New beginnings are wonderful, whether it is a new career, a new town, or a new garden to build. Clean slates are so inspiring.

Well, you know a lot of the plants you like, and probably what will grow nicely in that far north location. My experience is limited to hosta growing in zone 9a Mobile Alabama. About as far from Fargo as you can go!

But there are some which I believe will do very well anywhere.
The ones which come to my mind are the rugose ones, thick leaves, very durable.
Clear Fork River Valley
Black Hills (yeah, you must get it)
Johnny Angel (a gold)
Stiff Upper Lip (Stuart Asch heavy duty tough hosta)
Sea Gulf Stream (a gold)
Doubled Up (a fragrant with huge flowers)
Manhattan (an Olga greenie)
Lakeside Full Tide
Squash Casserole (made for the south, loves being in the sun)

That's all I have time to list right now, but there are many more. You might be interested in the Hosta Alphabet which is up to the letter "C" now, and will go on through "Z" plus the minis and the streakers and such, one letter or category per day. Everybody is sharing hosta photos of their pride and joy plants. See what strikes your fancy.

Welcome to the forum. Always room for another gardener.

NOTE" Edited to add:
High Tide
Fair Maiden
Purple Passion
Verna Jean
The Razor's Edge
Harpoon
Sugarbabe (a reblooming fragrant smallish)
Gosan Sunproof

This post was edited by moccasinlanding on Tue, Dec 30, 14 at 10:44

i was in fargo once... wait.. that was a movie ... lol ...

you said: I have decided to scale back this time

==>> can i say.. yeah.. sure ... and i have a shiny penny i will bet against that ... lol ...

did you happen to be at the ann arbor conv in 99 ... or lansing in 09????

the kooks in this forum.. are running thru the alphabet posts here in the dead of winter ... which i think you know all about in fargo [though i cant tell if that is the house you built and left.. or built to live in] ...

take some time to peruse each.. and make lists ...

and that shiny nickle [inflation and all] .... says it will be over 350.. soon enough .. lol ...

good luck

and have fun ..

ken

ps: do you have a driveway ...????

Lakeside Shore Master, a must. and Beckoning. I would get these.

I do not like being called a kook.

Not sure any Hosta garden would be complete without Liberty.

Welcome to the forum, Hostasrgreat!

Hi, Hostasrgreat, and welcome...

I'll try to avoid ones I know get really large, but it will be difficult...Ones that come to mind right now are

FRAGRANT BLUE
BLUE MOUSE EARS
LUNA MOTH
DEJA BLU
LAKESIDE KALEIDOSCOPE
LAKESIDE COAL MINER
JUNE
DARK STAR
FAIR MAIDEN
SILVER BAY
PRAIRIE SKY
SO SWEET
FOREST SHADOWS
STAINED GLASS (gorgeous, can get pretty large, though)
PARKY'S PRIZE
MISTER WATSON
REPTILIAN
CAMEO
BABY BUNTING and
ALLEGAN FOG to name a few.

Have fun choosing the new ones.

Cheers,
Don B.

I got a kick out of the American Revolution series and have all (or most) of them (I think):

Patriot
Minuteman
Liberty
Revolution
Independence

Other favorites are:

Queen of the Seas
Touch of Class
Dream Weaver

Gold Standard has been a consistent performer in my part sun garden since 2010.

Aha! I knew Don would include Fair Maiden. It was his plant which led to my falling for it.

And he is right, Luna Moth is consistently good looking ALL season. Fragrant Blue is another one, not so much for fragrance, but for the blue which stays blue green even in our wax-melting southern heat and humidity. I won't post pictures of anything now, just look for them in the Hosta Alphabet posts.

If you have a chunk of change to spend before spring, going to put all 350 hosta in the ground THIS YEAR, then the alphabet should be a great help to you. I did not intend to amass so many hostas myself. First year, in 2012, I blew right through #200 and never looked back. Thing is, I was so busy looking for problems with each plant, that it wasn't until that winter when my photos were in slide show mode, that I actually saw how beautiful they had been emerging, leafing out, blooming, and even coloring up before dormancy. Since then, I've tried not to miss looking at them for enjoyment every day.

I've got a sixth sense about this.

To ken's shiny penny I'll add a shiny nickel.

The sixth cent(s).

Elegans gets better every year, but STAY AWAY from Guacamole (don, are you okay?)

dave

Yes, Guacamole is a lovely plant! (See how lovely it is in the pic I provided?) It'll also maybe get too big for what Hostasrgreat is asking for. So will Elegans. Additionally, after it gets about 80 degrees in the garden, around June all the blue wax melts off of the leaves of Elegans, leaving the leaves their true dirty brown color for the rest of the growing season. I'd stay away from that one. Plus, Elegans can grow to 10-12 feet wide, much too large for what you're looking for.

Don B.

This post was edited by Don_in_Colorado on Wed, Dec 31, 14 at 3:17

In 2012 there was a poll taken here and at the link are the top 100 hosta we voted in.

tj

Here is a link that might be useful: Paul's Poll

My favorite hosta is So Sweet. It's considered a small. It's old and has been around since Kevin Vaughn was a youngster. It comes up early and stays late. It has beautiful, large fragrant flowers. With your shorter growing season, it should be beautiful the whole season (it gets kind of scraggly after 7 or 8 months of summer). I think you would enjoy it.

bk

Fargo, oh deer, and I mean deer. The fragrant hosta are a favorite, but they eat them all. If the hosta is tough, they won't eat it all, but you may be familiar with this from previous hosta experience.

My favorite small would be Curly Fries.

