One photograph... What about the shots of the originator with Empress Wu? Those pictures solds thousands of plants! For me, Komodo Dragon is faster and will probably be just as large, if maybe not quite as tall... but the leaves have character... I might be the only person in hostadom who keeps looking at EW and saying "homely." Chopped up my Toy Soldier today and a few leaves are showing a little of the third color. I'll have to wander down to Deja Blu one of these days and see if anything is happening. I keep getting saved from having to process and post photos... Paul has all the good ones I have - and great photos... I can just leave it up to him for the most part...

Waaaaaa, wailing here in despair because I can't join in! Aside from waiting for Bruce's Aphrodite to bloom, this is the most anticipated thread for me since it involves some serious hosta shopping, lol. You all scored BIG ... I'm so looking forward to pics, please? Jamie...how lucky for you to get a Sleeping Star..I kind of remember a post about it...have it on my want list. I also have a new June Spirit...it'll be nice to compare growing notes. :-) FF...you said you were already growing Cold Heart...I missed out on it this year as it was sold out..."lime colour with corrugation" got my heart racing...is it doing well in your garden? I would really love to see a pic of it if at all possible, please? All of you on this thread sound like the "A Team" of Acquisitions!!! I really got caught up in your excitement...thanks for sharing. :-) Jo

Update: Pacific Rim turned out to be a smidge too green for our purposes (I am really trying to stay away from something reading "hunter" if one is lazy, iykwim) -- I found a Valspar color, of all things -- "Ocean Abyss", which looks like a less saturated version of EK Emerald that got us into this mess in the first place :). Got a flat enamel quart of it and we're liking it. So my question: anyone ever used Valspar flat enamel? Geez, it sounds like primer in the can compared to other paints I've used, but it didn't technically drip...they say it's a scrubbable matte, but I'm definitely seeing some sheen. Trying to decide if I should have it done in a flatter flat (still scrubbable). I have about 2 gals to do, and if I can make do with the Valspar I will have much more $$ left over when I'm done, compared to Aura or up...(although I just painted my front door with Aura Exterior Semi-Gloss and I must say it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I wish I had more to do with it, but it's definitely just a spot color--BM Merlot Red).

Hello folks down under...... I just happened to take a peak as to what's going on here and found this Ice Cream Banana discussion! Today I sent the Ms to work with about 5 or 6 Ice Cream Banana pups to share. At first, I was disappointed with the flavor of the Ice Cream variety. I was expecting the flavor of vanilla custard as it is so advertised. To us, the flavor is that of a nice banana, not ice cream at all. The person who named this variety must have only experienced banana splits as an ice cream flavor. The plant grows to about 15ft tall. It takes approx one yr to set fruit. It take a long time for the fruit to ripen as well. In my own experience, the plants were not setting fruit in twice the time expected. I had decided to fertilize it very heavily as I heard needs to be done. I placed a 16oz cup full of 10-10-10 fert every WEEK. This plant was going to produce or die with these heavy amounts of fert. Within one month I had three of the Ice Cream plants flowering. I have some other banana plant also that never flowered start producing as well. I wish you all the best of luck growing them, they are very nice, however mine do not taste like ice cream at all. Once I was over the flavor disappointment, I learned to love them for what they are. Have a great day Tony