Annual fuchsia still going strong...and keeping hosta company...

Look at this die-hard little trooper...hanging on, moving ever so slowly, but still at the job even though it's likely chilly for it.

Majesty, Mukdenia, Jimmy Crack Corn
Katsuragawa Beni blooming, June Spirit, Trifecta just starting to change
Robert Frost and one-eyed Hydon Sunset blooming.

Love the colours on Sweet Bo Peep who finally succumbed to the inevitable...last week she was still all-green.

"You've likely seen them before" is referencing the actual hosta...all these pics were taken within the hour...amazing how some just don't get phased by the cooler nights yet. It will take a good frost to slow these down.

Here is Marrakech still green. Thanks for looking! :-)

Jo

They are still looking good there, mine are mostly mush now even though we are having an unusually mild autumn, only one or two still standing, only had one very slight frost last week, it hasn't dropped below 7.C since. No atlantic storms yet either. (I thought you guys used farenheit )

I like the look of Wolverine, wonderfull rich purple on your fuchsias, is that a dahlia? do you grow as an annual or lift the tubers?

Does ON mean Ontario or Oregon ?

ON is Ontario...we Canadians use Celsius, our American friends, Fahrenheit.

You know your flowers, Denis. :-). It is a dahlia...Bishop of York and has dark purple foliage, currently full of blooms. I will need to lift it and store in basement once it gets hit by the frost and the foliage blackens. It is huge compared to last year when it was new. The bees love it.

Wolverine did not set flower scapes this year due to lack of sufficient water but it is one hosta I don't mind flowerless - it is stunning all season - only 2yrs. old...vigorous grower.

This forum is not a place where one practices restraint - the more hosta you see, the more you'll want! Being an avid gardener, I had 67 when I first joined...which grew to 93 different cultivars, have several duplicates (divided them). Actively started amassing couple years ago....and have been very soundly enabled by my fellow forum Hosta lovers! as, no doubt, so will you...Paula gave you fair warning, lol lol

BTW....wait till you get bitten by the "fragrance" bug....:-)

Very nice, Jo. Your 'Ginsu Knife' thinks it's still early August!

I'm curious; 'Ginsu Knife' is listed as being 'slightly fragrant' in several sources...Is that like a 'Fragrant Blue' fragrance (not detectable to me) or a there a real fragrance? It's beautiful, I'd certainly still buy it fragrant or not, but....What does YOUR nose tell you about those flowers, Jo?

Thanks!
Don B.

This post was edited by Don_in_Colorado on Sat, Oct 19, 13 at 18:50

Hi, Don! Glad to hear the foot is itchy...it is healing! But must drive you crazy...

Yes, GK has a "slight" fragrance, but it's there. Did not linger and sniff today (chuckle) as iPad was getting wet, but will tomorrow and report back, k? I'm curious as to strength of scent in cooler weather.

I need to get myself a Fragrant Blue, for obvious reasons, lol. Like....she's fragrant, she's related to Guacamole, she's fragrant,....lol

'Fragrant Blue' is a sweet-lookin' plant, that's for sure.

Don B.

I don't mind flowerless either, in my humble and uneducated opinion they spoil the look of some hosta especially the short scaped ones, they should be high enough to clear the leaves by a good bit so they don't interfere, until a few years ago I didn't realise that they flowered at all so I kinda come at it from the angle that it's all about the leaves. I had a "wide brim" flower for the first time this year and loved the deep purple flowers so ya never know.

As for fragrance well I havn't got there yet I have got "fragrant blue" "royal standard" and "gold standard" so I live in hope,

I love the fragrant types (flowers) big and smell great (in my opinion) but to be honest, if it weren't for fragrant hosta I probably wouldn't care about the flowers much at all. It was the foliage that got me hooked. For me, the fragrant hosta were a nice bonus I stumbled onto secondarily, so to speak. So, basically, fragrant flowers I like the look of, love the scent of. And I LOVE the look of 'Guacamole' 'Stained Glass', 'Cathedral Windows' and many other fragrant types. I loved 'Guacamole' the second I first saw it, and later learned it was fragrant. Other hosta flowers, some are nice, most I don't admire. Hosta FOLIAGE? Second to none. Just one opinion.

Don B.

