are you serious????

there is nothing else in your life you can NOT give up ...

what... 6 foo foo coffees??? .... those donuts?? .... one steak dinner out????

come on .. who are you kidding.. YOU NEED THEM ALL ...

BUT!!!! .... if they are all similar.. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING???? ... if you are going to spend the money .. may as well diversify 'the look' ...

really now.. what are your priorities???

ken

ps: you really didnt come here.. hoping to be talked out of it.. did you .. we are enblers.. not sane ...

Yeah I know you are all BAD! I also have Stitch in Time, Midnight at the Oasis, Totally Twisted, Raspberry Sorbet and Flemish Gold that I REFUSE to give up on that order! So I can only have two more. Plus I have lists for Casita Azul, Jim's Hostas, Lazy S's for perennials and maybe HostasDirect. I haven't even looked at Land of the Giants catalog.

And then there are the natives I want to order from Missouri Native Plants. And the dwarf conifers, that I'm still working on the list, of which I can have only five, but I may go to Sanders Nursery in Broken Arrow, Okla for those in the spring.

So I have to choose! I'm leaning toward Celtic Dancer and Atomic Elvis. Sigh. I guess I can always place another order in March or April when I have gotten over price totals shock from all these.

I just need to close my eyes or burn the catalog and place the order and not look back. For now.

You like ripples, I see. I agree with Ken. Buy them all and then add Komodo Dragon for a fabulously rippled plant.

Steve

I have Komodo Dragon on another order. You people are no help at all. :p Also have Queen of the Seas already. And Shimmy Shake.

skip raspberry sorbet.. its a green piece of carp .. unless you are so drunk you fall.. face first ... into the clump.. and notice a bit of red on the petioles ... IMHO.. it isnt worth the space in the garden ...

pix at the library.. show it for the slug magnet it is ...

ken

OK I think I've settled on Astral Bliss and Childhood Fantasy.

Still looking at Raspberry Sorbet, Ken, I love the flowers. I don't have that much trouble with slugs!

Ok, my final (?) list for Naylor Creek:

Astral Bliss
Childhood Fantasy
Totally Twisted
Flemish Gold
Midnight at the Oasis
Raspberry Sorbet

I might go to Kansas City to Rob Mortko's and get Stitch In Time directly from him. It's a good excuse to see what he has new this year!

I can help you a bit.
Skip Hostas Direct. The other places on your list will give you much larger plants for the money. The only exception would be if you're going to order divisions. Tom's gardens are nice, and his divisions are good.... usually just 1 eye.

But his those starter TC's and advanced starter TC's are pretty much just tiny plugs. If you shop at one of his sales, you literally pick up a 6-cell pack (the ones that hold 1"x1" cells) and go and pick out what you want from other cells. I've had some of those in my garden for 4 years and they have yet to reach a 1 gallon size plant.

I personally do not care for red petiole plants.... unless they have some other redeeming quality. If planted in the ground, their red petioles get lost against the color of the dirt or mulch. However, if you had them in a rather high raised bed, in the front, at eye level or in a planter, then they have a chance to show their goods.

I heard Rob Mortko speak at a MHS meeting last year about Stitch in Time. He explained that it will probably always be expensive because of the the number of plants that are culled out in the TC process. For every one good SIT, there are 2-3 culled. I will probably not choose to spend hosta dollars on that unstable a plant. There have been discussions on this forum of the plant coming "unstitched"

I had to laugh about Ken's :
"skip raspberry sorbet.. its a green piece of carp .. unless you are so drunk you fall.. face first ... into the clump.. and notice a bit of red on the petioles ..."
really good!

Anyway, I looked at my list of existing 135 +3 which I just ordered, then viewed some of their pictures in the Hosta Library, result : a lot of duplicate looking hostas....
Have a good one!
Bernd

Thanks, Melissa, I had already eliminated HostasDirect, they had nothing I really wanted for the prices and sizes.

