Here's Blue Boy.
Jan

I'm a sucker for a blue hosta!

Here's Blue Jay, it holds it's blue very well.

Pewterware is awesome, it holds it's blue like no other!

Wishing Well stays super blue, too. Not sure if it's small enough for you, check the height and width on this one. Mine's still on the smaller side.

But my very favorite is Dixie Cups. There's just nothing like it.

Good evening tropic lover,

My favorite color is green but because there is so much green in nature, I love blue in my gardens. It's rare in flowers as opposed to yellow. There is a lot of blue foliage in hostas ranging from light blue (Blue Jay) to grey blue ( Krossa Regal, large) to darker blue (Camelot) and many shades in between those (Rascal). It's a shame that the blue colour doesn't stay longer, due to the wax on their leaves being melted by heat or being worn away by overhead watering. I sometimes don't realize that a hosta's leaf is blue- tinged unless it is juxtaposed by green or another color. I didn't appreciate some of my blue hostas until they were older, until the wax thickened with age (Hadspen Blue, Blue Umbrellas, Blue Angel, Bressingham Blue).

I'm in zone 5 and you're in zone 6. I agree with Funn in the sun, who's in zone 7 that Blue Jay is gorgeous and one of my favorites. However, I find that Halcyon and Canadian Blue hold their color longer. I don't mind being corrected if others don't agree.

The following are some of the small to medium hostas that I have:
Artic Blast
Bix Blues
Blueberry Muffins
Blueberry Cobbler
Blue Wedgwood (slow)
Camelot ( a deeper Blue)
Canadian Blue
Deep Blue Sea
Elvis Lives ( the blue on mine is developing slowly)
Flemish Sky
Hadspen Blue
Halcyon
Lederhosen
Neptune.
Pewterware
Prairie Sky
Silver Bay
Summer Squall
Twilight Time
Wishing Well (bought last year, supposed to keep it's color well but I think it's larger than medium).
Yankee Blue

My Canadian Blue,which is supposed to be related to Halcyon, has grown faster but that might be to location. I find that some of the variegated blue hostas hold their blue better. This comment might seem to be a contradiction but it seems to me that more light makes the wax on blue hostas develop faster.

Here's one of my two Canadian Blues.

This post was edited by irawon on Wed, Jun 11, 14 at 21:48

Here's my Blue Jay this year.

Silver Bay is getting a fantastic color and form, and mine has been a pretty fast grower. In my opinion, one of the all-around best blues. Listed as a medium-sized hosta.

Don B.

Fragrant Blue is always nice. I can't smell a thing, but it's a beauty.

Don B.

Blue Wedgwood

El Nino

First Frost

Thanks for the great suggestions everyone! They all look really great.

Irawon- you have impressive list of blue hostas, I will have to spend some time looking up the ones I'm not familiar with. I like big ones too but I don't know if I can find room for another giant hosta. I already have 4 large ones that I need to find a spot for in the yard.

Funn- Where did you get the Dixie Cups? I checked a few online vendors and did not see it on their list.

Halcyon would be easy enough to find locally and I am kicking myself for not buying the Prairie Sky that I saw last year.

Thanks for your input, I appreciate it!

Linda

Another shade of blue in hosta Indigo.

I definitely second Blue Jay and Silver Bay...they are fantastic. I went on a small blue streak for some reason late last year, so I also have Waukon Water, High Tide, and Her Eyes Were Blue. All are wonderful, and especially the first two have been very strong growers. Here is High Tide before it colored up much...it is bluer now, but still not on the level of the others!

Blue Shadow is slow enough to be considered a midi.

tj

Jadie, I like the shape of High Tide's leaves... color is nice too.

I love the blues. I hope McTavish/Merle weighs in. She has a great collection of blues and her pictures are always superb.

'Something Blue' is nice with it's color and leaf shape. May be a little too big for your plans, as it's listed as a Med-Lrg.

Don B.

I agree with the comment re: Halcyon holding its colour longer.

and El Niño is beautiful, too.
{{gwi:1041800}}
The photo below doesn't do it justice, but Kiwi Full Monty is quite blue.
{{gwi:1041801}}

This post was edited by paula_b_gardener on Wed, Jun 11, 14 at 23:35

Yes indeed, El Nino is gorgeous.

Don B.

How small do you want to go? Here's my collection of blue mouse ear hostas, next to some first year starter divisions.

Funn, lucky you to have Dixie Cups. It must be original stock, as I understand it's not in tissue culture yet.

Do you like Blue Cadet? It should be near the size you mention. I give you a 2013 photo of BC and a near twin Banyai''s Dancing Girl. It is a very overlooked small/medium hosta I think (may get some bigger than Blue Cadet according to one source). So far in my garden they look the same. The blue varies according to how much shade they get.

Flemish Sky is pretty with a wavy margin and holds its blue here well.

Then there is Blue Cadet - this one gets at least 7 hours sun ( to about 1:30)

This BC only gets maybe 3 hrs sun from 1:30. Not as blue.

