minnesota_girl
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Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 4:29 pm
Location: Minnesota

What are Your Favorite Hostas?

I am wondering what some of your favorites are? Does anyone have a specific cultivator that they like? or do you not like them at all. I am just curious. What is your opinion?

MaineDesigner
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Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2006 11:17 am
Location: Midcoast Maine, Zone 5b

I'm a long way from being a hosta expert but I tend to use:
Royal Standard - fragrant and relatively sun tolerant
Sum and Substance - eventually huge and again relatively sun tolerant
Krossa Regal - the upright vase shape is a nice contrast with the more typical mounding forms
I also use Moonlight Sonata, Fragrant Blue, Guacamole & sports, Blue Jay, Skylight, Halcyon, and a handful of others. I have to admit that the torrid pace of new introductions and wide use has bred a certain amount of hosta fatigue on my part. The same is true of daylilies.

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hendi_alex
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Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:58 am
Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina

Would seem that hosta preferences would be highly individual. Also would seem that the plant chosen could also relate to the use. Some of the really large leaved blues, bicolors, greens are quite expensive. Being the relatively cheap gardener that I am, would use those as specimen plants to stand out in a mixed planting. But for an area where a mass planting is needed, would tend to get the smaller leaved enexpensivie varieties. I have notice that placing some darker hostas near the back of the bed and then including some lighter colored or variagated/bi-colored closer to the front gives an element of contrast that makes the planting much more effective, this is especially true in a very shady location. I like hostas a lot, but am not so interested that I've retained the names of varieties selected. Favorites are the large leaved deep blues and a large leaved bicolor that was mass marketed at Lowes a couple years ago. I may post photos with some names a bit later. I doubt however that any of my hostas are really that special, for anyone who has the plants as an emphasis for collecting.

minnesota_girl
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Posts: 155
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 4:29 pm
Location: Minnesota

I have not idea what the names are of my variaties either, one reason is that when I moved into this house a year ago my friends gave me tons of hostas and even if they had known the names I wouldn't have remembered them. One of my favorites is a large leaved lighter green, I also like one that's blue but has a hint of a dark green on the edges of the leaves. I was told the more variagated and lighter the color, the more sun it can take.

stottlar1
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Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:04 pm
Location: Pennsylvania

my favorite and the only ones I use are the albomarginata.

Stottlar1

minnesota_girl
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Posts: 155
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 4:29 pm
Location: Minnesota

I like albomarginata. I have one in my flower bed, I got it about two weeks ago.

minnesota_girl
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Posts: 155
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 4:29 pm
Location: Minnesota

I am so sorry, stottlar1, but lost my camera!! I lose stuff all the time and it'll turn up in a couple of months but if your still interested I will send you a pic when I find it.

stottlar1
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Location: Pennsylvania

Sure thing. I have to get my photos of my gardens updated cause I have changed a lot of things around and I divided my hostas this year and gave some to my church cause the children were having a garden surplus table and selling any plants donated to raise money for the renovation of our church. I put some in the yard and added a couple beds so I have some picture taking to do.

minnesota_girl
Senior Member
Posts: 155
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 4:29 pm
Location: Minnesota

I know a collector (rather distantly know him though) and he gave some hosta of 06 to his church. He has hundreds of varieties, and spent over 50 dallors on certain varieties I'm too cheap to spend that much on a hosta but I know if I let my friends then eventually they'll seperate it and share it with me.



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