Your plants are looking great Jo! I am in pretty much the same zone as you and many of my plants are still up and going strong too. Then there's some like Gypsy Rose that just quickly died down. I am kind of ready for them all to go to sleep now---well, except that I would like to get some nice fall photos.

I notice you have Robert Frost. I saw an awesome mature specimen this summer, and now it is on my wish list. Even though yours is still young, it looks very attractive.

Love that fuchsia color!

Your Mukdenia is stunning! And I thought the attraction was its red edged leaves, wow, what color! I want one...

Those plants look amazingly good considering the lateness of the season.

I am in ON also but a bit more northerly. There was frost in early September which really started the fall process for my hostas. They are now all in their final stages of winter prep and wouldn't you know it ... there are flurries in the longer range weather forecast for 10 days away.

Here's a close-up of flowers of Ginsu Knife which are fragrant (yepper, DON they emit scent although mildly so) even in cooler weather such as today, but the sun is shining and it's a beautiful fall day! More so when there are fragrant hosta flowers to enjoy mid-October.

NHL...Robert Frost got picked up at a 40% sale weeks ago. I'm excited about its potential and glad you like it too. The fuchsia is still loaded with buds and the colours are so crisp...not a yellow leaf on the entire plant...amazing how long it has lasted. I noticed days ago a second flush of bloom on my magenta coloured centaurea! Love the seasons, don't you?

Unbiddenn - it is a stunner, isn't it? Yes, this is the one that is supposed to have red tipped leaves, but the entire leaf changes and that makes it more dramatic. Last year it just quietly went to sleep without the fall colour...it was new then. My solid green one (and quite mature) is done in, no leaves remaining. The plant emerges in the spring with these short flower stalks covered with tiny white clustered flowers...sort of similar to tiarella flowers but clustered in habit, then the leaves follow. I love it. Let me know when you get one!

Dougald...I don't envy you the early snow as we get enough of it, don't we? I just wish it wouldn't rain so much (more forecasted). It's been only in the last week or so that the hosta have really gone downhill, with the exception of the ones I've posted. Part of me wishes it wouldn't rain any more till snow comes...I have many potted hosta who have been constantly quite moist...ideally I would like them a bit more dry before the freeze.

Thank you for looking and for your kind comments. :-)

That scape still has a little ways to go, Jo. Nice! Are the flowers approximately 'Guacamole' sized? Never seen 'Ginsu Knife' in real life, as far as I can remember...I'm sure I woulda remembered... : )

Thanks,
Don B.

did someone mention 'Fragrant Blue?

seriously enjoyin this thread,

hh

Oh my, I'm soooo glad you popped in with that, Hh!!! Glad you are enjoying.......Downright gorgeous! You take great pics! About two hrs. ago I realized I forgot to prompt others to post pics...sorry, but you read my mind anyway...got any more?

Good question, Don....I'm stumped though as to the size of G's flowers...lemme check my pics...brback......talk amongst yourselves while I'm checking......here it is, with a busy bee working away in a flower!

Just to avoid confusion....It looks like the flower belongs to the yellow sport of FW, but if you look at the bottom right hand corner, you'll see Guacamole's leaf...GUac was hiding behind. They sort of look the same size?

I've grown fonder of GK as the season progressed. It tripled its leaf count easily and it's always exciting to see new flushes of leaves throughout the summer. The leaves are looong, wavy and serrated. The gold colour of the margins hold up very well too. A very, very nice hosta - I'm so pleased with it. The biggest bonus is the late blooms it produces....when most of the garden is looking spent, you can rely on late blooming hosta to rejuvenate it!

I tried to get in really close for the flowers but the lighting was poor in the backyard and overcast. The sun actually came out later :-).

Don, I basically feel the same as you about hosta....totally crazy about the foliage....but the fragrant flowers have elevated hosta to super stardom in my book. It's been an exciting summer for me...sniffing at flowers like a bloodhound...but if I hadn't, I would have missed out on a wonderful experience....not to mention finding scent on a couple of non-fragrant hosta.

BTW Don, your hosta bed along the fence is looking incredible....I was drooling over it....I felt peace gazing at it and kept going back to it, looking at each plant....it's great viewing with a tablet as you can expand the picture with your fingers to get close-ups. :-)

Thanks, Jo. I think this bed on the Southeast side of my backyard will look really good, given a few more seasons. I'm actually really excited to simply see it next spring! I was looking around for more fence pics, and am surprised at how many I found. A lot of 'em were coming out pretty blurry, etc. so I trashed a bunch. Looks like I kept quite a few, too.

