There are so many to choose from! Try searching this thread for "favorite hostas," "top ten," etc, then look for the mediums. You might also go to the websites of any of the forum's favorite vendors, since they usually allow you to browse by size. A few such websites (google them for the exact addresses): Hallson, Naylor, Land of the Giants, Green Mountain. Select their medium or small category (depending on how many you want to plant and how big the tree trunk is), and see what catches your eye. I will warn you, though...it was on just such a project that I first poked my nose in the Hosta forum 18 months ago, and now I'm pushing 100 hostas! It is addicting. For what it's worth, here are the first mediums that come to my mind as personal favorites: I love Deep Blue Sea (highly textured blue with nice thick leaves) and Touch of Class (stunning variegation, also good sturdy leaves), El Nino (blue/white), and Candy Dish (beautiful solid green with a piecrust edge).

This one is problematic. I've been told that Tiny Tears is really a selection from venusta rather than a hybrid. It may also be venusta x venusta, and since this is a species plant, the offspring should all be venusta, but as anyone knows who has self crossed a hosta species several times, there is sometimes a little bit of variation in the offspring. Ventricosa is a classic example of this--it comes true from seed, but there are a number of ventricosa selections that have been named and registered, and there are very slight differences in these plants. Now here's the real kicker on this one--there are supposedly somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 or 30 "different" venusta forms. In fact, there are people who collect the various venustas. The differences are fairly subtle, but one of the main variations is in size--some venusta is very small, less than 3 inches, and some gets up to 4-6 inches. All are solid green with somewhat heart shaped leaves, and most have a bit of waviness to the leaf. Complicating this issue is the fact that under different conditions, many hostas will grow slightly differently. Factors such as climate, soil type, light levels, and plant competition can all affect the appearance of a hosta. So it's unclear exactly how many "different" venustas there are, but it is clear that there are at least several that are notably different when grown in the same garden. So where does this leave you with your three plants? My answer would be that for the moment, you aren't going to have any idea which might be Tiny Tears and which are venusta. You will have to grow them out for a couple of years and then try to make a determination. In this case, the two that look the most alike will probably be the venusta, since you know there are two of those, leaving the other one as Tiny Tears. What you aren't going to know until then is whether or not Tiny Tears is going to be the smaller of the two hostas. I happen to have a very small 'version' of venusta that reaches about 3 inches, and Tiny Tears in my garden is closer to 5 inches, so it's the bigger of the two. If you have a taller 'version' of venusta, your Tiny Tears might well be the smaller of the two. Only time and patience will tell. There seem to be a number of hosta growers who have sold venusta as Tiny Tears, because it's a more expensive plant, which doesn't help matters any. It is therefore possible that at maturity you will have three identical plants. However your mystery resolves, you will be happy to know that venusta is a wonderful little hosta, incredibly hardy and quite prolific. My clump has been in place for almost 20 years, and at one point was over three feet across. I've since divided off quite a lot, but the clump is still a good 20 inches wide, and very pretty. It's a great edger, looks good all season, and has pretty flowers. So whatever your three plants turn out to be, you will enjoy all of them.

Thanks for posting that info. I just placed an online order for a number of plants. I hope they arrive in good condition. Mimi

Than you everyone! Who knew choosing a hosta could be so hard. There are so many to choose from!!! dhaven: I am loving Prarie Sky. Ken: dappled sunlight almost all day. A little bit of shade and a little direct sun here and there during the day. I would post a picture...but I am taking this stay at home to do massive cleaning and the area looks crazy right now, I am a little bit embarrassed. bkay: you know I heard what you are saying but ignored it. I may have to rethink this as I want to be low maintenance. Thank you! Thank you Esther. PP is very pretty...I will have it somewhere. n2: I shall, I shall have before and after picts! Yes KR is so impressive. Got to say it again, so hard to make up my mind