Looks good, 5th ones the charm....btw looks like GE is hungry or thirsty, as it's been pan-handling in the garden. Not bad got a dollar so far ;-)

Paul

When I moved it there, I said:
'You are going to have to learn how to fend for yourself.'

.....and it did just that! What a great looking GE! Congrats, Bragu! :-)

"You haven't experienced the real beauty of a hosta until you've grown your own Great Expectations!" It definitely is a benchmark hosta IMO.

I want to try one myself but I don't think I would get to number 5 if they kept dieing off like that.. really beautiful

Getting there, Dave. Any positive growth is great! I actually didn't know you had any growing on your property (anymore). Perhaps mine will live. It has a looong way to go to get to where yours is, though. Maybe in ten years or so.

Don B.

Don, that looks more like a growth bribe than a comparison shot.

If it were only that easy, Hosta Takeover.

By the time mine gets as big as Dave's, that c-note will be worth a dollar. : (

Don B.

My GE is doing fine also.

After reading all the posts written about GE over the last few years, I want to offer a few observations.
1) Almost all the success stories have been from growers in zones 4 and 5 - though there have been some failures reported here too especially from zone 5 - does GE require extra long dormancy or the short cooler summer more related to point 4 below? Or both?
2) GE success appears closely linked to enough sunshine - likely those big leaves without much green need extra.
3) At the same time, GE appears to need an extra serving of water to grow quickly but this may be related to having so much sum causing extra transpiration.
4) GE does not really care for the heat which is a problem combined with needing sunshine - maybe short cool summers to fend off heat stress are the reason for success in more northern areas?
5) Why are these traits so pronounced in GE and not is hostas with yellow leaves? or other whites centred leaved hostas?

I keep my GE in almost full sun (from about 10 am to sundown) plus there is a sprinkler system so the hostas get a lot of water. The pips didnt show this year (or last either) till around May 15 and didnt unfurl fully till around June 1. It will die back and enter dormancy with the September frosts and will be gone without trace before Canadian Thanksgiving (early October).

Doug

All those tiny GEs are so cute!! Ha ha! Just kidding as they look great. This one has been here about 15 years!

Brag away woodnative, yours looks great. Like they say - it ain't braggin' if it's true. lol

Paul

Just transplanted my GE to (hopefully) a better spot. It is in its second year and growing strong and healthy. I'm going to take my laptop out there and show the pictures of your mature GEs to it--think that will inspire it to grow into the biggest beauty in my yard?

By the way--how large does a mature GE get--say, one about 8-10 years old? I happened on one source that said it was 5 feet across. Is that realistic?

Kate

Just went outside to measure my GE. It is approx. 3 feet by 4 feet. It is in a pot. It is approx. 8-10 years old except I divided it in 2011 and put half of it in a pot. The other half got divided again and most did not make it.

So as to how big do they get? I don't know. But I can assure you that there are some that have large specimens.

I like your observations Doug. I agree with them and have the same questions as you do. I definitely agree that sun and water are a big key to success. I have found that without adequate sun the center coloring will be more prone to be a yellow/green. I struggle to keep the shade of yellow I prefer due to limited sun exposure, and therefore I grow in a pot to provide mobility. .

Forgot to say . . . congratulations Dave! I'm glad you finally have a GE you can be proud of!

My best. In its third or leap year and living up to its 'Great Expectations'

Jon

Hey Woodnative, I'll buy your big hosta for a hundred bucks!!! Ha ha ha...

Don B.

This post was edited by Don_in_Colorado on Wed, Jun 18, 14 at 21:10

I'm in the peanut gallery here. I know better than to try growing one, so I'm an innocent bystander watching the competition of gardeners versus the GE team. Many have tried and many have failed. Those who have great expectations of growing one, I'm applauding your efforts.

My one observation:
I think the plant can sense fear.

For a couple years I would see GE at the big box store garden centers dirt cheap and BEAUTIFUL. Thats why I ended up with 5 planted in three different spots. One thing is for sure the two I had to move sure got set back. One was planted to deep and sinking (to much compost) the other was to close to the shrubs.

They will both make it I think but they went from 2 mature eyes back to one, with small eyes on the side.

My best luck has been north side of the house just under the eaves with good light but no direct sun light. The soil stays damp there longer than anywhere else in my yard as well.