Thanks for looking,
Don B.

If that is a Guardian Angel, who is to the left of it?...also gorgeous..

hillbilly fence

HH...you've been blessed with enough creativity for 3 people! That is a great fence...was this done on the ground in sections, then put up??

And your garden still looks lush and green...lamium here stays green under the snow...I see you've got an abundance of it too. :-). It's a lovely under planting.

I've been chased in by rain :-(. Tackled the division of Frances Williams today who will likely be the last to go dormant. Found lots of roots under my pots...I expect good growth in the spring. :-)

It will be interesting to see who will be the last hosta standing. My money is on my FW.

Jo -

my wife is the creative one, I can't draw a stickman with an Etch A Sketch, and yes it was built in sections and then put up - nearby tree was shedding bark so we decided to repurpose

it SLEETED on me when i was taking that pic earlier this afternoon

Jo, that's 'Spartacus' just to the left of 'Guardian Angel'.

Don B.

Jo, after all this time of being aware of this variety, and I just now learned that 'Peter The Rock' is a fragrant hosta (According to Glenbrook Farm website) I've always liked it's look, (If ya like greenies) it's on my list for next spring, now I REALLY gotta have it. Bonus- It's cheap, too.

Unless it's an error by Glenbrook Farms, but after seeing it's big, big flowers, I'm doubtful they're mistaken.

Just an FYI for other fragrant enthusiasts (Jo, Mocc, et all...Actually, I wouldn't bet against Mocc already being aware of this info) : )

Regards,
Don B.

I was right! I've drooled over enough pics (I think many of them yours, Don) that I thought it was Spartacus beside your GA. Spartacus is definitely in the top ten of my list for next year. You guys are accountable for this (and loving it!!)

Gardens1...I just checked my want list to see if Spartacus was on it - yes, it was.....a short list which somehow has grown to...I stopped counting when I got to 18!! Lol. Good luck with your willpower!

Don, I'll google the latest "carrot" that you "dangled" in front of me...talk about subtle....lol lol

Jo
P.S. Where in Ont. are you Gardens1?

'Peter The Rock' is a handsome greenie, Don. I found a pic of the flowers which are pretty...they flare out a bit....uh ohh, another one for your list or a must get, hmmmm? lol

Pic disappeared...will try again.

This post was edited by josephines67 on Sat, Oct 19, 13 at 23:05

Nice pic, Jo. The closest description of heritage I can find is 'sieboldiana hybrid'...The second picture in the hosta library made me think of a H. plantaginea the first time I spied it. I'm no expert, but to me it strongly resembles Mama p.....That's a very interesting mix; I want a piece of 'The Rock'! : )

Don B.

Oct. 20/13. More excitement from the garden. I split FW yesterday so today I decided to take a pic and generally admire my various hosta as the days are numbered now.

I took a leaf shot of the largest leaf on her and it comes in at 13 1/2" long by 11 1/2" wide!!!!! Out-sizing Sagae by 2" in length and 1" in width. To me that is outstanding.....and I thought my KRegal was large!

How many of you have actually measured a large leaf?

This post was edited by josephines67 on Sun, Oct 20, 13 at 14:18

Jo, I'm in Grey county, about 45 min s of Owen Sound. Whereabouts are you?
As for measuring leaves, I haven't yet, as my largest hosta currently is Elegans, which I got just 2yrs ago. It is a good size for how long I've had it, but in an estimation earlier in year, I figured the leaves were only about 8x10. I am looking forward to having some mature hostas with large leaves, as I would like to make a few stepping stones using the leaves as forms for the concrete. I've seen it done, and the effect is unique, to say the least.

this small corner of the garden still plenty green today, but freezing nights predicted for later this week

hh

here is another thing to do with hosta leaves and cement

hh

I'm in Simcoe County, as in Barrie. We are fairly close in proximity! :-)

I know exactly what you mean by the hosta leaf cement stepping pads...saw it on uTube awhile back...lots of ceramics out of leaves similar to Hostahillbilly's...btw HH....nice dish, but yummy peaches or is it pears? Busy, busy at your house and as always, seeing your gardens is like the yellow brick road in hosta land...there is no end to the space you've got to garden in. Always lovely pics too.

pears those are, I'm up to almost 500 jars of canned stuff so far this year with a few bushels more apples yet on the porch. That we could have peaches here in zone 4 at 1680' AMSL, a fellow can dream...

