the season. The medium large leaves form a very pleasing symmetrical
clump.
Paul's Glory - leaves are nicely puckered and the wide dark green edge appears overlaid by a feathered yellow to light green center. For me It's the feathering that sets this one off.
Blue Mouse Ears - The tiny round leaves are a true frosty blue. When it flowers it's a show stopper. The flowers are thick substanced, profuse and the pinkish purple contrasts beautifully with the blue ears. This is one you won't remove the flowers from.
Spilt Milk. It's slightly frosty, streaked and speckled look sets it apart. There isn't any heavy streaking or any two toned edge, just a nice cover of random frosty pale green thin, thin streaks and speckles. It's aptly named.
Paradise Joyce - Now this is one that every one who sees it wants to know what it is. The leaf shape is very distinctive, not round but not completely elongated either and they come to a beautiful long slender point. The two toned colors are very muted by a heavy frost. I can't get enough of this one.
All these hostas are good growers. I can't speak to sun tolerance because they all are in full lightly dappled shade. I would say that Paradise Joyce grows slightly more slowly than the others but not so slow that I would put it in the fussy category. I'll save that for "Tatoo" which is the most expensive hosta I wish I had never bought.
I also lost Tatoo :(
The ones I listed are so reliable. I only have a tiny Spilt Milk so maybe this year will be better.
I've heard Tattoo referred to as a really nice annual. :(
I agree on Blue Mouse Ears- it looked great all summer to frost. Bloomed prolifically. Survived an armadillo assault. I want to try some of the Blue Mouse Ears offspring this year- they're looking very cute and tempting in the catalogs.
'Tatoo' hasn't croaked - at least not yet. But it doesn't have any more leaves on it in the last four years than when it first came up after planting! It's maddening. Some days I think I should just put it out of it's misery then I remember the price I paid. Oh well. The ones that are growing good make up for it.
Paul's Glory, Stained Glass and Blue Mouse Ears grew quite quickly. Spilt Milk and Paradise Joyce do grow more slowly but still put out a decent increase each year.
Tattoo was on my list until I hear people complaining about it. I'm looking forward to having my Blue Mouse Ears bloom. It was new last year.
I've heard that Paradise Joyce is one of the riskier ones for HVX and haven't bought it yet. My Stained Glass was in a corner that was too dark for several years. It's been in a brighter location for two years now but hasn't yet REALLY impressed me. I'm waiting for it to do so.
Thanks for the reasons. It's always interesting to know.
Ann
It's funny how we all have different experiences with the same hosta. My Blue Mouse ears was just blah last year (second year in the ground). I felt like it didn't stay blue for long, despite being in the shade. It always bugs me when a blue hosta loses it's coating and goes to green! How large is a full grown one, anyway?
Montana Aureomarginata
Phantom
We are definitely going to need more info on Phantom.....I do believe my heart skipped a beat when I saw those purple petioles.
Guardian Angel
Marie, Phantom is a gorgeous hosta. Unfortunately it is said to be sterile and we have had no luck with crosses either way. But it is still one of our favorites, especially when those frosty purple scapes come up.
Ginsu Knife
gary - that montana is gorgeous! I just ordered one from the co-op in a 2 gallon pot. Hope it's as nice as yours!
Kristy
Fire Island in the spring
I have got to invite myself for a tour of the kitgary hosta garden this summer. Your hostas are amazing!
I have to agree with Fire Island in the spring. Unfortunately, it doesn't stay quite so outstanding all year. I had two divisions growing near each other. I moved one and put it into a location where it fried. Moved it again into a much darker locations and it turned drab green.
Here is the one that I didn't move and it still looked pretty bright near the end of July.
