A better list for collectors is the Benedict Medal winners and the Awards of Merit. These are awarded by Hosta gardeners like you and me who are trained as judges. They grow the plants and visit gardens to judge the performance of them in real gardens not in nurseries. These awards are supposed to be given to the "best of the best" Hostas that "perform well in all areas of the country."

The first three winners of the Benedict Medal were Sagae, June and Blue Mouse Ears. All were shown in the HOTY posts. So lets look at those that have been given Awards of Merit. It is from these AOM plants that the next Benedict Medalist will be chosen.

In 2011 only 4 Hostas were given the AOM. The first was Satisfaction, a sport of Piedmont Gold introduced by Chuck Wasitis of Bridgewood Gardens. Let's see your pictures of this highly garden worthy plant.

Here's mine before it got trashed for having nematodes.

Here's a bigger one from one of the convention gardens.

Steve

Here's how it works with the Benedict Medal. A Hosta has to be selected three times in order to be chosen for the medal. In the first year 15 Hostas were selected as Honorable Mention.

The next year 10 Hosta were given the Award of Merit (sort of like a silver medal) and those had to be selected from the HM category. In this year 17 more plants were added to the HM category.

In the third year (2009) the first Benedict Medal was given to June. The winner had to come from those plants that had already received first HM, then the AOM. More plants were added to the AOM and HM categories.

Each year more plants are added as HM or AOM plants, but only one of those is chosen as the Benedict Medal winner. It is the most prestigious award a plant can be given. Similar to the Stout medal in daylilies.

It's not simple, but that's because it is difficult for a plant to win the medal. It takes at least 3 years and probably longer for a plant to win.

That's probably as clear as mud. :)

Steve

That explanation makes a lot of sense. The winner has to be the best of the very best. For me it's like a dog winning Best in Show; she's got to take Best of Breed and Best of Group first.

Love that photo of the mature Satisfaction, one more to put on the want list.

bkay

Later I bought another Satisfaction so I could compare the two. Of course, the NOID version was a 2010 garden addition, and is thus 2 years more mature than the second doppelganger.
I still admire the way this hosta looked in February and in March, and then bloomed with pale lavender scapes in April. A very strong hosta. We'll see how it performs next spring.

Also, I got Piedmont Gold this summer.