I have Holy mouse Ears, Frosted mouse ears and Cat and Mouse. These were all from tiny tc's a couple years ago. IMHO that is not long enough to be "proven". My Blue Mouse ears, from 2002, has proven itself to be one wonderful reliable plant. Cute too! I say, don't wait and just get them for the fun of it. They don't take up much room....

-Babka

Can you believe I purchased Mouse Ears thinking that it would get LARGE. Imagine my disappointment, especially considering what I paid!!!! LOL.

Don't know if will be of much help, as I'm in a much warmer zone, but all of the one's I have, perform very well for me.

Most of the offspring are too recent to assess long term performance, but so far, there are no indications that any will be problem children!
These are the ones I have:
'Blue Mouse Ears'
ÂBlue Mouse Ears SupremeÂ
ÂCat and MouseÂ
ÂFrosted Mouse EarsÂ
ÂGreen Mouse EarsÂ
ÂHoly Mouse EarsÂ
ÂMighty MouseÂ
'Mouse Tracks'
'Pure Heart'
ÂSnow MouseÂ
'Mouse Trap' (new)
(Unnamed sport of BME Supreme)

In the past, I have planted one of each in a large circular bowl, and entered the collection in local flower show competition. They always win a Blue Ribbon and once, a Best of Show Award. Without showy flowers, they must impress Flower Show Judges!

I have to say, they presently are my favorites, of the more than one-hundred Mini cultivars that I grow.

kimcoco,

Actually, though BME doesn't seem to be likely to ever become 'large', there's mounting evidence that it will or has, in mature gardens, exceeded the standards for a 'mini'. Nevertheless, it's still one of the most hardy and fast growing 'minis', hooray!

hh

HH, I'm just in the process of doing a major update to Don Rawson's lists I host on my website and the list Don has put together for the Registered Miniature Hostas has dimensions in the chart that are not necessarily reflective of the registered size as such, they are more in line with what's actually being seen in the field. If you check the Hosta Registrar you will find quite a number of registrations for cultivars at 2-4 years of age, it'll be hard enough to determine proper mature leaf size at that age, never mind clump size.

BTW, as per AHS Registration rules, Miniature Hostas have a leaf size LESS then 6 square inches, clump size has no impact on the designation, it's only leaf size which matters here.

Pieter

Actually, I believe the criteria is:

Leaf blade area no greater than about 4.0 square inches (26 square cm.)
Leaf blade length no greater than about 4.5 inches (11 cm.)

I used to be smaller, but was increased a little over a year ago. Blue Mouse Ears is technically a small, not a mini, but it is so cute we all think of it as a mini.

This may need to be a new thread but since you are talking about it I have a question.
I do the signage for the Mid-South Hosta Society's AHS National Display Garden at Memephis Botanic Garden.
The other day I was reading Warren Pollack's Potpourri article in the AHS journal..volume 40, #2
and he gives the new requirements for minis and then goes on to name several "minis" which are no longer considered minis
Towards the end he says...."the AHS Mini Hosta Popularity Poll has been revised to the AHS (Very) Small Hosta Poll"......and then on down he says "Speaking of Very Small Hostas, this a new size category for hostas that have outgrown the AHS Mini Criteria but have the appearance and characteristica of minis"
Now...my question...Does anyone know if this has been changed and is set in stone? Or do you know who would know?If so I will change our sign at the gardens to read "Miniature and Very Small Hostas"
Someone said I should email George Schmid...
Denny? Are you there?
Thanks for any input.
Mississippi has hostas popping everywhere....3 weeks late but waking up now!
Gloria

I think George S is the guy to email.
Pam

Hey LADYWINDSURFER,

Let us see some photos of your mini collection, please.

I'll be the first one to admit I'm NOT an AHS member, so I rely upon information provided to me by others who are members, in this case Don Rawson.

You will know Don from the large listing of Hostas according to various criteria, which has grown to quite the number and continues to grow, there'll be about 10 new ones this year.

One of the changes is necessitated by the reclassification by the AHS as a result of a lot of discussion over the past month or so. Don had extensive conversations with Warren Pollock on the matter and the new lists you will see reflect these changes. I have just done the job of converting his information for web publication of the Miniature Hosta listing and the following is verbatim from said list:

> Leaf blade area must be less than 6.0 square inches (39 sq cm).

There is no restriction on clump spread.

There is also a new list of Very Small Hostas, which is still a work in progress on my part. If you wish to take a look at these revised lists, check the link below.

Pieter

Here is a link that might be useful: Don Rawson's Hosta Lists

The AHS has recently determined that the classification of hostas shall follow the standard as set forth in the AHS Judges Handbook, Chapter II, Table of Leaf Sizes, page 34 of the AHS Judges Handbook, as follows:

Leaf Section (Square Inches)
1. Giant Leaved 120 or greater
2. Large Leaved 64 to 3. Medium Leaved 30 to 4. Small Leaved 6 to 5. Miniature Leaved
To find out the official section classification for a registered hosta, go to the AHS Hosta Registry, click on "Show Classification", then click on "2009 Full Classification List". All miniature-leaved registered hostas are listed as Section V plants.

There is no section for Very Small Hostas. For further information, contact Warren Polloch or W. George Schmid.