Mine is about 3 years old, real leggy, but no fullness like that plant, however I am not sure I have an honest 5 eyes on it yet .

May need to check the roots, leafwatcher. Of the three divisions I made (one I kept, two I gave away) they all leapt into big plants.

tj

A bit closer...

Lovely. It's such a pretty plant.

I wish I could do well with it. I don't think it's the heat, as it did well in East Texas and they are as hot as we are. Mine always looks like carp.

bk

That one is growing next to 60 year old yews...in clay...by my front stoop...with a high pH.

tj

Closer still...

Maybe it's the pot.

It could also be the low pH. We're very alkaline here. Even our water is alkaline.

bk

Alkaline is high pH. This one gets mostly rain water, but our city water, which I used a lot of last year, is alkaline. My soil has a pH around 7.5, coupled with lye/lime that leached from the cement stoop over the decades it could be 8 in that spot.

tj

Would an acidifier be of any help?
Your Blue Angels are really very beautiful. The flower heads are amazing. I cannot wait for mine to do something like that.

I thought we would be acid soil here too, every place I've lived before has been. But this is a clay mound--which is why we are at 22 feet elevation above sea level, and surrounding places are like 3 to 13 feet above sea level. Thus DH has used an acidifier to work into the soil and help our blueberries, our fruit trees, and the camellias, the hydrangeas, the Italian cypress, and golly gee, the acid loving azaleas too. Who knew any place in Mobile was alkaline! The proper pH makes a difference to most plants. Don't know about hosta in the ground.

tsugajunkie, I am unfortunately going to have to move several hosta over the next couple years.

When I first started buying and planting my hedgerow with Hosta I hadn't discovered this site. And the planter was about 18 inches wide along the base of the shrubs. Later I put in a stone edger, and moved it out to about 36 inches wide. Now many of the plants are still up tight to the shrubs, and probably fighting roots. Whenever I have changed anything back there I have moved the plant away from the shrubs. I should have done it to more this year, but who would have thought we would have a cool rainy season like that for 6 -8 weeks?

I hate the idea of setting them back, and I hate the idea of them being choked out by competitors roots....One thing is for sure, its TOO hot to do it now.

Tj, do I need to drag you out to my place to remind you what a "baby" looks like in the hosta world? ;)

Beautiful!

Acid and alkaline, I get. I always get confused on low and high pH.

I can always fall back on the idea that some hosta won't grow for some people.

Yours is really pretty.

bk

Thanks. It does seem to be a good match. I use mushroom compost and I do put down a good layer of mulch.

I thought I was going to see a new sport from Blue Angel, based on the title of the thread. Have to remember that name if I find something new in the angel world...

For all you youngsters out there... musical history lesson... 1960... Rosie and the Originals... My Angel Baby...

(actually, there was another hit single in the mid-70s that is too sappy for even post-modern irony to save it... let it go...)

(for a more avante garde self-ironic version of this sappy classic, check out youtube - John Lennon performed it!)

It's just like heaven being here with you
You're like an angel too good to be true
But after all, I love you, I do
Angel Baby, my Angel Baby

When you are near me my heart skips a beat
I can hardly stand on my own two feet
Because I love you, I love you, I do
Angel Baby, my Angel Baby

Oooh, I love you, ooooh I do
No one could love you like I do

Thanks, folks. Glad you enjoyed it. And yes, idiothe, I had the Rosie and the Originals tune in mind when I posted. I figured Paul in MN was throwing out all these great tune names, so why not me.

Lindalees???? Not sure where that post came from.

tj

Edit: Now I see lindalees, your post was linked here.

This post was edited by tsugajunkie on Tue, Jul 16, 13 at 21:46

Very pretty! I like the way it looks gracefully draping over the stoop.

Please stop talking about ph and alkaline, people. I get that science headache in my little artistic brain again. ;). I just know it looks pretty!

Oh how lovely to walk down the memory path: Angel Baby.

I love my H. 'Angels' and like Jim I expected Angel Baby to be a BA variety when I opened this thread tj. But I am not at all disappointed. If I could only have one hosta I think I would pick Blue Angel.

It really isn't as awesome as Liberty or Sagae. But it is such a great performer. Slugs ignore it. Drought doesn't seem to slow it down. I don't know what my pH is but it shouldn't be very high. I haven't amended them under the BW tree and they are robust. I had a 'runt' and gave it to Leslie in trade for an adult Wide Brim this spring and it never skipped a beat so far on the 20 mile transplant.

If I had the room I would like to have a whole garden dedicated to the progeny of Blue Angel. So far all I have is BA, Guardian Angel and Earth Angel. They are impressive.

See my new post, and respond please.

Theresa

Beautiful, TJ......I gotta get me one a them Blue Angels....

Don B.

Don B. you don't have a Blue Angel ! hahahahahah
I suppose as young as mine is I don't really either..YET ! Its one of those Hosta that when you see a mature one in person you never forget it.

I realize that is true of many of the blues, but the Blue Angel has been around so long , there are some monsters lurking out there !

I appreciate the help.

The top of the flower stalk is 32 inches high, the leaves go about 21 inches high.

LOL No, Leafwatcher, I don't have a 'Blue Angel' yet. Stop laughin at me, you big bully! : (

But seriously, I'll get one eventually. I can't have 'em all. I know, It's a 'must have', but I still only have about 145, and there are at least 200 'must have' hostas in the world, right?

Actually, I saw a mature one at a nursery in Boulder, CO. the other day, and that sealed the deal. It'll be on the first order I place for next season!

Don B.

Don, no kidding....just 145.....how did we manage to let you squeak by under 200 this year?

Yes indeedy,, move the hosta bed out to the water hose in all those pictures. We'll stand behind you when Karen says "You gotta be crazy!" in divorce proceedings, and you respond by whipping out 200 of the latest hosta baby pictures the judge ever SAW. He was impressed with how charming and non threatening this addiction of yours was. Loving hosta not grounds of divorce!!! Case dismissed.:)

Don, I don't mean to make you feel bad, but even I have a BA. Ya hear what I'm sayin? Get the roundup out already bud. :). WW

Lindalees,

Yes that is Blue Angel that you have. And Don doesn't have one.

Steve

It's on the list for next year. Unfortunately, the RoundUp ain't gonna happen.

Don B.

Thanks Theresa, Coll & Don.

Don, if I'd only known you didn't have one when I was dividing... But, ah, I thought everyone had, er, here on the forum, uh had at least one, um, Blue Angel.

tj