Apples and Oranges....

10 years ago

We all post pics of our hostas every year and we are always comparing on how each others plants grow. Well,this is an editorial by Hosta Freak,and you can take it for what it's worth!
For one I grow plants in the woods,and my plants grow very tall with big leaves and very few eyes.
You may grow yours on a city lot,under some trees of some kind,and yours grow mound-shaped,whereas mine hardly ever do.
Some of you grow on some elevation,and maybe even more than I do,and yours grow sorta similar to mine.
Anyhow,that fact of the matter is,your hostas will probably never look the same as mine,and mine will never look like yours. That is why I say it's like comparing apples to oranges. They will never be the same. When newbies come onto this forum,it's no wonder they are confused with the information we provide. Not everyone can grow every hosta. I have had some failures,and so have you. This is somethiing I have been pondering for a long time,so I just thought I'd express my feelings on the subject. Good hosta growing,and keep up the good work! Phil

Comments (13)

don_in_colorado
10 years ago
Very good points, Mr. Freak. Keep up the good work as well!

Regards,
Don B.
on_greenthumb
10 years ago
Absolutely!!
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paul_in_mn
10 years ago
and soil, climate, angle of sun, age of plant, watering, root competition, insects and pests, drainage......

Paul
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
and add.. comparing a 40 minute old TC cull.. with a ten year old mature plant ...

let me throw you a curve ball .. this makes the ten foot rule hosta supreme .... no matter where or how they are grown.. you can recognize them ...

ken
User
10 years ago
Hostafreak, gotta agree with you 100% there. In my case, throw in a bunch of bananas too. My hosta are shaded by banana trees.

The variability. The response to the environment. It's one of the reasons I'm so fascinated by hosta.

Plants, and in this case hosta, have a strategy for survival which is adaptive. I recommend (one more time) the book linked below. Fascinating.

The Botany of Desire: A plant's eye view of the world.
by Michael Pollan.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Botany of Desire: a Plant's eye view of the world
hostafreak
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for the responses. I forgot to mention the climate differences,and soil types,rainfall,or not,and so many other variables. Phil
in ny zone5
10 years ago
And also if you are able to spend time with them when needed. I just planted 2 hostas in spin-out bags under maples, removed also bags of pachysandra, took me 2 hours. Bernd
Gesila
10 years ago
Nice post Phil. And Ken, I agree with you too. However, it has taken me a couple of years and tours of many gardens to recognize hostas from a distance.

Gesila
don_in_colorado
10 years ago
Phil, I've been meaning to ask you about how you satisfy your hostas' watering needs. I notice you have ample shade in your gardens with many mature trees doing their thing to keep out too much sun. At least I think so from your pics I've seen. Does it rain enough in your neck of the woods to sustain your plants at all? Or must you water very often? Just curious.

Thanks!
Don B.
hostafreak
Original Author
10 years ago
Don,I don't water at all,unless I just moved,or planted a new hosta. This year,we have had a ton of rain in the spring,so definitely not this year. All my water otherwise comes from rain,and even though we have had near drought conditions,I have never lost a plant due to no rains. My garden is not near the house,and there is a large concrete driveway/concrete pad by the house so,no way could I put in a watering system. Phil
mctavish6
10 years ago
Phil, I couldn't agree with you more. My sister and I have been able to compare plants for lots of years now. Some differences could be blamed on getting a 'dud' if there is such a thing but in many cases we have divisions of each other plants. We are growing them in wet zone 8 vs. hot/dry zone 4/5 and the differences are obvious and amazing. Here is one example. Blue Betty Lou was a plant she bought from Naylor in about 2002. I have a division of hers from a few years later. They don't even look like the same plant. The conditions of light are actually similar, mostly shade for both of us. You can't go by the shade of blue too much because of the differences in cameras but her plant has never had the corrugation for some reason. Her plant suffered a set back in 2010 when the barrel it was living in was invaded by roots. It was not raised up - lesson learned. The bottom picture of Judy's plant showed it before the decline. Still looks way different from mine.
User
10 years ago
Myrle, another example of this different look based on conditions grown in, is the thread which was so active earlier this spring about Golden Meadows. It became apparent that this hosta was different in nearly every garden. Lovely in every case, but with wide variations. Now, my Golden Meadows is turning almost totally green.....but two toned. Guess I'll move it into more sun.

Okay, so roots invade the tubs. Oh boy. Well, like Babka does with her short sticks beneath the pots, I will soon have lots of 2x2 boards (the old deck railing is coming down--treated wood) and they can keep my larger pots off the ground. Mine are mostly directly on the ground, not on pavement or wooden decking.....so I guess that is why I had a hissing critter in the bottom of one.
weekendweeder
10 years ago
Phil, I don't think I ever noticed your mutant hosta. (I kid! I kid!) thanks for the thoughtful post.