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Retail Therapy

Last week I made an order to be sent in the spring, from Fransen in the Netherlands, these are from their clearance list. They are making way for newer varieties and when they are gone they are gone so I had to didn't I ?

These are what I ordered:

Birchwood Parky's Gold
Blue Chiffon
Bressingham Blue
Fried Green Tomatoes
Glitter
Hirao Majesty
Honeybells
Julie Morss
Lancifolia
Yellow Splash Rim

Some of these are as common as muck over your side of the pond but not here, so I have to buy them to see them in person and you can't just have the fancy schmancy ones can you?

Now that I have justified the purchase to myself lol! do any of you have any pics of these to share?

Denis

Comments (18)

  • josephines167 z5 ON Canada
    9 years ago

    Oh boy, you did good!!! And you are right, lots of us have some fancy-schmancy ones but the oldies are gems too!

    Here's what I have from your list: Lancifolia! I suppose I have Honeybells too, but it was bagged as an assortment of four, so it's not identified for certain yet...I am waiting till next year and let it grow for another season.

    But Lancifolia is the Hosta that got me hooked on hostas, back in 1980. I use this picture as my backdrop/desktop/wallpaper.

    Your list is terrific - they are all VERY NICE hostas and of course, you HAD to!

    I scored on a few clearance items ($5 each) this past spring as well. Good sales are hard to pass by, aren't they?

    Lancifolia

  • don_in_colorado
    9 years ago

    Looks like a good order, Denis. They may be 'common as muck' in the states, but a good hosta is a good hosta, and you should have several in there, at least. I have Fried Green Tomatoes from your list. It's a green 'Guacamole', grows well, with strongly-fragrant blooms.

    Bressingham Blue will be a big, big beauty, if you like large blues (and I know you do : )

    I hadn't heard of Glitter, but the pics of it in the HL look quite nice. I'd buy that for sure, based on those pics.

    Don B.

    This post was edited by Don_in_Colorado on Sat, Nov 22, 14 at 20:49

  • DelawareDonna
    9 years ago

    Hey Denis - If they are great performers, that's what counts! I love Fransen's website because they have multiple photos of each hosta. I have Fried Bananas (my first hosta purchase) - the closest to Fried Green Tomatoes.

    Jo - That lancifolia is to die for!!

    DD

  • josephines167 z5 ON Canada
    9 years ago

    Thanks, DD! Not bad for an old gal, huh? The HOSTA, I mean, lol!
    The Fried Bananas triplets are perfection! Just love the various shades of luscious green.

  • mountainy man z8 Ireland
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Jo, thanks for the pic, Lancifolia looks like a nice tight clump, I like that. A good one to get you hooked. I bought a bag of hosta last year and I have no idea what they are, helpfully labeled "hosta mix" .
    I love a bargain I do!

    Don, The best thing is I'm picking up these oldies at 1.50-2.50 euros its great. I guessed you might have FGT lol, I picked up a second Guacamole this year in a local garden centre so its in quarantine.

    Ya, I do have a bit of a "thing" for the blues, I hadn't heard of Blue Chiffon but it comes from Pauline Banyai so must be ok. Glitter seems to be a nice big interesting greenie, gonna be fun seeing how they all progress.

    Only downside in buying so many plants in a short time is the cost of the markers lol.

    Donna, the colour of your fried bananas is beautiful, I really like the grouping of the three, thanks
    Denis

    This post was edited by mountainy_man on Sat, Nov 22, 14 at 23:06

  • don_in_colorado
    9 years ago

    When I first got into hostas, I didn't much care for blue ones. I'd only seen a few, only in photographs. Then I went to the botanical gardens and saw some mature Elegans, Tokudamas, Blue Angels and some others, I was like "OK, I was quite wrong, I DO like the blue ones." : )

    Don B.

    P.S. Dang straight, those prices are very friendly!

    This post was edited by Don_in_Colorado on Sun, Nov 23, 14 at 3:09

  • stoc zone 6 sweden
    9 years ago

    Nice shop Dennis,but I am not going to do what I did last time you posted your bargains from Fransens--I have very little room left.So I am not going to look at the clearance list..........ha ha

    James

  • stoc zone 6 sweden
    9 years ago

    I just saw Midwest magic for 2 euros--this one grew beautifully for me and I really like the colors.Maybe there is room in the box?

