When would you say no to a new hosta?

15 years ago

Looking thru my 08 purchases I see a number of hostas I had not planned on purchasing, not on my wish list and not even on my radar. Is it a collecting thing? What is it about a bargain price on a hosta or end of the year clearance that shuts off the brain and opens the wallet? You know that 40-50% off late summer sale impulse buy. Or maybe that $2 no tag hosta that looks like it was found in some forgotten corner of the nursery. I have a clump of 3 Sagae from 07 that were too cheap to pass up - I like Sagae, why not - lol. Maybe its that order for 4 or 5 turning into 6 because shipping is the same up to 6 hosta - c'mon you now you do it. A family member asks if I want some old hostas he's removing for some new plantings, he says doesn't know their names - some are green and some green and white. I say sure (yeah I knew what they were) I'll take them. I could go on..... Well this year will be different. I will not over indulge my habit. It's time to make a stand!

Ok, you're right I'm weak it'll never happen.

Confessions are good for the soul, what about you?

Confessions of a Hostaholic

Hi my name is Paul

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Comments (14)

hosta_freak
15 years ago
For awhile,Paul,I used to buy every new hosta I didn't already have. I am now getting a little more picky,because there are soooo many out there that look the same! I enjoy rescueing ones that look like they have been neglected,like the little Undulata I found one day,while checking out from K-Mart. It has turned out to be a nice hosta,so far. Another time,I found one in a flea markey back before I knew much about hostas,and it turned out to be Kiwi Spearmint,an Undulata drivative,and is now one of my favorites. I enjoy the hunt,as much as going out looking for a specific hosta. Phil
countrygarden01
15 years ago
I understand all the addiction. There is near 350 cultivars here and somewhere around 1500 plants, too much to risk. My dollar and effort are worth more than adding some cheap plants that could/will potentially cause unneeded headache and stress. I also place an incredible amount of value on people and nurseries that are trying to do the right thing; in return I patronize their efforts. Furthermore I'm supporting job's & Americans right here at home, I'm not sure if there is a better feeling than that.
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Lot to digest there. The tree is in decline, and I don't do much any more with the apples, have never sprayed them, most are too high now. I do have an apple picker when the kids start climbing the thing, but the top half broke off so it won't reach as high as it should. All these years and I can't remember when the bigger, ripe ones start to drop, how dumb is that? I hear them at night here by my computer when the window is open. The green ones I don't bother about, just let them fall, may or may not pick them up depending on time & energy. Suckers are a problem in the other little garden near the tree; I'm always whacking them. Sigh, I never water the terrace so suckers have never appeared there. Maybe the tiller edger will go deep enough to sever the runner if they do. I can't grow any more trees, am out of room for them. The bottle business is on the other thread I started, probably on page 2 now, subject something like do these hostas look like they are going to make it, can't remember, am tired. It's a good idea, and when I'm not running to the hardware store for stupid reasons like I bought a connector for two hoses and could not turn the on off thingies, didn't want to force them with pliers and break them off or whatever, fingers sore from arthritis. The guy got them loose for me and I can turn them now. I buy a soaker hose for the front, start setting it up and ready to attach the laundry hose as an extender so it won't start the drip until it is in the garden. It's like two female connectors, and I need a female male on the ends because of the way the soaker hose is set up. I was so frustrated. Now I have to go back to the hardware store to see if there is some kind of adapter and return one soaker hose I bought for another garden because my neighbor loaned me his again, but I'm not enthusiastic about using it because it makes it much harder to weed. You partly bury a 2-litre bottle with a slit in the bottom and put water in the top to set up a slow drip, upping the chances that the water won't flow down the hill but water more deeply is essentially what that was about. Then I wrote what I did in this thread about putting the slit in the cap and opening up the bottom to make filling them easier. I forgot to water the hostas tonight. So much to do. Problems with everything, hard to stay on top of it all. They'll be fine. I want to lay a nice edging now that I have it cleaned up and am too tired to even think about it. Some kind of bricks, more work, maybe in the fall.
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welcome to the forum .. stick around.. and you will get addicted ... lol ... fell free to march to the beat of the drummer in your head ... right or wrong ... lol ... ken ps: and dont even get me started on whether hosta is both the singular and the plural.. and that there is no word hostas .... nor about if they are the august lily.. as they never have been... nor never will be.. a lily ... whats that all about???? it really doesnt matter how you say it.. or what you call them.. as long as you are talking about them ....
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Well, I LOVE them ALLL. I have to say there is not a one that I wouldn't mind having. I do have to say that Color Glory done very will for me as all the others did (SO FAR). And, yes there are some that aren't as pretty as other but I tend to find something that I like about every hosta that I have. So, if I had to pick one it would be Frances Williams. She is an awesome hosta - doesn't burn for me looks great! She tends to stay for a couple years and leaves me. I HAD Colory Glory which was beautiful until the stinking, no good for nothing VOLES had it for a midnight snack along with Spilt Milk, Independence and countless other. OH and Thunder Bolt. Boy, I was MAD on that one. I do agree that hosta loves what it loves and they can tend to be spoilt. Anyway, I also have a question. Have any of you tried the Castor Oil remedy for VOLES?
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
if its free .... when they pry the shovel out of cold dead hands ....