A good yellow, even in shade, is Tickle Me Pink.

The best blue is still Fragrant Blue, although I'm sure Don Dean has a blue that rival's it.

For small/ medium greens, of which I have several, I don't know if I would call them "must haves", but Tongue Twister and Candy Kisses have done well for me and look nice. They still don't rival the performance of Royal Standard, Elegans, Komodo Dragon and some of the other big greens.

I have only about 100 named cultivars. I have to give away some every year to keep it down as I like new ones. But, it can be done.

Bev, the Tickle Me Pink is a hybrid of Squash Casserole. All the sports of Squash Casserole are excellent performers in sun with adequate water in the hot days.

I tried Tickle Me Pink and kept losing it--meaning I cannot find the pot nor the label, but I am trying AGAIN this spring. Hopefully in 2015 I'll find all THREE of them doing fine and probably gravitating to the same location in my garden.

It takes something with some size to it (mediums are great) to keep from losing things. And to stand the extreme climate (for hosta gardening) means some good substance is a requirement.

I absolutely love Rainbow's End, Remember Me, Paradise Island, Grand Prize, Little Treasure (a mini), Sparkler (a mini), and Gypsy Rose. Just looking at them in the summer gives me a little thrill over their beauty.

BTW Fargo is zone 4a, I am zone 4b (twin cities, MN). I have a problem in the spring with early risers. They suffer from late spring freezes and the rabbits eat them because they are the only bright green around the garden. You might want to consider this in choosing your best 100 for your area. Although I still have my PUC, and won't give it up.

Here is a link that might be useful: Early Emergin Hosta List, Don Rawson

Bev, that is a wise caution to place in this thread. In most spring seasons, I'd say early emerging would be FINE here in my zone. However, it was 2013 that I had two of the fragrants on Don's list referenced above, that were affected by even OUR late cold spell, and I wound up destroying them, never having seen the effects of freeze on my hosta. This year, I knew better, just waited for new leaves to come back pretty. Also, we have no deer problem eating fresh greens. Our problem is squirrels burying pecans in pots.

I apologize for not pointing out my zonal difference. I always read the sender info if provided, and assume others do the same. Seasoned gardeners know the cultural difference is a significant factor in plant choice.

Hi Hostasrgreat. You have a fun project ahead of you. Why not add something new to the mix like Raucous Ruffles a medium size, sun tolerant hosta. Description copy from Naylor Creek:

" This distinctive blue-green plant roars âÂÂlook my wayâ with its deeply rolling ruffles, puckered texture and folded leaves that expose their white undersides. Struts its best stuff when planted in a half day or more sun in the north, adjust further south. Rough and tough substance makes for a perfect contrast to the softer appearing smooth leafed plants. Midseason brings strong scapes with lavender flowers."

This is my year one plant:

{{gwi:2129940}}

DD

Bev, everyone has trouble with early risers. You're in 4b. I'm in 8a. I have to cover some of mine or move them into the shed most every spring.

You have a choice. You can have the early risers or not. I have many on Don's list and some others that are early risers (Key West comes to mind) that are not on the list. I choose to deal with early risers, as I would lose almost all the nice fragrants if I choose not to have them.

I guess I'm saying early riser would not be on my list of disqualifiers.

bk

This post was edited by bkay2000 on Thu, Jan 1, 15 at 17:07

Moc, I think the OP can check your zone, no worries. I was just trying to indicate another perspective for choosing your must have hosta.

Bkay, I never said "disqualifier," I said "consideration" and noted that I had PUC despite the fact that it is on the list. I know some people run out and put pots over their early risers during late freezes, one just has to decide if its worth it for that particular plant, or is there another that would fit the bill without the extra maintenance. In zone 4 you have more options than zone 8. There are also several fragrant hosta that aren't so early as compared to others. Remember the OP wants to top out at only 100 or so hosta.

(Edited because my spelling is terrible.)

This post was edited by BeverlyMN on Thu, Jan 1, 15 at 19:03

Awakening Angel is a medium blue with spear shaped leaves and a beautiful layered form. It's grown well for me and that's saying something because I have alkaline leaning soil.

Autumn Frost is another medium which has a bluish center with wide yellow margins that lighten up towards the end of the season. This one looks good from a newly planted young one all the way through to maturity.

Allegan Fog took overall best in my garden this year with lots of points for vigor and beauty. I highly recommend it.

Kathy

This post was edited by zkathy on Sun, Jan 4, 15 at 8:42

Hi, hostasrgreat,

I am your neighbor to the north. I'm in Grand Forks, Welcome to North Dakota!!!

I am not nearly as experienced or as knowledgeable as the others on this forum, but want to say that basically every hosta I have tried has done very well here. They seem to like the cold winters and wonderful summers. As for deer - yes they and rabbits (and slugs and ground squirrels and ...) can be a problem. I start spraying my hosta as soon as they start emerging with Invisible Fence and do not have a problem. Once the plants are grown up a bit, the critters are no longer interested.

Hope you enjoy North Dakota!

well.. the first thing we need to do.. is train Mr great to come back and join the conversation he started...

i bet he missed the box to check off.. to send email to his inbox ...

ken

I wrote and posted my request and then promptly left with my wife for vacation in South Florida. Well, I'm back just in time for some of the coldest air of the North Dakota winter (so far).

I will catch up on the threads and properly reply.

Thank you in advance for all of the excellent suggestions. I have also started to read the 'suggestion by letter of the alphabet' threads.

Tom

I love Guacamole! It was the first special hosta I bought, at a time when spending $15 on a plant was a real stretch. I have divided it several times and it makes me happy, love that color!