2 of the last 4 years were zero fruit years, so I've become more of a hoarder, but also doing a lot of sharing.

We do a lot of wild woods wandering, and this year found 2 new wonders - wild plums & wild Quince, the former excellent jam material, the latter also, but although historically significant, not properly appreciated these days, it seems.

I suspect Quince is an 'acquired taste' like Talisker...

To pique yor interest, Quince is in the same family as apples and pears, but the fragrance alone will cause you to pause

supposed used in 'ye olde' castle dingy mouldy dank rooms as we would today place a sachet of fragrances to mask funky smells where they are common

Aw, I went off on a tangent yet again, but my point is that the flavour and scent of Quince is something that should be experienced, even should ond decide to not like it.

/rant off

hh

Very nice, Jo.......always enjoy looking at yours.....Wolverine is becoming a favorite of mine and yours looks great.!!

So nice of you to say, MBug.....I appreciate it. :-)

....when I first got the 2 hosta books by Grenfell and Shadrack (text and pocketbook) I paused extra long at Wolverine. After I acquired it in 2011 from a grower with a home business in Paris, ONtario, I kept looking for the exact colour of the leaves as was displayed in the photo.

It seemed elusive, until this year when the thread on hosta leaves appeared. I took a close up of it and when I viewed it right after, I went "bingo!!!" There it was, the same colour as in the book! It has not grown in the ground for very long and has been in a pot since last year. I will eventually plant it in the ground after the move. It is one of a kind in my garden for its narrower, arching then draping, very smooth leaves.

HHillbilly...I love the quince shrub and knew that jellies and jams were made out of "fruit" of the shrub. My oldest daughter has a huge shrub in her yard and each spring I look forward to seeing it full of flowers. I have not, yet, tried the jam, but if I ever run across it! I will try it! just because you have suggested it! :-). I love trying out new things, no matter the subject. Rant away at your whim, lol...there is always something interesting to hear and learn as far as I am concerned.

Love the free flowing tone of this thread, All and am pleased you are caught up in the spirit of what moves you.

Oops, gotta go, granddaughter here to see Gramma, :-)

Jo

Peter The Rock.....new one to me, GuacDon. Just where can one find it to buy? So far it is not on Don Rawson's Fragrant-Flowered Hosta list. How about letting him know of the particulars so it will be in line for the next list updates?
I'm putting it on my WANT list.

Incidentally, I got Machete from Casita Azul last week. The three hosta came in 4" pots with their leaves lopped off, so I know where the crowns are in the pots. I lightly watered them and have them in a fairly cool location pending actual dormancy in zone 9a.

It is my observation that we are not all that far behind everyone else with this dormancy event.....my garden was weathered looking from the heat, enjoyed only one rain event in at least 6 weeks, and maybe today we get some misting rain. Whatever--it was in the low 50s yesterday morning and even my Teahouse interior was 67 at breakfast time. I look forward to migrating my major pots to the shady Hosta Winter Sanctuary where they'll be covered by hardware cloth as a squirrel deterrent and then tipped to shed rain.
Babka in California has a dry winter mostly, but we have a wet one. I am trying to figure how to make the area look nice even with tipped pots and pieces of hardware cloth and the continued brown leaves falling over it all. At least it is behind my Teahouse which screens the view from our back deck.

Like everyone else, I cannot wait for things to pop up in the spring, even before they've gone dormant this winter. :)

Here is a prolific producer of new fragrant varieties, herself, Fragrant Bouquet, on 10-10-13

Hi, Mocc! Nice 'Fragrant Bouquet' ya got there. Glenbrook Farms is the only place I know of that has 'Peter The Rock'. I've never bought from there, but have heard good things about this place. They want a whopping 10 bucks for it. : )

Don B.

EDIT: P.S. Wade And Gatton has it listed as well. Not listed as a fragrant there, either. Hm.

This post was edited by Don_in_Colorado on Tue, Oct 22, 13 at 0:08

Let's hope that Glenbrook has enough to cover demand for Peter The Rock next spring. OOOOhhhh, I see you say WadeGatton has it! Well, I'll ask Mr. Van Wade when I call in my order for non-dig hosta.