if i have to pay for it.. when i pry enough food out of my childrens mouths to free up enough moolah to pay for it ...

but there is always trading... i have a few that allows for such.. lol

ken

ps: yes its a collecting thing .... unfortunately .. at this point of your addiction.. you/we are name collecting.. which as noted above ... can lead to a lot of plants that look alike ...

so one trick.. is not to buy anything you havent see with your own two eyes ... IN PERSON ... on line pix are great ... but can be a bit deceiving ....
hostarhodo
15 years ago
Ha Ha Ha. Tell me at the end of the summer that you didn't fall for the old gottcha trick. I go to the garden centers and there they are waiting to draw me in. The hostas, oh boy is there a new one waiting for me, gee that one I have at home looks good here.

Combine that with Spring Fever and wanting to get your hands in the soil. They know you have been there before, they see your footprints around their roots and smell your scent in the air. They are saying here she/he comes and we are going home with them TODAY.

Same as the rhodos, tree peonies, clematis, and stargazer lilies when they come in bloom, they just sit there in all their elegence, I turn away and they just draw me back. That is why I have at least 10 of the same rhodo, approx 40 clematis, tree peonies starting to add up, gets me every time. It's the bloom, if only they weren't in bloom, they wouldn't be so darned attractive.

But the hostas, we cannot blame the bloom, it's the foliage, IT' THE FOLIAGE, now we realize that green is beautiful, add a bit of yellow, cream or white, throw in some blue, and you see combinations like you have never seen before. Who would have dreamed that there could be so many colors and combos we never thought of when we were in primary learning what our crayons held in them. The possibilities are endless, so hostas are a study in art, who would have thunk it. See how classy we are.

You realize now we have to educate the younger ones so they can start early to appreciate all this art and beauty.

Then just when you think you have it beat the end of the season comes and they have the nerve to lower the prices to the point where the poor things have to have a home, so what if I bought 13 clematis at one time, some repeats. I swear the checkout people say here she comes, we will clear out a lot of those plants now, then after checking everything out about 10 times saying I need that, should I, shouldn't I, I roll up to the checkout with a cart full.

Do not ask about the cement benches, bird baths. large planters, etc. Just like a kid in a candy store. Help!!!

The only thing we can do to stop this fever is to not go to the garden centers, box stores, no plant catalogs, no online shopping, no trading, no bumming from your friends, no taking just a little piece, NO HOSTA FORUM, what no hosta forum, no way. I guess there is no cure. SO we will be back checking in with all these enablers.

Sorry Paul, no help here. Have fun this spring everyone and happy gardening.

