Rainforest Sunrise

ABG this one is from Seawrights

Steve

I'm really disappointed at those selections for '13 & '14.

ADG is a cool plant, but is sorta a slow-poke, and there are at least two other cultivars very close in form. Love Pat comes to mind. RFS can be a beautiful close clump, but is awfully prone to bug/slug damage.

With the huge number of cultivars available to select from, I can only conclude that the growers have too much of these in stock ;-P

Perhaps we should start our 'own' GW HOTY selection?

fwiw,

hh

Hey, hh. That is a great suggestion. Why don't you start a thread and see what we get. Sorta like The People's Choice Awards. A completely non-commercial HOTY.

Steve

The HOTY's that I have are exceptional plants. I don't stop raving about So Sweet, one of my favorites. It's nice from the time it comes up in March until September, at least. S&S is a real nice plant as long as we don't have hail storms. Guacamole is blooming right now. This is it's third year, so it's beginning to show it's stuff. Striptease, Paradigm and Patriot are fairly new, so haven't seen their "stuff" yet. I chose Cathedral Windows over Stained Glass. It looks like it's going to be a slow one. Blue Mouse Ears came to me labeled as Love Pat. When it was still tiny it's third year, Old Brilliance here figured out it might not be Love Pat. I'm not sure whether I like it or not.

It's a shame the growers didn't continue to choose easy, beautiful, fast growing hosta as HOTY. The next thing you know, they'll choose one of those scrunched up, twisted hosta that look sick as HOTY.

bkay

Guacamole bloom

Guacamole in May
{{gwi:992407}}

So Sweet
{{gwi:978171}}

Sum and Substance
{{gwi:1033582}}

Striptease - first year

my "smushed" Paradigm on it's second year
{{gwi:968612}}

bkay, I have both Cathedral Windows and Stained Glass, and if I could only have one, it would be CW...
Here are my HOTYs, minus blue mouse ears, which I don't have a pic of this year, and Rainforest Sunrise, which, after three years is still one lousy eye.

Regal Splendor- bought in '05

Stained Glass, '06

June, '06, lots of shade

First Frost, '07 slow and steady

Liberty '06 or '07...can't recall at the moment

I just bought Abiqua Drinking Gourd, after finding a nice one at a local nursery. I am so fed up with Big Daddy not growing that I am thinking of switching it out and trying my luck with ADG.

Nice plants, Coll - especially the Regal Splendor.

bkay

I'm listening to the experience you guys are having with some of the hosta, and I'm thinking we need to have a GW HOTY for sure. Who can set the criteria for making the nominations?

Just new ones? Or even the tried and true ones that are easy to grow or else give good results? And a good beginner's hosta and maybe choose a couple of minis, smalls, mediums, and large or giants for the first year? Considering that some of the posters here have only small spaces to grow anything, and say Esther in NYC with her collection of tiny plants, and those of us who have no long term experience or mature gardens, ......what would be the criteria for choosing a GWHForum HOTY? Then, who would nominate, who vote, and what would we wind up with? ONE plant or one in each size grouping?

Should we have a thread where all the submissions are shown? Or should we make it a level playing field and upload one per post via the GWeb uploading method?

Honestly, I'm thinking that Abigua Drinking Gourd is too messy and too big to be a HOTY. And the Rainforest Sunrise I have is not growing very much when I'm seeing great spurts of new growth coming from the crowns of so many of the hosta after we had all that rain and now sunshine.

I do not have a bloom on my Guacamole though, might need to take a chance on more sunshine for it. I'm really scared to put these babies into this heat and humidity though, talk about being over-protective.....

Well, I'm rambling, excuse me, I need to take a sugar pill.

Beautiful plants. I cannot wait until my Liberty starts to look like Liberty! lol

ABG

Coll - Your Liberty with the goatsbeard behind it is breathtaking!!!!!

It wasn't intentional,but I have every HOTY that you have listed. I'm not going to post a pic of them,but I agree,there are better candidates than Rainforest Sunrise,and A. Drinking Gourd. I have a very nice Rainforest Sunrise. This year,it got burned by a late season freeze,and doesn't look so good now. I've had ADG for many years,and it is very slow. Phil

I have just bought ADG this year and yet to put it in the ground. Last week I visited a local garden center and they had Rainforest Sunrise for sale.
I have most of the HOY and they are really reliable performers for me. Yet I took a pass on the Rainforest Sunrise. Their selection as AHS HOTY was not being advertised, but their price was very high ($18.95). They had about 30 plants for sale and none were more than one eye with leaves tiny (1 inch or less), sun scorched and generally rather beat-up looking. Had I not known that it was HOTY I would never have even taken a good look at them.