I have a strategy for orders I place with him. The ladies say he does all the digging, so I try to limit the ones to be dug to a single order. The others (unless they have a "D" in the DIG column, they are in pots ready to sell) I can order straight up. But if I get himself on the phone, I always ask my questions while I have an opportunity to pick his brains a bit.....like this time, I'll ask if Peter The Rock is actually fragrant or no. If he says it has OP in its history, then it is a possibility.

I'm also paying more attention to the list on Plant Delights of those hosta which emerge early, because Tony Avent says that those are the species or varieties or cultivars which have LOW DORMANCY REQUIREMENTS. And that is the magic feature for hosta which can thrive (not simply survive) here in the deeper south.

I know that the temps in Iowa and even the upper midwest can get higher than what we have. I know they can also have very high humidity. So it is all about the length of the growing season and the intensity of the cold or lack thereof, that figures into what happens here to hosta. Maybe I can meet my hosta halfway, giving them a lot of what they need but falling short on the dependable coldness they prefer for dormancy. Maybe this winter, I can figure out how to do it reliably--because for sure I must be willing to bridge the divide and make them as comfortable as I can.

As I've stated before, if any plant can adapt to a changing warming environment, I think it is hosta. They already know how to go dormant--both cold dormant and heat dormant. So what else do they need to learn? Maybe WE need to learn how to work the HEAT DORMANT capabilities to make hosta more common in deep south gardens. Actually, I'm discovering a lot of folks do grow them, but not with the passion that they deserve....at least, my neighbors have one or two pretty plants which they could not resist, having picked them up from a big box store. In fact, my garden fascinates two of my neighbors, little ladies who walk together every morning, and I sometimes see them at my back fence, pointing to various hosta and exclaiming. They are my local garden buddies, And next spring when all is lovely with new fresh leaves and tender new pips, they will be invited to a champagne brunch in the middle of the garden. I look forward to my first tour--besides my DH, of course. I'm planning it now. Hopefully, my remodel jobby will be completed by then. I find it hard to believe that 2014 will be my third year of hosta addiction.

While it is great to garden for just my own pleasure, I understand and sympathize when Phil pines to share his hillside with others who appreciate the beauty of his beloved hosta.

Mocc, great to see you poke your head out from the remodelling for a few mins.! :-)

Oct. 22/13...London Fog is sporting! Upon checking on progression pics, it would appear L F started displaying variegated margins on some leaves back on week of Aug. 3rd. This update shows several on this streaker.

I checked online....mine looks like 'London Tower', a recognized sport of LF. Well, What do you know! I now have 94 without spending a dime for the new addition :-).

BTW....just in case anyone is wondering about the ratty streaker LF....this is it in its spring glory.

...and early summer.

I goofed up...the correct name of sport should read 'Tower of London'.

May I introduce my London Fog here? Latest shot on my computer. Seems I cannot make it all the way around my garden on one day any more. I guess I need to pull my little wagon behind me to sit down for a better view than straight overhead all the time. My knees, you know.....they don't like to work so good anymore. :)

When I saw your Tower of London, I mused about it not looking like my London Fog. Mine sort of reminds me in color only of Spilt Milk, which I've only seen in pictures.

Here is London Fog in September.

Here in zone 5 on Oct.23 2013 not many hostas are still standing, but we did not have a killing frost yet. Due to the relatively warm weather, my white Bugbane, or Black Cohosh ( Cimicifuga racemosa), is able to bloom fully. The reddish form 'Brunette' had finished blooming weeks ago. Bernd

Berndy, My Cimicifuga (now genus Actaea) racemosa bloomed months ago. I also have A simplex which blooms this time of year if not killed by frost. The flowers look the same however racemosa is 6' to 8' tall whereas simplex is only about 3' in height.

John, my plants seem to wait to bloom until it is close to freezing, is somehow nerve wracking to me. When we had first frosts in September they bloomed just before, now they bloom with first 25 dgrs next Monday night. Sometimes their blooming schedule got frozen out I think, and I remeber reading about that somewhere.
'Brunette' is freely spreading its seeds and looks great when blooming, and was finished weeks ago, also leaves all dried up.
Bernd