It was shocking how different hosta varieties were faring with the stress. I would guess that 50% looked really bad. Some were mush. One standout was Victory. Praying Hands looked good. One great one was called Sun Hosta (?). It looked like So Sweet. Bold Ribbons, Twilight Time and X-Rated were standouts. Of course, the older plantaginea progeny were doing well as was So Sweet. They were evaluating them for the next newsletter this morning. Their plan is to keep replacing the ones that do poorly with new varieties, so that it will be an ongoing trial garden.

I plan to cull my collection when they go dormant. I will be replacing many of my hosta with more suitable varieties. I will never again go for the idea of "buy what you like". The variety does make a difference when you live in Texas. I won't be wondering why a given hosta looks so bad anymore. Those are going somewhere cooler. I gave lip service to recommended varieties, but bought what ever struck my fancy. I have learned my lesson - I hope.

The photos are worth 1000 words. It's shocking how bad some of them look. They're all getting pretty much the same sun and water. The hosta are planted under Crepe Myrtles, so they look really messy. We've had no rain to wash off the spent blossoms. Also, we had a couple of hail storms this spring, so you will notice splits on the large leaves.

bkay

Next four were planted this spring and may not have gotten a fair chance.

Pineapple Punch (Pineapple Upside Down Cake was ugly)

and Appropriately,

I notice that most of the Junes were fine, Praying Hands, Black Hills, El Nino, Great Arrival (lost one leaf) Three Sisters, Pineapple Upside Down Cake (scorched but not seriously).

Goodness Gracious, Golden Meadows, Piedmont Gold, Midnight at the Oasis planted this year look as if they enjoyed the heat.

There are some others but when I was cleaning up the hosta beds yesterday these were the standouts. Also Minuteman, Guacamole, Abiqua Drinking Gourd, T-Rex Strip Tease, Olive Bailey Langdon, Frozen Margarita, Francee, and most of the Albo Marginatas.

And surprise, little Blue Ice tripled in size this year and didn't lose any blue or any leaves, either. Looks as if it thrived in triple digit temperatures. All the minis are looking good.

Other newbies, Childhood Fantasy, Totally Twisted, look great. Blue Hawaii held up until the last couple of weeks, then fizzled out. I think it will be ok but it is pretty burnt.

My mature Queen of the Seas, in 4 hours of full sun, great as is Photo Finish, while a border of Honeybells just behind them scorched badly.

Even the heat-loving Plantaganeas didn't like THAT much heat, except Aphrodite, which probably won't open its flowers this year again anyway. It's going to get moved to the back of the border where it can be just a big and green background.

Sweet Home Chicago and Paradigm did proud too.

I think I'm going to be looking up some families and parents of some of these, maybe there's a pattern here!

There wasn't much left of the three Minuteman, just a few little sprouts. The So Sweet showed little signs of stress. It was lush, full and not burned at all. Pineapple upside down cake was good sized, but a total crispy critter. The Wide Brim was so ugly, I decided to give mine away. Mine have always been ugly and I kept blaming my cultivation skills.

I'm really impressed with Praying Hands. It was good sized, so it must have grown well. It wasn't the least bit burned. It has a really intersting shape, too. I didn't think I would like it from the photos, but I guess that's what's so nice about seeing what you're buying.

bkay

I wonder if other people in the midwest with prolonged unusually high temps this year are seeing the same dried up leaves. More than one grower has put their stock into full sun where the leaves look like hell but the roots are growing gangbusters and next year's plants are BIG.

The growth you see on this years plants is usually indicative of last years' growing conditions when roots and eyes were formed.

-Babka

Sandy

I suppose that I was just surprised at the difference in the appearance of the plants. There are recommended varieties for our area. The recommended varieties didn't look bad, considering the circumstances. Plants like Honeybells, Fragrant Bouquet, Stained Glass and Royal Standard that are on every list for warm climates looked pretty good. I don't have any of them. Conversely, I chose Wide Brim for a planter box in my front yard. It's a total bust in that location. The ones in pots aren't doing any better. I probably would have much better luck with So Sweet or some other fragrant variety and I wouldn't have lost 2 years of growth. I thought because Wide Brim was inexpensive and common, it would grow well. I was definitely wrong.

I've had pretty good luck with hosta. My trip to the Arboretum showed me that I probably would have had better luck with some varieties versus others. I noticed how beautiful Gesila's Minute Men look in another thread. However, that's probably not a good variety for me, if the plants at the Arboretum are any indication. I didn't realize that the variety made THAT much difference. Sometimes, I'm a little slow on the uptake.

bkay

Whatever you do, don't make your decisions based on one weird Summer. I would hate to see you not grow some really cool hostas just because of this year's unusually hot Summer...unless all your Summers are that hot.

-Babka

Thx for the shots. :-O

-------------------------------------
Dallas Forum

On the recommended side, this fall, I bought Sugar and Cream, Victory, X-rated and a first generation plantaginea hybrid (?) that I can't remember the name of at this moment.

I'm addicted. What can I say?

bkay

Poking around on the AHS site I ran across a link to the Hosta Growers Association and I noticed a wholesale Hosta grower in Wills Point, Texas. Perhaps they have information or experience as to what will grow well in Texas. I don't know where Wills Point is and they don't have a website. But here's the contact information on the site.

Tawakoni Plant Farm Ltd.
David Pinkus
PO Box 820
651 vz county rd.
Wills Point, TX 75169
9800-880-6728
Email tawakoniplantfarm@MSN.com

Steve

BKay, is that a zone 8A like you? I am very glad that you brought this thread back to life because it is very appropriate for me too. Over here in Alabama, in zone 8B, we did not have as much of a drought as Texas did, but it was not good news.

Presently, my original three hosta planted this spring in my AL garden, are STILL GREEN. I do not know if they are the incredible shrinking hosta, but they have not gone to sleep like the ones I potted up in MA zone 5B and brought south. With any luck at all, many of my selections will prosper in their new home. Knowing I had much against me to begin with, I chose some recommended for warmer climates or high humidity zones. But we shall see.

Please report on any GOOD results as well as the BAD, you have an interested audience here.

That said, the Tawakoni plant farm only grows the most common varieties of hosta. They do have a website http://tawakoniplants.com/hosta.htm, but they are only a wholesale operation. In my humble opinion, they need to come into the present where it comes to hosta. I went to Northhaven a couple of months ago. They had little that interested me. I bought a Sugar and Cream as it was a nice plant and I had to buy something. If you go to buy hosta, you can't come home without getting something. It was probably the most exotic variety they had.

Although Northhaven is probably the best overall nursery in the area, other nurseries are doing a much better job with hosta. There's a small chain called Calloway's that carries Monrovia grown hosta. They had some really nice plants this last year. Then of course, you have Lowe's and Home Depot. Other than that, no one carries hosta here.

And, yes, Wills Point is about an hour east of Dallas. It's a nice little town that still has brick streets. My ggreat-grandfather lived there. Tawakoni plant farm is on Tawakoni lake, which is a water reservoir built for the water needs of Dallas. I think you pay like $50.00 a year and can pump all the water you want. So, it's a nice place to put a plant farm.

Wills Point may be zone 7b. They could be a tad cooler than us, but not by much (it's only an hour east of us). They're pretty much the same as us. They have sandy soil though. That's about where it stops. West of that is clay.

I thought Lynard Skynard was from Alabama or Florida. I don't think they're from Texas.

bkay