  • mountainy man z8 Ireland
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Don, the blues just have something special, they look like nothing else and I want them all lol. I don't have a tokudama yet so.........

    James, lol. Temptation got the better of you, there is always room for a few more. some nice ones on the list and cheap!

    Denis

  • bkay2000
    9 years ago

    Birchwood Parky's Gold with a little early cold burn. It was a bonus plant in an order about four years ago. It's turned into a really nice hosta.

    bk

  • mountainy man z8 Ireland
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks Bkay, beautiful soft and fresh colour, wondering, would you have bought it anyway if it hadn't been a bonus plant?

    Denis

  • don_in_colorado
    9 years ago

    Love that color.

    Don B.

  • josephines167 z5 ON Canada
    9 years ago

    You know, I just might need BPG too! I love that soft and fresh colour Denis described....just like them Bananas triplets! ....and what a good leading question.! Eager to hear Bk's answer...

    Jo

  • bkay2000
    9 years ago

    Actually, I'd never heard of Birchwood Parky's Gold. Now I realize I have a classic. At the time, I figured it was one the grower had too many of. I just planted it and went on down the road.

    I'm really impressed with it. Not every hosta does well in Texas. This one has done very well. It has nice blooms that complement the color of the leaves and rarely looks ugly. Last spring, it got a little frost burn, but looked great in spite of it.

    I'd recommend this Florence Shaw hosta to everyone.

    bk

  • mountainy man z8 Ireland
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Bk, that's a glowing review and if it does well in your challenging climate it should do well anywhere I hope.

    I have only recieved two bonus hostas as yet, one was supposed to be Jewel of the Nile but when it came up this year it was already Dee's golden jewel and the other was a seedling of a cross between S&S and Domaine du Courson of which I'm not sure what to expect.

    I like the idea of having these classic hostas by the pioneers of hosta breeding, like a little bit of plant history in my garden. Florence Shaw sure was a brilliant hybridiser.

    Denis

  • mctavish6
    9 years ago

    Hi Denis,

    You got some great plants there. Location seem to matter with a couple of them. Here is what I've learned.

    Julie Morss is beautiful in the spring. It is one that wants to go darker as the summer progresses. There are exceptions and you being in zone 8 might be more successful avoiding that than I have. Below is a picture of my Julie Morss in spring and late summer. There is also a picture of Julie Morss that belongs to my sister outside of Seattle. Her zone is more similar to yours. Her plant doesn't change. She has it in light but not direct sun. It doesn't get that hot in the Pacific North West so that matters too.

    The next one which has become one of my favorites is Honeybells. It was one of my first hostas and I didn't like it for years. Eventually I moved it to a place that it can 'flow' at the top of an incline. It looks much better here with quite a bit of sun on and off through the day.

    Fried Green Tomatoes probably doesn't care where it is but will be darker with more shade

    I'm really glad you got Hirao Majesty. It's an all time favorite of mine and I've posted many pictures of it on the Forum. Shiny, dark green, huge and with some of the nicest flowers you'll see. Someone told me the flowers reminded them of a bird beak poking out when they first start. They do. I have this one in pretty much complete shade (after leaves fill in on the walnut tree). It is kind of floppy so wind might be bad for this plant.

  • mountainy man z8 Ireland
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    mctavish, thanks for your reply, its very interesting the difference between yours and your sister's Julie Morss late in the season. I would say that our climate is fairly similar to the Pacific north west so we will see if thats the key to the variegation lasting.

    I didn't realise that Honeybells got quite that large, I'm looking forward to that. Your beautiful Fried Green Tomatoes looks so valuptuous and that isn't a word I would use about a plant usually lol.

    Hirao Majesty's flowers are very special, when I saw the pics of them on the library I had to have it, the last one there looks kinda like a rhododendron bud opening, no wonder its your favorite. Good advise about the wind which is generally omnipresent here in varying degrees, I will find a nice sheltered spot for it.

    You have a beautiful garden and would love to have a wander about in it, you have quite a collection going on there.

    Thanks

    Denis

  • don_in_colorado
    9 years ago

    McT, your garden looks amazing. Probably the best Fried Green Tomatoes I've seen.

    Don B.