the pods

give it plenty of TLC and water ⦠and much around it up to the drip line. Somebody, somewhere, once said that once you have killed three of them, it's okay to throw in the towel.

I'm on my fourth GE, and this year is the best it's ever looked.

dave

They say to not bury it too deep.

I haven't had the courage to try in in zone 8. It's a beautiful hosta, though.

bk

good luck ....

part of my be-itching about it.. is to challenge each and every one of you all... to prove you can do it better than i can./do/did ...

and if you dont.. to understand.. its not your fault ..

NOW!!! ... there is a scale i can understand ... someone in some other forum used a 50 ... i was a bit confused.. because i never saw a bill that big... lol ... think about it. .. wait for it... lol

ken

I tend to post pictures of my best.... here goes.

I would not have passed that one up,either! I'm only on my second one,but to be honest,it was my fault that the first one didn't grow. It was planted in a too shady,and far too dry location,and at that time there were voles in that area,where I lost most of my first ever hostas. My new one is in a better growing place,where it gets plenty of morning sun,and rain. I will keep it! Phil

Well, dang. My hostas never grow bills-large or small. Maybe they only do that up north? ;)

I suggest that most of the casualties of Great Expectations are caused by killing with kindness.

I stepped on this one squashing one third of it and it has outpaced my second which is doing pretty well.

Pick a good spot (1/2 sun for these), water only when necessary, do not fertilize, do not move them...in short only look at them and not very long.

Jon

So far, I have had none of the problems so many of you talk about. My GE is 2-3 years old, growing fine (though not fast), and has been moved twice already--and still looks fine. The first move was to get it away from a water-sucking tree! Poor GE was making no progress there!

I did follow what some of you advised. Made sure it gets some sun and regular watering, don't feed, don't plant too deep, etc. The soil it is planted in is only so-so--but GE is doing fine anyway.

I just hope I didn't jinx it now that I have bragged about my lovely!

Kate

I am having a load of soil brought in for that bed next week and i will do my best to site it well. The bed is under a pine so i might have to trim it to give it more light

Yeah,I forgot the part about it hating to be moved,but I moved it a couple years ago,to this spot,and it looks good this year. Not fast growing,to be sure,but it looks good. Here is a pic from a little earlier this year. Phil

{{gwi:1009699}}

I'm trying a new approach. Verbal abuse and talking ugly with some some veiled threats in regards to the compost bin. Its worked in the past. That being said I'm on # 2 myself.

This post was edited by Kate1970 on Fri, Jun 27, 14 at 17:16

Hang in there... it gets better !

The key is to just forget they are difficult... and being in zone 5 seems to help ;)

Mine flourishes in bright shade with a little extra compost. It never gets watered.
I had killed several before this one. I think GE is more light dependent than others.

I moved one last year and it's fine. There's one in 3/4 sun and one in open shade, both growing but the 3/4 sun one grows faster and has better color. Just plant yours in part sun, water regularly and hope for the best. Good luck!

I Iost my first GE, but none of the ones since have been fussy or hard to grow here in zone 5. I wonder if the early ones just were bad TCs and gave the plant its hard to grow reputation.

I wish GardenWeb had a 'Like' button. There are lots of comments here that made me laugh. And though I had not known about Great Expectations before this morning, now I want one!

Mine is four years old...it doesn't get all that big but it comes back every year; I guess that's half the battle. I'm in zone 2 with hellish winters.

I see we are throwing money away, again:)

LuckyLadySlipper, welcome to the hosta forum! I love your screenname. Stick around, the show is worth it. LOTS of laughs. You will find yourself laughing all the way to the hosta nursery!

Jonny, I think you give great advice. Don't look at it often. Or, don't let it catch you looking at it. I enjoyed your way of dealing with GE.

BKAy I'm with you kid, not brave enough to try one. It's hard enough keeping the easy ones happy.

Keeping it moist in well drained soil has done well for me. Have one in full sun all day and one in shade. Both do well for me.

Will try to post pics.

Margaret

Now i am rethinking its placement. It was going in a good shady spot buti dont think thats enough light. I have a no id hosta on a northwest corner that burns from sun. The ground stays moist there so that might jist be the spot

I never saw the seedpods of GE before. Now I see they are creamy white and so nice looking. The closest I have to white is the seedpods of ventricosa and some of that family. I think they make a lovely feature on the plant.

I've never had GE-envy before, but it really WOULD be nice to grow one. I think folks in the proper climate are so fortunate to grow one if they choose. As for me, when I get enough confidence in my skills as a hosta gardener, I may give it a shot. I don't need failure at this point.

In Peanuts you remember what Lucy said, "I don't want no UPS and DOWNS.....all I want is UPS and UPS." :) Just call me Lucy.