The reason they are limp, slug eaten and bedraggled is that they lack substance. Thus they tend to burn out at this time of year when placed in the sun. Note that you are in zone 3. Your latitude must be fairly high so the sun will be less intense where you live. I'm guessing your plants are in the shade quite a bit of the time if not completely.

Another part of it is that these plants are passed around for free and thus property owners likely feel free to neglect them. What kind of care do you provide for yours?

Steve

Zone 3b=short growing season and more moderate temperatures. Fewer growing days means the hostas look nice for most/ all the growing season.

My undulata albomarginatas stay nice looking all summer long, too. And this year, even the undulatta univittas still look really good but we've had very, very little hot weather this summer.

The landscapers at my parents town house planted these in front for landscaping. They planted them in landscaping rock, west exposure (afternoon sun) and out of the reach of the sprinkler system. Three wrong things to do. The rock hold the heat from the hot afternoon - no wonder their limp. Lack of water and afternoon sun causes burn ... One of them died even. Its a good example of how not to grow hosta.

Beverly

wow, Bev... they'd have been better off on a driveway! ;-)

Yes, that UA is a mainstay of many older gardens, and since it grows so prolifically, they might consider it a weed. However, when we moved away I took a division of UA and potted it up. It lost its white margin in a pot, but when I return it to the ground, I'm hoping to see it color up.

It would be really a big favor if you'd post a picture of your nice clumps. Help improve the image of UA for those who might not have much appreciation for why it has endured in gardens all these years.

Growing it in zone 3A is a lot different from growing it in my zone 9A.....here, it is definitely in the shade with broken morning sun only.

descendants of three of our very first hostas, gift divisions from someone who believed hostas must be divided every third year... I believe they are Undulata Albomarginata... they continued to thrive right up to the trunk of this silver maple while the more "select" cultivars shrunk to near oblivion.

Early spring pic

Early July

Martagons and a Goldheart Bleeding Heart grab the attention, but the UA sure make a nice carpet around the Jizo tree...

That's exactly how to use white Undulata types, either the marginata or univitata. Put several of them in full shade where nothing else will grow. Dry shade, Silver Maple, shady slope, it doesn't matter, these things are iron clad. Give them some slug protection or just ignore the holes and you're good to go.

Steve

isiothe: I love what you've done with the tree stump setting. I'd seen that done some years ago visiting a gorgeous garden near Seattle WA. Each removed tree was left 3-5 feet tall and were either notched like yours or "terraced" and had potted hostas or other plants setting at each level. Very nice.

I am not a large fan of green and white hostas. Creamy are ok like Sagae and Liberty. But Patriot, Loyalist etc. do not make my blood boil. But I do have U. Albo. in floats in my hosta garden under the black walnut where they get perfect dappled shade, or sun (however you consider it).
They are quite attractive, hold up well, and flower profusely. When they do, they add a field of color that I love.

I have them in floats of 5, all divisions of a mature hosta given to me in a large plastic shopping bag that was doubled just to hold the root ball. I am going to move them next spring as the walnut grew to give me 5-6 feet more room. I guess I treat them like a weed because I don't worry about them. If they suffer from the move-oh well! But they are as lovely to me as any green/white can be. The color of their floats really sets off my 'Angels', whose wings this year are 11"x12" and awesome.

Theresa