As for Stitch In Time, I have been wishy-washing about it for 5 years, and haven't bought it yet. I keep thinking it might be difficult to grow, and I don't want to spend that kind of money on a plant that might up and die on me. There are so many more wonderful hostas out there that are easy to grow, and less expensive.

Re Raspberry Sorbet, I think maybe I want Raspberry Sundae instead.......Sure glad none of these orders are final and done, they way I keep changing them around.

After spending one day on Jim's Hostas (whew!) and one day with Land of the Giants and Casita Azul, and HostaLibrary, plus Naylor Creek, I think I am at serious hosta overload. I need a break! My mind needs to disassociate from the idea that I need them ALL! and sort out what I REALLY want.

At this point, it's Naylor Creek:
Astral Bliss
Childhood Fantasy
Flemish Gold
Totally Twisted
+one more to be decided yet

Casita Azul:
Raspberry Sundae
Hollywood Bright Lights
Marrakech
(Plus a few ferns)

Land of the Giants:
Dragon Fire
Piedmont Gold
Midnight at the Oasis
Super Nova
Witch's Brew
Tiny Tears
Clausa (for naturalizing in the woods)

Jim's Hostas:
Red Neck Heaven
Bedspread
Crown Prince
Little Black Scape
Snow Flakes

This is the year for some small, stoloniferous and species types for naturalizing along the dry creek in the woods, hence the last four.

I have already placed orders from Hallsons and In the Country. No going back, there.

I'm also sure there is something I want at Hilltop Farm when we make our annual trek up there, too. Their catalog is not updated yet so I'm not making that list.

I need a nap. :p :0 And maybe a drink. For sure a drink. :)

Sandy

little black scape... great marketing concept ... rather non descript green plant.. with red scapes dusted with glaucous covering.. making it sorta black ..

again.. a waste IMHO ....

there is another one.. and i am going to have to figure it out .... banana muffins is to die for for unique scapes... though the pix at the library do not support that .... its jims.. so maybe he has a better picture ...

there is one from pauline .. i know where it is planted.. but the name is escaping me ...

check into purple haze also ...

will get back if i get the courage to go look at the cemetery out there ..

ken

The 3rd pic down on HostaLibrary of Little Black Scape is what I want to see on the edge of my dry creek in the woods, with ferns and moss around it. There again, I'm going for the flowers, the gold foliage and the relatively small size (10" x 2' mature). Being an S&S seedling it should be fairly bulletproof for this climate, too. It looks perfect for my concept, but if there is a better one, I'll definitely look at it.

Banana Muffins is ok, but not for the place I have in mind, it doesn't look......well, like a wildflower. Something to consider for my bed of smalls, tho.

Jim's Hostas is sadly lacking in pictures. :p You have to have HL handy to look at that catalog very well. But I have ordered there before, and I like his plants and selection.

Purple Haze loses it's purple haze after spring is over, HL says. And it would get too big for the designated spot. I almost ordered this one last year, but it got culled from the list in the end.

Ken, you need courage for the cemetery? Just put on your big boy pants and go! ;)

Some comments on some of the ones you're thinking of--
Stitch in Time--I'm on my second (first one didn't make it) so it is somewhat fussy. I do like this hosta, it's different and if you're a collector you'll probably want it, in my opinion worth the effort. Best idea to see what you're getting and buy one in person from Rob.
Generally agree on Little Black Scape. It does have good texture though and grows pretty fast.
I would cross Super Nova off the list. It suffers from spring dessication burn most years and is an absolute s-l-o-w grower. I've had mine 8 or 9 years and this is the size of it, notice it also tends to throw off blue leaves.

I, too, would leave LBS...it is an ok plant, but not as exciting as it sounds. Raspberry Sorbet, however, I would not be without! Fantastic flowers and a very nice looking green. Inexpensive, too. Me thinks Ken is just grumpy because it's winter! ;)

lbs is NOT yellow. . period ...

what about clausa v. clausa [in the library under clausa] for a wildflower look ... and the most incredible flowers that dont open you will ever see ...

and talk about weed.. mine is going on 6 by 6 feet ... cant stop it ...

i dont know why you think i am grumpy ... a piece of carp is a piece of carp .. so why not say so ... though i am suffering from seasonal affective disorder ....

all 6 super nova i have had.. are dogs ... period ...

ken

Ken.... I've never heard of anyone who actually has a purple cast to their Purple Haze...

