June, WW

Just one??? How about Liberty?

Linda

Liberty, definitely. You don't have in the list the color of variegation that Liberty brings, besides it being a top 10 hosta. No doubt! Also must have a June too, though. She won't take up much room.

Liberty is a must!

Some easily obtained inexpensive (around $10 or less)beauties (IMO) that will fill space quickly:

Paradigm
gold standard
wide brim
Big daddy (patience required)
Dream weaver (see above)
Elegans
Blue Angel
June (a lot like TOC)
Krossa regal
regal splendor
Sun power
Fragrant bouquet
Halcyon

Some a little more expensive,(atound $15-$20) but still easy to find at more specialised garden centres

Atlantis
Niagara Falls
Dancing queen
Summer breeze
Irish Luck
Queen of the seas
El Nino
First Frost
Strip Tease

I could go on (and on and on.......)

These have all done well for me.

James

When I WALAT (walk around looking and thinking) in the garden, I see so many I love, but Liberty just takes my breath away every day. June is another favorite, so I would suggest one or both of those. Here is my liberty this morning. Ignore the weeds! I am still teaching-three more days and then I will attack the weeds! I keep reminding myself how much I enjoyed those snow days last winter. :)

I also think you could use a June, Halcyon being its parent, Touch of Class being its sport. You have room for it. LOL

You have a very nice collection so far. You have four plants that will be quite large. A beauty that you could add would be the popular and gorgeous Sagae,also a large one.

I'm a visual person, so I will post pics of these for you. June was divided last year into several plants..here are the ones that aren't planted yet. The blue is the Halcyon in the pic.

Sagae

just twilight ..plantain is old school.. like 1800's ...

if i were you i would drop frances wms.. and francee ...

FW has many problems... and there are lookalikes that dont ...

francee is an old workhorse.. but boy you could do better ...

add liberty for sure...

what about guardian angel???

add june.. drop halcyon ... sooner or later.. it will show up on your june ...

FWIW

ken

If you really really only have room for a small little hosta, I'm suggesting Fair Maiden. It is a compact clump of beauty that I fell in love with from the moment it emerged. It arrived here dormant, and I had no idea it would look SO FANTASTIC GOOD. It really takes up little room. Plus, it looks powerful with another larger hosta (like Sagae) or maybe a different colored variegation (like Liberty).....but also June is a great one to have. Very dependable, great performance.

Here is Fair Maiden. Looks like a big hosta, doesn't it?

To put it in context with other hosta, here it is on a downturned pot with other new arrivals on May 29 2014

thanks for all the help..loving the pics and ideas...im gonna decide by sunday and place an order Monday...so keep em coming...

right now..liking
liberty
june
sagae
fair maiden

Another vote for Liberty. Mine makes me smile every single day.

Queen of the Seas is really impressive and I'm glad I have it. The wavy edges of the leaves just make me smile.

Another favorite of mine is Dancing Queen!

Linda

I would think about size and colors and patterns. I've ended up with a lot of large hosta and a couple of giants, which I don't need in pots. Almost all my hosta were green with a contrasting margin. When you have too many with, say, white margins, or green with yellow margins, they just run together. I have Paradigm and Brother Stephan. I have Pride and Joy and Lakeside Shore Master. I have Crusader and Wide Brim. Each of those is very similar to the other.

I'm just saying that June is a beautiful hosta, but maybe at this point you don't need Halcyon, Touch of Class AND June. They are all similar colors and sizes. You seem to have a good mix right now. Just think about what you already have when choosing your next ones.

And by the way, I love Francee. She grows beautifully, looks good until fall and doesn't mind the heat.

Paul made a list of favorite hosta last year. We all voted on our favorites and he did the calculations. Then there's the hosta of the year, which comes from surveys of the members of the hosta assn. Then there is hosta of the year from the hosta growers Assn. Hostas Direct has both lists on their site: http://www.hostasdirect.com/hosta-info/american-hosta-society-ratings. I'm not suggesting you buy from hostasdirect. I'm just pointing to a place to see the lists easily.

Also, someone posted a list from Papou who is a now deceased hosta grower of some renown. He did a list of what every newbie should get. Maybe someone can find it again.

Good luck. Hostas are a great hobby.

bk

Here is a link that might be useful: Top 100 hosta

This post was edited by bkay2000 on Sat, Jun 21, 14 at 21:54

Hi, I am new here. I have looked for quite some time for exactly this type of forum, so happy to find you all! I have just recently fallen head over heels for Hosta's, had no idea there were so many to choose from!! My sister gave me my very first & she has no idea what it's name is. Last year, I planted a Patriot and a blue variety...sigh, I really wish I had kept the markers so I knew what I have....
ANYwhooo...if I take pics tonight & post them, do you think I could get some help with ID? I would really appreciate it!!

Oh yes these people here are experts. When u get pics start a new thread and u will have ur I'd in minutes

Hello and welcome Lisa2013!! It would help others answer your hosta questions if you post your USDA zone on your GW Member Page.

Hostas do tend to be obsessive for some folks. I grow a modest 40 or 50 on my little green acre, 30 of them named cultivars.

Free tip: if slugs are a problem in your garden, save eggshells, crush them with a potato masher and sprinkle them around your hostas when they emerge in the spring. Slugs/snails won't cross over the eggshells because of the sharp edges. As the shells disintegrate they add nutrients to the soil.

If you post photos folks on the forum will take a stab at ID. There's also the Hosta Library (see link below) where you can look up hosta cultivars by name and view photos of them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hosta Library

How about Pocket Full of Sunshine or Little Sunspot? They're small and very bright. Either one would stand out in your current hosta bed.

I do like June, but love the cool blue of Halcyon.

How about 'Spartacus'?

Don B.

LISA!!!

welcome..

find the main page ... of this forum ... DISCUSSIONS... not conversations ... not gallery.. not trades/exchanges ...

and start your own post... do not do it here ... that would what we call hijacking this post ...

we will teach you all you will need.. or ever want to know...

so lets get going with your first post...

and.. as noted.. go to your members page...and add big town and zone ... where, on the post above, don shows '6a' ... he doesnt need a city.. since his name tells us CO ...

ken

Liberty, June, Sagae, and Journey's End :)

Krossa Regal

Cathedral Windows

Holy Mole

Lakeside Shore Master

(Personally, I would skip June & just double/ triple up on Touch of Class. TOC & Lakeside Shoremaster are, IMO, two of the great masterpieces in the hosta world.)