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shade_tolerant

Successful Great Expectations?

shade_tolerant
14 years ago

I know a lot of hosta gardeners have trouble with this one. Those of you who are having success with GE, how big has it become in your garden and in particular if you have a pic to share, please post it, also if you can maybe add your growing conditions, light, soil, etc.

I have tried with three GEs, only one has lasted. This one is about seven years old and never flourished until it got moved to very rich clay soil with a high water content. I honestly just stuck it in between some others never thinking it would do well. It gets direct sun for part of the day. Right now it is a little over four feet wide and being seriously squished. I have to move some hostas soon but it won't be GE since it seems happy and I don't want to set it back.

Comments (20)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    14 years ago

    bite me.. i hate you!!!!!

    i have LOST 8 of them ...

    ken

    PS: i hope you know i am kidding ...

  • alexis717_df
    14 years ago

    Does preliminary success count? Last year I planted two GE, having great success with one and ok with other. Both are planted in 3/4 to full sun. But those are the only growing conditions they share in common. The OK one is planted in Sandy loam (which I had trucked in). It started with one eye last year and has 4 this year. It has lots of nice looking leaves the only problem is that none of the leaves are fully open and it hasn't grown in height so all these leaves are just jambed together and sort of folded or only slightly open.

    The other GE is also in 3/4 to full sun but is planted in my native soil. Which is a nice rich loam (nice and dark with lots of organics). Good water retention, yet drains well. Again, this was one eye when planted. This year it came back with three very large eyes. Unlike its brother this one is fully leafed out. Also this one is closely surrounded by large rocks so I'm sure this GE receives a lot of heat thats radiating off of those rocks long into the night. It's quite beautiful and out of all the ones I planted last year it has shown the largest improvement. It's probably close to 2' wide, while the other one, with four eyes, is maybe 10" wide.

    Both get the same amount of water.... LOTS. I've heard some people say their's has started out great and then just fizzled. So.. I guess we'll see. I'll try and get a pic later, but all I have is a camera phone... and you know how those usually turn out ;-)

    Alexis

  • sue_in_nova_scotia
    14 years ago

    Lovely, who is on the left and right of GE?

  • hostapumpkinman
    14 years ago

    My Great Expectations is on its third year.It gets a lot of sun with only protection a Sumac shrub.I have loamy soil and it gets a two inch mulching of wood chips.
    Great Expectations

  • jel48
    14 years ago

    She's beautiful.... just like the little girl with the little curl... when she is good she is very very good....

  • shade_tolerant
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    ...and when she was bad she was horrid!! Certainly can apply to GE.

    This is interesting, different zones, different soils, seems like the common thread is that they are all getting good light.

    Lol, Ken no offense taken.
    Alexis a promising sign that GE is sending up more eyes.
    I like that shot of GE Pumpkinman. Is that sumac possibly Tiger Eyes?
    Sue in answer to your question, it is Old Glory on the left and Yellow River on the right with Great Lakes Gold peeking in. My plan is to move Old Glory and probably Yellow River as well.

  • hostapumpkinman
    14 years ago

    Yes it is Tiger eyes.A great low growing yellow that sure does like to grow suckers.

  • weed30 St. Louis
    14 years ago

    Mine was very slow to grow multiple eyes, but looked like this in 2005:

    At that time, it got sun until about 11am. The soil was very good - compost and silky topsoil mixed with the existing clay. I moved in 2006, and my new house has clay soil with some amendments, but at about 10" depth, it's all clay. GE was getting sun until maybe 1pm, and looked like this:

    This past winter, I got hit hard by voles, and came very close to losing my GE. The leaves are a lot smaller, and pretty much all of the roots were gone. Here's a pic of how it looked when I dug it up a few weeks ago:

    I put some rooting hormone on it, and put it in a pot. Here's how it looks today:

  • dhaven
    14 years ago

    No pictures yet, but I have 3 mature Great Expectations that last year measured from 32-34 inches tall and averaged 5 feet in diameter. All are planted among other hostas, and would probably spread out more if they had the room. There are three keys to success with GE, which I've posted here before. First, and the one absolutely crucial requirement is to plant GE very shallow. The most common cause of the classic dwindle and die problem with GE is deep planting. Most hostas will tolerate being planted too deeply, but GE will not. If planted too deeply, it will slowly shrink in size over a couple of years, then disappear completely.

    The other two requirements are plenty of light and plenty of water. GE will take up to 3/4 sun easily, and I've planted quite a few young GE in full sun that did fine. GE will grow in nearly full shade, but it will grow at a glacially slow pace, and the coloration won't be as striking either. Half sun and half shade, or dappled shade all day is ideal. Water this one deeply and as often as it looks dry.

    GE is hands down my favorite hosta. Mine are truly spectacular, and look great all season. This is one of the hostas that has very specific growing requirements, and if you aren't willing to give it the right conditions, I suggest you buy a different variety. If you plant it shallowly, give it lots of light, and water it well, you will love GE.

