It hasn't been a great grower for me either esox.

But this year, the leaves sure do have a gorgeous margin and like you said, add a brightness to that section of the garden.

Had the pleasure of guiding folks around my garden a couple times this week. The gardens are spread around my house so the walk is a big loop. I have three Libertys, a Clifford's Forest Fire, and a Magic Fire (in general, all pretty much the same hosta - wide-margined Sagae)

and each time we passed one, someone would exclaim "Oh - what's that!" The margins are just sooo bright this time of year. Love them as accents... worth waiting for them to establish.

I remember back in the day (I feel like the doddering old scoutmaster telling tales around the campfire)

I got some tissue culture of H. fluctuans 'Variegata' They really didn't look like anything interesting for four full years. The fifth year the leaves got much broader and it had "a look." Still - nobody wanted to buy it... the name just didn't inspire. Then we learned that it was incorrectly named, and was now Sagae... and people in the know quickly pushed it up the popularity list... and it went from an undesireable oddity to top of the heap in just a couple of years.

Bottom line - this is a plant that requires some extra time to come into its own. good news on the wide-margined sports is that their bright margin gives them lots of interest in the spring even before they develop their mature plant look...

The brightest spot in the yard even on a rainy day. New late last summer.

Jon

I agree totally!!! My Liberty Gary

Here is my 2nd year Liberty. Sagae is on the other side of the umbrella pole and lower down. Liberty sure has grown a lot this year. Morning sun gets beneath the umbrella for the earliest daylight hours, then shade the rest of the day.

Just a few of such beautiful leaves are worthy of being in your garden, no matter the size of the plant!
Jan

Mocc,

Did you cheat by using your Yellah Umbrella? Nice.

Jon

JonnyB, not intentionally. But that yella umbrella is a real beacon of glowing color some days more than others.

When I took that shot above, Liberty was under a very long stemmed tan umbrella a good distance away. And in fact, it was taken before I bought that yella umbrella.

Thanks. it is doing better than I thought it would....it started quite small this spring. I thought I'd used a pot much too big, but now it is covering it nicely.

Mine also has much wider margins this year. It's been a pretty good grower for me, but I think I started with good sized plant...maybe three eyes. Growth picked up when we lost a tree that let in morning light.

coll - Liberty is one of my favourites, and yours is absolutely stunning. Nice bonus after the sad loss of a tree.
Jan

Coll_ Wow your Liberty is stunning! How old is it? I just planted one this year and can't wait for it to look like that.

Linda

Linda, I'm not sure....of the top of my head I think I bought it in '08, or maybe '09. When I get back to my computer I'll double check that...

Jan, it was sad...but mostly for the tree and our fence. Although it proved to be great for my garden, it's always sad to lose an old tree. Luckily it did not fall towards the house. It fell because it was rotten at the base. Strangely, it didn't make a sound as it fell. You can see the edge of Liberty at the bottom right of this pic

col_123,

I'm also interested to know how old your Liberty is. Your picture sent me out to look at the margins on mine. While they're quite wide, they're not wavy like yours. Beautiful plant!

Ok, it looks like I actually bought mine in 2007..boy, time flies! But I found the old pics from 2007 and it sure has changed....the leaves look completely different. I will try to put a progression series of pics together this weekend so you can see the changes.

This Liberty is 7 or 8 years old I think. It really is eye-catching. Photo taken about 3 weeks ago and it's even larger now - I really have to measure it!

Liberty leaf close-up

I cheated... my Magic Fire was closer when I was out with the camera - and the mosquitoes were brutal! But if Liberty, Magic Fire, and Clifford's Forest Fire are different hostas, the difference escapes me...

They are all so beautiful! Hostanista- I would love to know how big that plant is. It looks huge!

Linda

Hmmmmm! I have to ask one who id's as esox48 and lives in MN. Is that the longest one you've caught. If so I am suitably impressed. My largest was only 34", though I did have one on the French River in Ontario hit a huge triple-bucktail so hard it immediately snapped by line. Good thing it did or it might have broken my small wrists.

Just curious - I know this has nothing to do with Liberty. Mine is only two years out of the nursery pot and she has leaves bigger than my 4-year old Sagae, which I am totally thrilled with. She is already 26" across having doubled in size from last summer, and Sagae is about 56"..

There. Now I have made this a 'legit' posting.

Theresa

Just took her measurements:
28" high x 70" wide
Largest leaf size is approx. 10"x10"

Wow! That is big! I hope I gave mine enough room...

Thanks
Linda

Gogirlterri....pretty perceptive there on the esox48. Most would have no idea what esox referred to and might think the 48 was my age.

Hostas and muskies are my two main hobbies. I've caught three of that length and last year planted four hostas at the lake cabin, so combining the hobbies. The four, designed to cover an eyesore, are Satisfaction, Sun Power, Journey's End and Elegans. That should do it beautifully. All can easily hit five feet across.

I wondered about that esox48 last year. When I got no response I thought I was wrong.

tj

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