They are a reliable source, and I did buy Niagara Falls, Dream Weaver and Empress Wu.

Les

Les, someone was just asking about Dream Weaver ...I think.

You are not putting the Empress in your vase, are you? :)

I'd vote for a Fried Bananas as being a HOTY, because it is really performing for me this year. I am hooked on the fragrant ones, and this one stays golden not green, even though I have it in broken shade not full sun. It is full, lush, and untouched (so far--nock on wood) by any slugs or cut worms and nothing squashed it either. Then some of the others I got with the strong heavy leaves were Emerald Charger, Fragrant King, Fragrant Dream, Paul's Glory, June (I agree it is lovely), Sagae, and Blue Angel is looking fresh as it did back in the spring, so does Winter Snow.
But I'm thinking that every hosta garden, every hosta GARDENER, needs to have at least ONE HUGE EYE POPPING HOSTA in the collection, the crown jewel. And what could be more amazing than EMPRESS WU. Ah, I look into my crystal ball and I see an Empress Wu in MY future too. Are you all noticing how many folks are announcing HER as the latest choice? Even Les chose her today, and Wu is definitely not an ANGEL!!! :)

And SHE is not going into Theresa's Angel Garden; SHE is going to be joining Sagae and Sum & Substance in the front of my house. Hopefully they will be car stoppers. My housefront is really sunny but has a shady area big enough for the 3 big hostas. I am thinking; if "Theresa's Angel" garden is behind my house, I might call this shady area "Theresa's Covergirl" Garden. Not decided between that or "Front Page" yet. I think I will ask opinions on a new posting, if people care to join in.

Les

I am a bit skeptical about Garden Web hota forum contributers voting just 1 favorite hosta of the year. You may have to have top 10, honorable mentions etc. :) We would have some fun trying though.

Beverly

I seem to remember another HoY list. I think it was called Benedict's. In addition to HoY they had two runner-up lists. I don't know anything more about it; who sponsers it, who votes etc.

SQJ, you're probably thinking of this....

Paul

Here is a link that might be useful: AHS: Benedict Awards

Paul, what Hosta is that next to First Frost, on the left? I like the streaky ones :)

eclec..., Blue Angel Streaked.

Paul

Paul,

Is that different from Dream Maker? Dream Maker is a streaked sport of BA.

Steve

Steve, It came from a collector's garden labeled as Blue Angel Streaked. I think more descriptive than named. I didn't pick up Dream Maker last month since my plant had decent streaking and both are sports and probably similar enough.

Paul

Paul's Glory (Gold Standard on right)

Blue Mouse Ears

Striptease (left) Fragrant Bouquet (center)

tj

Tj... That garden is too inviting. I might have to come and visit it in person. Each of those hosta seem so happy.

Thanks, muktowngal. I sent you an email.

tj

Just did a search to remind me what the HOTY is for 2014 (Abiqua Drinking Gourd) and thought the pics in this thread were worth another go-round. Enjoy, again.
Jan

Here are a few of my HOTY, Blue Mouse Ears, Paradigm, Striptease, Liberty and way in back behind Sum of All is Stained Glass. Gary

HOTY for 2015 is Victory, an 'Elatior' sport - so an upright form. Pic below is from 2011 in 3rd year. Hopefully someone can share a mature filled in pic.

Paul

Was out mowing the grass this a.m. when I passed a beautiful sight. Royal Standard waving in the breeze surrounded by azaleas in full bloom and a gorgeous border of Lancifolia. I just thought to myself, wow I banished all of you to the ignored side of the house. As I rounded the corner there was another sight even more beautiful, a bed of Wide Brim and Brim Cup two hostas that I was so excited to have when I started my gardens. Then there was old Squire Rich and Klopping Varigated hanging out by the air conditioning unit. I've spent a lot of time making up wish lists,think I'm going to open a Senior Center and focus on all my old friends instead. Give them a nice new place to hang out together again. Not saying any would qualify for HOTY but they sure did make me smile. WW

I looked at my 'Victory', after three years it is still not doing well when others in the same area are doing well. It is pushing out contorted leaves, one leave is like a lance, need to dig it out, possibly tree roots. But why 'Victory' as HOTY?
Bernd

Bernd, if 'Praying Hands' can be a HOTY, anything can.

Don B.

I have a mature pic. It's not mine. It's from the garden of Paula Lehtola. I believe Mark Zillis was measuring it. Notice it's about the same size as the Chamaecyparis on the right.

Steve

Beautiful photo, Steve. That's quite a specimen. Seems to resemble 'Sagae' quite a bit. I'd buy it.

Don B.