Does your Purple Haze have the cast?

I already have longissima x clausa var. normalis Purple Ladyfinger, which doesn't open. I ordered clausa last yer, but it was canceled due to deer crop mutilation. Jim's lists it as just clausa, but HL says also known as clausa var. clausa. So going for it.

HL says LBS is chartreuse gold. Is that wrong? Do you grow it?
"10" tall. Part Sun to Light Shade.Our new introduction is an open pollinated seedling from the giant H. 'Sum and Substance'. The 5" wide heart shaped leaves emerge dull green, and soon change to a nice chartreuse gold. About this time, the jet black scapes emerge that contrast well with the foliage. The 2' wide clumps are topped with 22" scapes of medium lavender flowers." from HL database

Also found Peedee Absinthe and Oharra which might work for that spot.????

Ok per predominating advice, I think I'll skip Super Nova. Don't even like dogs, lol!

Haha spring is coming, Ken, days are getting longer. And you are right, a piece of carp is a piece of carp but not sure what fish have to do with hostas! ;) Unless you bury one under the plant......hey, it works for corn!

I think Raspberry Sorbet may be back in, it's cheap and I have a good spot for it. Still going for Raspberry Sundae too tho.

tony avent ..... plant delight .... breeding programs run along the lines of making hosta tolerant of the south ...

most of his stuff ... does not perform the same up here in the great white north .. in my experience .. [just like chastains coal miner.. isnt black anywhere but in her south TN garden ... or was it another dark one .. something about Mg in her soil] .. and let me be clear ... they both have great stuff ... i am just saying they dont grow the same up here ... IMHO ...

that said ... perhaps i have never seen the color change in the LBS that i have had for 15 years ... definitely not one i would snap a picture of ... waste of digital film ...

i didnt know that LBS is a SS hybrid.. well, well ... learn something new everyday .... wonder what the bee crossed it with ... since SS is near sterile ... hmmmmm

ken

Well maybe S&S is near sterile but it puts on great spikes of seed pods in my garden, some of which have actual seeds in them (and yes, I know a hosta seed when I see one) tho I have never tried to germinate any of them so I don't know if they will grow or not.

Think I'm going to go for LBS, it isn't that expensive and I would like to see for myself. I am from the Show-Me state, after all, lol! Maybe the sun or lack of it has something to do with the color change.

Or maybe it's the soil, as you say. Like Vidalia onions, you can grow them anywhere but they don't taste like the ones grown in that Georgia sulphur soil!

Also looking at hosta Kikutii for the woods.

Here's an idea to save a little money. Instead of buying your native plants as plants, purchase seeds NOW and plant them by using the winter sowing method (check out the forum here) NOW. You'll save money, plus it'll give you something to do gardening-wise during the winter. A few places to order native seeds from are Prairie Moon Nursery, Everwilde Farms, and Easyliving Native Perennial Wildflowers. Then, you'll have some extra jingle to get the hostas you want.

Of course, if they don't carry the seed for the particular plants you want, or you search and can't find them anywhere else in seed form, then buying plants may be the only option.

Karen

Wish I had time to do winter sowing, but we recently took custody of our 4 yr old grandson, and who has time for anything right now? Sheesh!

My woods is really full of most of the wildflowers that will grow here already, all I have to do is transplant some of them to spread them out. It's really hard to find natives that aren't already growing here. I just want a few species hostas in there, too!

But it is a great idea for someone who has time to grow them and needs more natives!

Sandy

Here is a link that might be useful: Wildflowers in my garden

Directly under one of my two S&S, 8 in away from the crown there is a yellow hosta seedling, looks like S&S. Though the big S&S never had a seedling.