Can we talk about Whirlwind?

13 years ago

I am trying to figure out if I am going to move my Whirlwind in the spring. I'd like to move it to make a grouping of its progeny.

Looking back at late season photos, I've not ever experienced it turning dark green in the summer. So, I am now wondering if its an issue of heat and/or sun and/or soil.

If you look at this pic, taken 8/8/09, you see my Whirlwind planted on the left and another Home Depot Whirlwind, turned green, in the nursery pot. Now, I don't know where HD grows their hosta, but I can tell ya that at our store, it's bright shade.

Anywho, here's my dilema.... right now, in my zone 4 garden, it gets maybe 1 hour of some morning sun, but then deep shade and a bit of dappled shade in the evening. And like I said, it doesn't turn colors. The area where I'd move it gets more sun... a couple hours in the morning, but deep shade for the rest of the day.

So I need to formulate a plan based on y'all's experience.

Can you answer these questions:

1. What zone are you?

2. Does your Whirlwind turn green?

3. How much sun does your Whirlwind get?

4. Is there anything you know about your soil? Acidic, alkaline, minerals, etc.

Thanks!

Comments (20)

thisismelissa
Original Author
13 years ago
oops:
hosta_junkie
13 years ago
I LOVE my Whirlwind. One of my top 10's in my garden. This is a photo of my Whirlwind from June 2009 in its third year. Gets filtered light all day long, a bit of morning sunshine, but not much. In a somewhat raised garden underneath a burr oak and two black ash trees. Clay soil with probably 4 inches of black dirt and compost added before planting. I mulch every other year, no other soil amendments. Gets good water, as this garden is on my front lawn which is watered regularly to keep my sparse grass alive. My plant NEVER turns green - looks like this all season long. LOVE LOVE LOVE this one. Would replace it in a heartbeat if I ever lost it.
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hosta_freak
13 years ago
Well,I am in zone 6,as most of you know. My Whirlwinds,(I have 2) get morning sun,and then dappled shade the rest of the day. They are in red clay soil,amended every year by tree leaves. The look just like hosta junkies,until later in the year,when they turn very dark green,almost black. and stay that way until the next year's spring,when they emerge the same way,etc. Phil
in ny zone5
13 years ago
I am in zone 5a, my Whirlwind is planted in sandy soil with mulch, has probably 2-3 hours sun, otherwise shady, and turns dark green in summer. This thread is good, seems to point that I need to move my Whirlwind into shade.
Bernd
Babka NorCal 9b
13 years ago
Mine is in a pot of bark, in filtered shade all day. It gets to be the most beautiful shade of deep dark green by August, so that you have to look closely to see that there is a margin. (I don't have a pic of that). That deep green is the darkest green on any hosta I've seen.

I don't think it is a zone thing, but rather a plant thing. With all the tc's being made, and many being sold before they get a chance to grow a few years to show if they are really true to type, you need to try more than one to be sure.

Just like my Junes. They never get as light as some I've seen that are almost bright yellow (like h.Remember Me), even tho I've placed them in 5 hours of morning sun here in California.

Here's mine in May and a photo I dug up from right at the beginning of August. Boy, howdy, have cameras improved (the color on the second pic is from 2002)

-Babka
{{gwi:924852}}

{{gwi:924853}}
thisismelissa
Original Author
13 years ago
Ok, I've come across a few things from the UK, including the Grenfell book, saying that it's color are dependent on light, temperature and age of plant. Interesting.
Mine was purchased in 2008, probably recently produced from TC.
uk-hostaman
13 years ago
as i live in the uk,im probably not the right person to give a reply....but mine keeps its white most of the season and gets about 1 hour of sun in the late afternoon and ive had mine about 5 years(but 3 spent in a small pot)..slow grower for me....i have eternal flame which is much better for me
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
13 years ago
At best mine gets 1 hour of sun and high shade from a Black Walnut the rest of the day. The margins of mine may darken a bit and the center gets perhaps a bit more lime-green but never anything close to babka's pic above. I have an alkaline (pH in the low 7s) clay soil. Got mine circa 2000.

tj
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
no .. no.. no ...

as i have said many time.. peeps in GBritian can not be compared ...

they are near or above the 60 the parallel ... they are 2/3 the way to the north pole!!!!

mid MI is 45th .... so i will guess mel is what.. 48th???

ergo.. ibos .. presto ... of course UK man's hosta will not green up ... in comparison to the US ...

i am pretty sure... greening of the center is NORMAL ... based on your little micro climate ...

to repeat.. i love grenfell .. and her pretty books.. but when it comes to PLANT CULTURE ... forget it ... its just not relevant over on this side of the pond ..

i learned this lesson the hard way.. when i altered .. based on her first book .. MY ENTIRE DATABASE !!!! .. to indicate that all hosta are full sun ... not understanding at the time .. the sun thing ... [and then i abandoned my dB in its entirety ....]

otherwise.. mel.. ITS A HOSTA .... move it.. if it doesnt perform properly move it again .... better yet.. split it.. and plant it in 3 places ... cut your odds of failure.. lol ...