Betty (p.s--retirement may put a new curve on it, what do they say money and no time, now I have the time.
countrygarden01
15 years ago
As long as I know the origin I will continue to go overboard, gave up on a budget years ago. As of now, I lay the blame on photography. The breeding program will also further the need for more. It has helped not having space or beds prepared for the new trunkload. Yes, only a little bit.
hostaholic2 z 4, MN
15 years ago
After seeing so many infected hosta at box stores I will NOT buy any there even if they give them to me. I very rarely buy any plants of any kind at the box stores so saying no to them there..no problem. But then come the catalogs, the hosta library, the websites, the hosta forum.. I'm sunk. I've now resorted to digging out varieties that I have multiples of and replacing with gotta haves.
alexis717_df
15 years ago
No? I'm not sure I understand the concept of the word 'No". LOL. The upside of being a newbie to this addiction is that having only 30 or so named hosta at this point leaves me wide open for many, oh so many, more. Or is that a down side.. :) Then there's the catalogs.... so far I've ordered about 8; only about 1/2 of those were on my wish list ... the others.. well, it was a moment of weakness and I just couldn't resist.

As Ken said.. if it's free... I was looking at purchasing some fruit trees this weekend when I happened to overhear a husband say something to his wife about hosta. My ears went on alert and I asked the gentleman if he'd seen some at the nursery... did I miss them?. His wife said no and that they had purchased a home last spring and it is full of hosta that she wants gone....seeing my interest she asked if I cared to dig them all up. YES, YES, YES, I said. So in about 4-5 weeks, if the ground is thawed, I will be knee deep in happy. Addiction ... what addiction... I'm in total control.

Alexis
davej_07
15 years ago
I was at that stage a few years ago. If it was a name I didnt have I wanted it!!!!! It was only after I started talking with Ken Ziarek from the S.E. Wisconsin Hosta Society that I started thinking about quality, not quantity. I had alot of plants that, albeit nice plants in their own right, were not as hearty or slug- resistant as others. Since then Ive given away or traded alot of my look alikes to make room for the ones I really want.

Dave
lorainevc
15 years ago
I'm pathetic, too! Even though I said "no more" to buying hostas or any perennials for the time being, I continue to buy and have to scramble to find areas to put them. I have a city lot and while there is still more room to plant, I have little shade plus no new areas dug. So, what did I do??? I am dating a landscaper! Hahaha. It's been a great two years! Anyway, he has a sod remover and he will start the new beds for me. I also need to put in some small trees to create shade--now, tell me I don't have a problem. As far as hostas, I got an email from Direct Source with their new plants and they were so pretty, I must order...since the shipping is fixed regardless of the number purchasing, I can't buy just the two I want--I want the biggest bang for my shipping buck. Like I said, pathetic! I can't wait for spring! It's been a LONG winter.
woodthrush
15 years ago
Say 'no' to a hosta? Do I have a pulse? lol
Pam
ninamarie
15 years ago
I would say no to some hostas. I have even turfed bad doers from the garden. (Snowcap, anyone?)
Why have look-alikes? Or slug bait? Time, attention and space are always limited. I can grow something beautiful instead of something that doesn't perform well.
And there are so many plants.
I have always avoided box stores on principle. That suits my inclination - I find the experience of being in them creepy.
pzelko
15 years ago
"I find the experience of being in them creepy." I like that statement!!!

My Yard is quite small as shown in the pics from the past, it is very difficult, but I allow myself 2 hosta per year, yes believe it or not (that I buy), free ones dont count, and the 60 seedlings in the basement dont count either!! Dont know what I will do with them , but I do know that the ones that I buy will make it into the ground!!

Paul
hostasformez4
15 years ago
My health had a way of doing that for me!!!! I had a bad spring last year where I could not physically keep up with my garden work. I couldn't ask my hubby for help 'cause he would want to get rid of everything and put it back to grass. LOL It is really the truth!!! He likes to look at the finished product but not help in any way. When he does help it isn't always done in a sweet way, wants me to know immediately where things go, etc.!!! So I pick the times he helps carefully. I'm sure lots of us have the same problem.

I only got to feeling better late June and so managed to do just a little moving of hosta and I bought no new ones.

I hope to catch up on my neglected work this spring and then just maybe look at more new hosta to add.

After 47 years it's a little late to throw him back!!!!!

Connie
lindac
15 years ago
My downfall is that bench of hosta suffering from a summer in too much light and not enough water in a too small pot....
and it says..."sum and substance"....and looks like "minus everything"....but it's only $2...
And I reply with how many do you have....
Oy....ever the nuturing momma!
Linda C

When would you say no to a new hosta?

Comments (14)

hosta_freak

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