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delawaredonna

Grape Fizz anyone?

DelawareDonna
10 years ago

This is my 2-year old Grape Fizz introduction by Bob Solberg. This highly slug resistant hosta has leaves that are leathery textured. A "plain jane" hosta until she blooms in late summer becoming quite the "glamour gal" with her beautiful purple and white stripped blooms.

Comments (13)

  • bkay2000
    10 years ago

    Is she fragrant?

    bk

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    let me guess BK ...

    late summer.. reminds me of the august lily.. aka plantaginea ... bloom time ...

    then i see shiny thick slightly dark apple green leaves ...

    and it grows aggressively in southern heat.. since thats where bob and OP are ...

    and he names it after a smelly pop/drink ...

    i would bet my shiny nickle the answer is yes ...

    am i right ...?????

    ken

    ps: if he.. solberg tried to tell me it smells vaguely of grape.. i will laugh .. in his face .. next time i see him ...

  • paul_in_mn
    10 years ago

    From myhostas.be

    "Here is a hosta with heavily substanced green leaves that might look a little wild and crazy if grown in some sun but has the most wonderful large purple striped, gently fragrant flowers. It flowers late, in August, but is well worth the wait. I grow mine in a container on the deck. "

    'Rhapsody in Blue' x plantaginea

    Paul

    Here is a link that might be useful: Grape Fizz

    This post was edited by paul_in_mn on Fri, Jun 21, 13 at 19:26

  • DelawareDonna
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Ken - you're a funny guy. Translate for me - What is BK? I'm new to this world. I take it you know Bob Solberg personally. Actually, I have a few of his hostas: guacamole, fried bananas, ginsu knife, patriot, and of course grape fizz.

    Don - thanks for posting the link.

  • weekendweeder
    10 years ago

    Bk=bkay2000

    Beautifully written post, DelawareDonna (can I type DD next time?). You could write copy for the catalogs or a hosta book!

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    bkay was the first ot respond to you.. asking if fragrant ... and i was too lazy to add the extra two letters in her name ...

    we have been running thru name tricks.. and ID tricks.. over the last few months ...

    there are many puns in the hosta name game ... delineating either heritage.. or a trait ...

    such as we were discussing earlier this week in some post.. about herb benendict breeding 'honey' .. and he was a pun master.. and used the honey name for a bunch of its progeny ... and he also used SWEET .. as in sweet susan.. and sweet winifred ... so its not hard to figure out if they smell good ...

    do you know about the hosta library .. ???? ... and the links therein for myhosta.net????

    i dont recognize your name.. so welcome to the hosta forum.. we are good enablers.. if you hang around long enough ...

    yes.. solberg comes to the hosta college in OH often ... and has been in my garden for 2 national tours ... and if he saw you in the street carrying a hosta.. would stop and talk to you about it for an hour or two ... just an all around good hosta guy ..

    BTW.. he used to publish a paper/catalog ... that had enough info to choke a cow ... though what a cow would be doing with it.. is a mystery left to the ages ...

    have you visited his website ... r is that how this post all started??? ...

    ken

    Here is a link that might be useful: i see the third or 4th hosta listed is honey pie.. wonder if it is fragrant.. lol ...

  • tepelus
    10 years ago

    I want whatever Ken is having tonight.

    Karen

  • User
    10 years ago

    Yeah, Grape Fizz is fragrant. It has dark colored petioles. Haven't seen the blooms yet. Mine did not bloom that I know of last year. Don't remember, and I lost all the pictures. Drat it all.

    Here are my two Grape Fizz. Incidentally, the leathery sheen of it reminds me of Lederhosen, another fragrant oily green smooth hosta. Only Lederhosen has a period of blueness.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    sober as an ocelot last night ... lol ...

    moooo

    ken

  • DelawareDonna
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for clearing up the nicknames for me Ken and BKay. Yes, you can call me DD. I first posted on June 13th with a photo of the hosta garden I created for my retirement community.

    I have visited every nursery site online and viewed every video on youtube regarding hosta.

    For fun I peruse the lists on the Hosta Library website.

    I visit this forum for knowledge and viewing the beautiful photography. The enthusiasm is contagious plus the comedy routines are a bonus - right Ken!

    "DD"

  • sidney1515
    10 years ago

    Donna. . I don't think Grape Fizz is a plain jane at all. . .I rather like the looks of the old gal. . . If she dons a fancy hat later on. . .well, mores the better! lol
    Thanks for the picture of this sweet lady (who was previously unknown to me.) I think she has character!

  • User
    10 years ago

    Ahhh, Ken, they do feed newsprint to cows. But they put molasses on it.....rather like sorghum molasses. And they eat it. Put on weight. Holy Cow, Batman!

    DD, there are a lot of folks here who keep their photos on Photobucket and Flickr mainly, but a few in other places. Look for the photos by Steve_Mass who makes gorgeous albums to slideshow, and Pieterje, and Ludisia, and HostaFreak/Phil who takes good shots too. I do not have the links to their albums, but if you find a photo of theirs in a thread, click on it and you will be taken to their albums. As good a way as any to spend breakfast, browsing a garden worth displaying.

    I have a very disorganized Flickr photostream, using this same screen name, you are welcome to flip through it. However, my plants are one and two year olds for the most part. The recent arrivals have kicked me up a notch on the maturity scale though, because of them divided from mature specimen. I've been potting up all morning, stopped for lunch, had to take a computer pause for an hour to let myself cool off. I have six more very large hosta to pot up still, and of 5.5 big bags of MiracleGro, I am using the 3d and 4th, with one bag left unopened. That's for backup. I want to never run out of potting mix.

    Since I mentioned that Lederhosen is a similar leaf to Grape Fizz especially later in the year, I'll post a shot of it when it becomes smooth and dark as shiny green patent leather.
    It was in a lot of shade to get this dark.

    I'll also put a link to Don Rawson's lists here for your browsing pleasure. He's the List Master !

    Here is a link that might be useful: Don Rawson's Hosta Lists

  • bkay2000
    10 years ago

    Yes, I should have known it was Solberg. Just the name should tell me that.

    Exactly how sober is an ocelot?

    Where's all the twisty, wavy stuff this hosta is supposed to have?

    bk