i dont understand why.. with a 3 season show on this hosta.. you are trying to plant it.. to limit it to only two shows.. and want to walk out on the final act.. the greening ...

me thinks.. frankly.. its genetics .. and there is nothing you are going to do.. to stop the third act ... as a lot of these things happen based on the declination of the sun.. and i doubt you will stop that .... [which now that i reread.. UKman probably does not support this theory.. cause he is already dealing with declination and his does not color ... hmmmm.. so much for that theory.. lol .. another great theory rejected by reality ... lol ...]

dreaming of spring .. EH????

ken
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
UK ... please NEVER stop giving us your observation ... i dont mean.. by any of the above.. to stifle your observations ..

i find it extremely fascinating ... the geographical differences of growing hosta ...

so i apologize if i implied your observations are not worthwhile ...

ken
mctavish6
13 years ago
My observation is that it has to do with light and heat. I am in the 50th parallel (thank's Ken, I had to look that up). The zone is 4/5, hot summers with cold winters. My original Whirwind is in solid shade and changes very little right into October when the green parts turn bright golden but the center still has it's varigation (see picture).

My Second Whirlwind, a younger plant, was grown in part sun for a while. It turned green. I moved it to a pot in the shade and that stopped it turning green(see pictures)
thisismelissa
Original Author
13 years ago
McT, I'm SOOO glad you responded. This is great information! You had some comments on Whirlwind on an old thread and I knew you would have some valuable insight!

Ken, I live at 44.7

And yes, I do agree that gardening in the US is completely different than the UK, but I am interested in their gardening insights. Eventhough their climate and and sun angles are completely different than anything we have here, I believe their insights are worth drawing from.

I don't think I'd want to cut out the 3rd act, but since I love Whirlwind's variegation, perhaps I can limit the 3rd act to a shorter part of the growing season! Since I'm looking at creating a grouping of 4 or more plants, moving the entire family is not quite as easily as relocating just a single Whirlwind. So, I don't want to have to move them all again next year if I do not like Whirlwind's performance. I guess I'm just looking to make an educated decision about where to best maximize Whirlwind and her progeny.
uk-hostaman
13 years ago
now then....why not just throw whirlwind away and get 'eternal flame'(only joking)..for me a much better plant and keeps its white middle all season....well here in the uk that is!lol
here is mine in its 2nd year with me
uk-hostaman
13 years ago
my mistake thats my 'eternal flame' in its first year...this is it in its 2nd year(the one circled)..
thisismelissa
Original Author
13 years ago
LOL UK... Actually, Eternal Flame is one of the ones I plan to make part of the grouping!
So far, it'd be Whirlwind, Eternal Flame, Victor and Dust Devil.
I have really been enjoying grouping hostas with their sports. The colors meld perfectly.
This is one of several family groupings I plan to do!
in ny zone5
13 years ago
Only to get back to Ken's geography lecture, I looked it up in an atlas. Now I understand why keeping hostas here in the US requires more shade and water. I live in zone 5a in upstate NY on the 43 dgr. parallel. Rome, Italy, is on the 42 dgr., I grew up in Europe on the 52 dgr. parallel. Summer was mostly hot in Italy (42nd), Greece (38) and Turkey (38), not so hot north on the 52nd, similar to England.

No wonder then that in my summers here on the 43rd I need to water much more than my father did on the 52nd or my grandparents on the 53rd. My place now is similar to Rome, Italy, but I am in zone 5a. My father's hostas never burned I remember, but most of mine are burning in several hours of sun.
Bernd
hostahillbilly
13 years ago
By all means, let's investigate H. 'Whirlwind'!

I get 'razzed' by my wife because every time we enter a BIG set of greenhouses growing Hosta I always pop up vibrant and say 'Hey Hon, look at these!'. Almost always it's H. 'Whirlwind', go figure.

Visitors always like it, almost as much as our H. 'Geisha' (or is it 'Ani Machi'?).

There are many Hosta that exhibit different coloration through the season in some climates/soils/temps, so for those of you where this one does this, enjoy when you can . . .

For example, here H. 'Cynthia' is one who's a 'Cybil' from spring to the rest of the season. There are others, many others. All part of the intrigue methinks.

Perhaps an interesting thread would be about Hosta that have seasonal coloration changes, such as Cynthia, Filagree, Rascal, Janet, et. al.

Is there a 'List' of such Hosta (hint, hint)?

Let the games begin,

hh
hostahillbilly
13 years ago
I forgot to mention that here in 4b sandy acidic soil big time shade Whirlwind maintains it's tri-color leaves all season . . .

hh
Pieter zone 7/8 B.C.
13 years ago
HH, there are at 4 lists that deal with seasonal changes. Viridescent Hostas and Lutescent Hostas, as well as Albescent Hostas and Azurescent Hostas. What else would you like to see?

Pieter
hostahillbilly
13 years ago
{{gwi:924861}}

ours look like this all season long, yay!

hh