I would have to say Praying Hands. It is very slow growing,and is just plain ugly,but it is an oddity. Phil

Not really ugly, more like frustrating and/or disappointing are my Twilight and Stetson. Without a doubt THE biggest slug magnets I have.

tj

I would agree about Twilight,but Stetson grows very well for me,and slugs don't bother it,but then,I don't have a bad slug problem anywhere. Phil

I'd ditch Sunshine Glory in a heartbeat because it looks so ratty so quickly and that's especially unfortunate because the bright color draws your eye, then you see the slug damage and holes and burns.

I'd also be very careful about replacing OnStage. The first one I had was magnificent; the streaking was so artistic, taking best-in-class in flower shows, but it died after being transplanted. This second one is quite ordinary; the streaking is nothing to write home about. Someone here once wrote that a few hosta are really individualistic; some Liberties get those beautiful big wide edges, some don't. The only way to be sure is to buy a mature division of a mature plant, a pretty rare occurrence. Nance

I try to stay away from those plants that slugs love, like Invincible, and Cherry Berry. They tend to lack substance and thus the slugs can devastate them. I've also thrown Undulata Erromena on the compost pile quite often. It's not a bad plant. It's just that the previous owner of my property had about 30 different divisions of this plain green Hosta growing all over the place. There are just so many better cultivars to put in those spaces.

Steve

Ginko Craig and Ani Machi.

My Clifford's Stinray was pretty, but never did anything and I think it finally bit the dust this past year. I'll see if it comes back.

That would be Stingray. Sorry.

mctavish6 - I have ginko craig (since 2008) and I have been pleased with it. I have abused the heck out of it, divided it, moved it several times and it's still is a nice little mound.

My black sheep hosta is Sharmon. That nasty little plant is vindictive. It grew large and I divided it just because I didnt want something that ugly taking up so much space, gave it my mother, and the darn thing is quite lovely at my mothers place. So I moved it's location at my place and it's still ugly. I think it hates me and at the moment the ants have built at mound at the base of it and Im gonna let them kill the hosta.

I won't be heartbroken if I never see either Great Expectations or Dream Queen in my garden again. DQ will stay just because maybe someday it might amount to something, but I wouldn't miss it. I'll give GE one more try because I can get it bare root cheap, in a different spot but if it doesn't earn it's space this time, it's history. I've seen some nice ones so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt--maybe the first one was just a dud.

No problem with GE, DQ, Thunderbolt or Ginko Craig. Dream Weaver is slow, Amazing Grace must be sitting in some soil fungus. Dancing in the Rain and Eskimo Pie seem to be dwarfs. I would really love when Earth Angel finally fully survives that crown rot attack. One other Eskimo Pie had crown rot and sports now an interesting green hosta. I get used to live with what nature throws at my plants (we finally got 5 inches of snow).

Good Luck!
Bernd

Lets see..........
Great Expectations (doesn't grow)
Cherry Berry)slug damage)
Eskimo Pie (doesn't grow)
Sharmon, Wide Brim (slug damage)
Clausa(butt ugly)
Fan Dance (nothing special)
Green Llama(just ugly)
Honeysong (slug damage)
Iron Gate Delight (nothing special)
Iron Gate Supreme (settles out quickly)
Woolly Mammoth (slow grower)
Queen Josephine(never grew well)
City Lights (almost as slow a grower as GE)

As I sat here making out this list I realized that I'll be composting some hostas in the spring. Oh well......I think I'll go sharpen the shovel.

You never know. My Dancing In the Rain and Eskimo Pie are both doing great, so is Gingko Craig, which I have divided until I have a nice border of them.

But Remember Me, now, is just a distant memory, it got smaller and smaller until it disappeared altogether.

Different gardens, different issues. Sometimes just location, location, location. I have two Fuji Botans, in two different beds. One is gorgeous, one is puny. The puny one gets moved this spring, we'll see what happens.
Maybe it's just a puny plant.

Sandy

As Sandy said,it's all a matter of location. I have no trouble with Sharmon,(mine is huge),and Wide Brims,you can't hardly kill'em! Iron Gate Delight grows well for me,and Woolly Mammoth,while slow like it's predecessor,Blue Mammoth,it worth the wait. Glom your peepers onto this one of mine! Phil
{{gwi:925463}}

Whirling Dervish and Sugar Daddy both get torn, ratty margins for me.

I am about to compost my Pineapple Upsidedown Cake. Every spring it gets bigger and bigger and shows all kinds of promiss, the it just seems to go limp. By the end of June it looks like it should be September if I gaged the seasons on PUSDC. Besides, even using its acronym it has more letters than June.

I will be a defender of Ginko Craig. I have told this story in this forum often. So I will make it short. You can take GC, cut it up into single eye divisions and pot them, plant them the next spring, and the next year have a very nice compact variegated green with white margin, medium-small hosta that flowers profusely. How can one hate a hosta like that. I moved just one of about 50 I had propogated from 5 fall sale purchases I had in Arkansas to IL and it is lovely and maintains itself very nicely.

Les

Phil, I wonder about whether Praying Hands is slow. Considering how new it is - I've seen a couple of very nice clumps. I think it may need some sun to do well.

Paul

Barbara Ann. I've never heard from anyone who has done well with it. Barbara Ann is one of my favorite cousins, so have tried it twice. Zippo!

bkay

Barabar Ann is one in my garden,but I haven't had it long enough to judge it. My Ginko Craig has faded away to almost nothing. Phil

I planted a Barbara Ann, too, for my sister. It hasn't done anything in my garden either, but I was blaming it on the dogs. Maybe I judged them unfairly! :)

I have had Barbara Ann for two years. The first year the bed was too sunny, and that scorched it pretty bad, but it got a strong start in the spring. Last year the drought slowed it down and it either went into early dormancy or died. we shall see what happens this year! Poor Barbie!

Sandy

I agree on Clifford's Stingray. Mine has never grown, so after several years, I potted it up, and now it's smaller still! Grand Prize also hasn't grown well for me.

I'm not crazy about Pineapple Upsidedown Cake. The new leaves look nice, but the rest looked ragged. It doesn't have much substance either. I'm thinking about trying it in a pot, but potting it up is a lot of work for something that might look sickly by the fourth of July.

I'm not sure about Guacamole, which apparently is the tastiest hosta in my garden. The rabbits snack on its leaves all summer long, while leaving nearby Honeybells, Fragrant Bouquet, and Adorable hostas alone. The color isn't that great either.