    For those of you who might be thinking that I have magic soil, or a mystery fertilizer, I work at a friend's plant sales in May every year, and we guarantee all our hostas. We sell at least 25 and sometimes 50 GE every year to people from all over the midwest, make the buyers aware of the growing requirements, and have never had to replace one in 10 years. We also plant out 25 or so young GE every year, and other than deer damage, have never had a problem plant.

  • Kat SE Wisconsin z5
    14 years ago

    I have 3 GEs that are 12 yrs old this summer. When I bought them, I didn't hear about how hard they were to grow. My soil isn't rich. I have them planted in 3 different sun locations. One gets sun from early morning until around 1:30pm. Middle one get maybe 4 hrs of morning sun and the 3rd get about 2-3 hrs of sun. They are mulched with cocoa bean mulch and get watered once a week, even when it's in the 90s. I water deeply. The one that gets the most sun had a setback a few yrs ago. Why, I don't know. Thought I was going to lose it, but it has been coming back pretty good. The other 2 that get less sun are doing fantastic. They are huge. I'll get a pic this weekend (if it doesn't rain!) and post it. These were my 1st hostas and they are my favorites. Even my hubby, who doesn't know plants at all, is amazed at the size of these them. I love the different colors they have with the different amounts of sun. To me, this is a 'must have' hosta.

    Kat

  • hosta_freak
    14 years ago

    This is mine from 2006. It is still there,but hasn't changed much. It certainly doesn't meet dhaven's requirements,so it always looks the same. Just 2 eyes every year,in too much shade,and the vinca looks like it's trying to overwhelm it. I may move it,or get another one and plant it my new garden area,where there's more sun. Phil
    {{gwi:1036147}}

  • jadegreen_17372
    14 years ago

    My GE is doing great, I bought it at Walmart last year. My digital camera is off for repairs, so no picts right now. I can't wait until it is back.

  • i_dig_it
    14 years ago

    My first attempt with a GE was very unsuccessful. It was a beautiful plant when I purchased it. I grew it in a pot the first year and when it sprouted the following year, it looked like a mini and never grew. So I decided to put it in the ground and the next year it never came back.

    I usually don't give a plant another chance, but I really like the looks of the healthy GE's I've seen, so I bought another one in '07.
    {{gwi:910436}}
    I planted this one directly in the ground on the east side of our garage. The soil is black, but still has remnants of clay and gravel from when the garage was built. I call it 'lean' soil. It gets full morning sun from sun up until about 1 pm then the garage creates shade the rest of the day. I have a soaker hose in that area and run it weekly when there's been no rain.
    GE was one of the brightest plants coming up in the spring of '08.
    {{gwi:1036148}}
    Here it is on June 12 of 2008
    {{gwi:974007}}
    Still growing stronger and bigger this year. Picture was taken on May 17.

    Janet

  • candy_j
    14 years ago

    This is the 4th year for mine; it's in a couple of hours of morning light, receives no more water than my other hostas. I had two unsuccessful attempts with GE hostas prior to this one. There's a squished Alligator Shoes to the right that I have to relocate but I hate the thought of disturbing GE's turf ~ even just a little!

    {{gwi:1036151}}

  • in ny zone5
    14 years ago

    I have 8 "Great Expectations", two of them are 4 ft wide. They get 2-6 hours of sun, soil is well drained. Initially I had problems starting them, but now with large divisions there no longer is a problem.
    I bought them at a plant sale of an aboretum, and they look darker green where above pictures shows very light greens in the inside of the leaves. The above pictures also show differences in the colorations.
    I wonder if above pictures were taken early in spring. My GEs become solid green during summer.
    Bernd

  • sally_grower
    14 years ago

    I have 3 GE's. I took a large piece off of this one last year that was all blue.

  • dansgrdn
    14 years ago

    I'll add mine to the list of short term successes. I got this one Spring '07 and so far so good. It started out as a single division and now is 5. It gets A.M. sun and late P.M. sun, probably around 7-8 hrs. per day. It's planted in rich ammended soil and gets watered often, like everything else in the bed.

    Dan

  • hosta_freak
    14 years ago

    After seeing all your GREAT Expectations,I went out today,and moved mine to a different place in the garden. When I dug it up,I found out why it never increased more than 2 eyes while it was there. It was growing on top of a large rock,and a bunch of tree roots. The new place is in more sun,and more accesible to rainfall. I think it will be better in the long run. Phil

  • ohiolibrarian
    14 years ago

    Here is an 11 year old GE that has only recently gained any real size. So be patient, and some day yours may also wake up and grow a little. In the meantime, think of it as a small or medium hosta, and talk real nice to it.


  • i_dig_it
    14 years ago

    Bumping up for Harryshoe