None here this year. It sometimes happens to me. Interesting that you have so many....

-Babka

I have a Sum and Substance doing this, looks very odd, I will take a pic later on.

Denis

I have 2 seedlings doing that, cut the scapes off. These were the only scapes I had/have. Scapes seem too early for zone 5.
Bernd

Don't see any on the hostas but check out this weird tulip. I guess that falls into this category, no?

ok ... we are working the gray matter very hard here ... i might be wrong ...

at emerging in spring.. the flower bud is there.. deep in the pip ...

if there is a significant frost freeze event.. the bud can be impacted ... [or you stepped on it.. which would be hard with your pots and all .. lol] ... regardless... it was somehow damaged ...

did you not have some frost/freeze event ... did you take pix... can you associate said damage.. on plants that you are now noticing this on??? [that is one of the beauties of pix... there is the evidence.. of what the heck happened 2 months ago ... and if you did it right.. the file name has the date on it.. since you might not remember the names ..]

i seem to think i told you.. that many fragrant flowers.. are very cold intolerant.. and it triggered.. because you now note.. its a lot of the fragrant ones ...

do you see any correlation??? .. because i think i just hurt my head ...

ken

I'm of the opinion that with an extraordinary winter, follows some extraordinary anomalies in spring, whether they be gnarled leaves, split leaves, early flowering, abnormal scapes, etc. you name it - there will be incongruity without a doubt.

All in all, this growing season will quite likely produce a few more anomalies. It all spells extra-ordinary - and my head is just fine, no Bo-Bo. Lol. We all will be entertained by something unusual in our garden. How fun! I've been nosing around every chance I get, looking for anything unusual or interesting in the way of progress.

This is such a beautiful time of year. My cup runneth over and your pictures are lovely with the pretty and unusual scapes. We are definitely getting "more" this year, in every sense of the word. :-)

Annus horribilis for this two plants, in addition to the hail and freezing damage now I got this stuff.

Stand Corrected
{{gwi:1016374}}

...no this is not an artichoke, is a Hosta Wheaton Thunder :-)
{{gwi:1016375}}

Is there a reason why you would want to cut the scapes off? Let them bloom I say. They may just re bloom for you - anything is possible this year especially. I just remembered you allow all spent flower scapes to set pod, so re bloom may not be possible in that case.

LUUK, I think that despite the hail holes, these two flower scapes look grand on these hostas! I think these "weirdos" add some punch to the hosta and I rather like them.

I had a difficult time last year trying to admire some of my hosta that were riddled with chew holes. I could not see past the disfigurement. Now I look upon them as a whole plant, rather than focus on the marred leaves. It took some doing, but I got there. That is the reason I say that your scapes look grand, because in my eyes, they do! Thanks for the pix! :-)

Luuk, your two fasciated scapes are gigantic! Thanks for sharing the pictures. I wonder if it is something to do with our higher zone numbers? Like they don't usually deal with the cold here?

And Ken, I think you are saying much the same as I suspected. It is the hosta response to adversity. The thing I am hoping to see at the normal time, is this winter cold event will inspire the fragrant hosta to become fertile. Some hybridizer supposedly knows secrets to the fertility of the fragrants, seems I read that somewhere, and it looks to me like there is a major upheaval in the climate as perceived by the hosta. If they think their future is at risk, they will be in a hurry to reproduce. It's sort of the same way humans are during a war, if I interpret the 40s correctly--i.e., Baby Boom! I'm waiting for Mama plantaginea to start her own Baby Boomer generation.

I think hosta have a strategy for survival, and perhaps this winter triggered it?

Anyway, should I cut off the scapes? Will it help the plant avoid tiring itself before October/November? We've still got a long way to go before August bloom season.

Jo, I understand your thinking. I decided to stop stressing over the imperfections of my hosta, since I cannot keep them perfectly. Too many factors at play, besides the climate. I think they are doing great. I was not seeing the beauty of the pips in spring, with my obsessive checking for damage and disease, did not realize it until I had the spring photos on slideshow mode in August, and it hit me like a sledge hammer. Oh man, I could have enjoyed that vision in person, up close, not in a photo. And I missed it. Not this year. My plants are fighting a battle of the elements and pretty much winning. Some wounded, some outstanding moments of unprecedented beauty. Maybe I go overboard, but it's my choice. I choose to work my buns off, another choice, and then deal with the results. The hosta are not disappointing me at all.

Go Team Hosta!

Mocc, your last pic is beautiful - my Plantagineas are all doing very well. :-)
The one in full sun has thicker leaves - it toughened up last year. The colour is interesting, more golden apple green.

Fragrant Bouquet has the fasciated scape. Guacamole & Fried Bananas nothing yet.

TNC! Good grief, it is really epidemic proportions at your garden. But on undulata, it looks good. I was thinking the Holly's Dazzler was, but it just has leaves on the scapes. I know there is a word for it, and it is a normal thing. Not a fasciated scape.

The Fragrant Bouquet is definitely a fasciated scape. Not due to bloom for another 60 days at least, after August starts for most fragrants. (Except Moonlight Sonata, who was the first real fragrant to bloom last year here.)

To respond to Ken's question about freeze damage or cold damage. Yes, I know for sure that Fried Bananas was damaged by the cold. The first eye this year was caught, not doing well, and it was the first one I spotted throwing up that scape so early. I feel that the other two fragrants (Mariachi and 24 Caret Gold) had some damage possible, but I had not identified it early on.

No, I did not put my foot in the pots, but the squirrels had their way with them, leaving the roots bare in some cases. The smaller hosta which croaked on me, that is what happened to them. But the larger ones had some mix remaining to keep them from dying of exposure.

Thanks for the compliment, Jo. That's Mama, my first hosta #1, who started me down this yellow brick road. Ohhh, you gave me an idea for a thread! When I have time to do the research, watch for it. Thanks.

Moccasin, I've read somewhere that they can be snipped off and planted, and that you may end up with a different hosta from the mother plant. Now, I've never tried it personally and have no idea if it's true. (Would they root?? is my question.)
I can't find the source of my reading, am still looking for it.
But, fi you're going to remove them anyway, maybe pot them up as a fun experiment?

Vermiculite would speed up the rooting of them nicely! What a great idea, Nutmeg!

Mocc, glad to have been of assistance! Lol. Now, hurry with your research and post that thread because you sure have got me curious! :-)

Take a look at the thread from May of last year, link below. I think in this it was discussed about making a plant from the fasciated growth. Or else it was another forum thread where someone had a spectacular fascia (?).

If I recall, it needs some crown to grow for a hosta.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fasciated scapes, 2013...are they common?

Josy, if you like these monsters means you have a really big heart! ...fortunately next week I restart to do yoga, will help me to focus on essential things and open my heart ...namaste!

TNC, although the fasciated scapes, your plants look healthy, instead my are stunted with deformed leaves.

Mocc, at the time my plantaginea has no signs of mutation, ...is a lottery or the mutation affecting only the plants more sensitive?