Hadspen is also a medium blue that maintains it's colour well into the summer. Pic from days ago after rainfall. So many different shades of blue depending on sun exposure.

how about "aqua velva"?

it's not just an after shave any more

ignore the bugs ⦠17 yr cicada hatch

dave

I I've said it on other threads, but I really like Deep Blue Sea. The leaves are so textured and rigid, they almost seem like molded plastic. It is a dark blue, and even late in the season when the wax is gone, it still comes across as a deep blue-green. It has a prominent place in my garden! I really need a better photo though. Here it is still unfurling and "blue-ing up."

Josephine, here's Flemish Sky in more shade, not as sky blue as yours...yours is very pretty with the heuchera...is it Georgia Peach?

How about Salute, top right, in shade?

Linda - Dixie Cups is a Tony Avent hosta, so can be found at Plant Delights, who are local for me.

Irawon - You know, I guess you are right, it must be OS, but I have never really thought about it before. It hasn't gone into tissue culture yet, which is strange b/c it was a cross in 1997. You would think it would have made it there by now!

As for blues staying blue, if they stay blue for me, being zone 7B, then I'm sure it will do great for you guys further up north. The most important thing with blues is location, location, location! My Blue Jay stayed nice and blue all year last year, but this year, we lost half of a tree that had been somewhat shading it. It still only got morning sun, but it was direct and enough to start turning my gorgeous blue hosta green by about May. I moved it as soon as I saw the wax starting to suffer, only about 6 feet, but better shaded by a bush and it has actually rebounded. You can't even tell that it was affected by sun at all now, it's looking great again. Location means everything when you are talking about holding your wax!

Parisian Silk, medium-sized, ...I really love the nearly round shape of the leaves. Is a young plant, still has to show his intense blue.

Forgot about Salute. Looks a lot like a small Krossa Regal. Glad you mentioned it, Irawon.

Don B.

Well you all have given me plenty of great choices. Soooo many nice ones! I am gonna have a hard time choosing just a few of them.

I really like the texture on that Deep Blue Sea! I have Flemish Sky but it is really small and pathetic this year. Maybe it just needs more time to mature and look like your beautiful specimens.

Thanks for all the great pictures!
Linda

Love those round, pretty blue leaves, LUUK!

Yes, ma'am that is a Georgia Peach heuchera, Irawon. :-). You know your heuchies!

josephine, the first Blue Cadet that is in 7hrs sun, is beautiful but I think mislabeled. Blue Cadet is blue-green heart shaped leaves - that one is two dusty and long pointed leaves.

Paul

Hi Paul! Nope, it is BC! Would you believe it is the original from which I took two hefty divisions and replanted in its original spot? It is so strangely long (the leaf) which is why I placed the scissors on it...to have anyone comment on it - and you did! :-). I've been watching it closely as it started to grow because of the leaf length. I am absolutely sure it is BC as I have pictures from last year when I was dividing it. It was an 8-yr old mature hosta that was split only once before last year. That's why I posted both - they don't resemble each other much, do they? This is a first! Now, to what can we attribute this to??? I surely have no clue, but agree it looks great! :-)

This post was edited by josephines67 on Thu, Jun 12, 14 at 23:49

The pic above is of mature Blue Cadet before division. This one shows it's divisions in pails of water. One of them was replanted. You can see that a lot of the leaves were already longer last year. All I can say is that it loves all that sun and yes, it takes on more green during the summer but doesn't lose the blue entirely. You can see the large space it occupied in the garden, just left of the peach astilbe.

Grabbed a close-up pic of Dixie Cups' leaves

and let's not forget about Blueberry Muffin!

Blueberry Mufffin looking gorgeous!

Fragrant Blue, although the fragrance is nearly non-existent. Really holds on to its color, though.

Frosted Dimples

Valley's Glacier. Really holds it's lovely, contrasting colors.

I think Halcyon is the best small blue I have seen:

Hostatakeover, Glad to see a good picture of Valley's Glacier...just planted it.

You won't be disappointed, Ira. It's a beautiful Hosta.

Mine was one of the very few free bonus plants I've ever received that I felt was worth keeping.

I posted Kiwi Full Monty the other day but the photo didn't do its justice. This one shows the blue more clearly.
{{gwi:1041806}}

My 3 favorites. Love them all
Touch of Class

Deep Blue Sea

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Halcyon and Touch of Class together

Here is one of my favorite small blues, blue diamonds.

Here is H. Love Pat. It is like a smaller version of H. Abiqua drinking Gourd. It is a medium-sized hosta that has an unruly habit with gorgeous corrugated cupped-shaped leaves. Otherwise... my old-time favorite is H. Halcyon and all its sports.
But H. Silver Bay, H. Blue Cadet, H. Blue Mouse Ears are all small- medium sized blues. A great mini is H. Popo.
Enjoy your hostas! -Ethan