Which specific hosta/s do you just love the look of?

11 years ago

No, I'm not asking which hosta are your favorites exactly, but which specific hosta have the look you absolutely love. I think that question varies from "what is your favorite hosta" because I think that your favorite hosta may be one that has a number of elements like looks good, grows well is slug resistant etc. AND you have had to have it in your own garden. What I want to know is what hosta takes your breathe away when looking at it? Maybe it's War Paint or Fire Island in the spring or is it a particular hosta just emerging in the spring or . . . ? The only stipulation is that you have had to have seen it in person (in your garden or in a friend's garden or nursery etc.) and not in a photo.

Here are mine:

Earth Angel
Great Expectations
Paul's Glory

This post was edited by newhostalady on Wed, Apr 10, 13 at 20:23

Featured Answer

harryshoe zone6 eastern Pennsylvania

11 years ago

Its the big, round, blue/green leafs with the yellow/green margin. Frances Williams and Olive Bailey Langdon.

Another captivating look is Touch of Class. A perfect hosta to stare at during my evening beer brake/yard walk around.

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Comments (35)

hostafreak
11 years ago
Well,I also have several.

Earth Angel
Olive Bailey Langdon
Sagae-gets better(and bigger every year)
Lakeside Ripples

Phil
bkay2000
11 years ago
Orange Marmalade in the Spring

bk
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beverlymnz4
11 years ago
A mature one. There is nothing as beautiful as a 8 year old Paul's Glory or a 6 year old Elegans except for maybe the 10 year old Francee and 20 year old Wide Brim.

Funny, the one corner of my yard that gets talked about most - by first timers- is the one with Francee, Royal Standard and Krossa Regal. Very impressive plants, all bought for less than $5 each and all about 10 years old.

Beverly
User
11 years ago
BK mentioned my favorite too, Golden Meadow.
Then, Fried Bananas

and Smooth Sailing....it was this one which made me realize that the lighter middle with a darker margin, even a narrow darker margin, was my super favorite look.
mikgag Z5b NS Canada
11 years ago
Ultramarine
Satisfaction
First Frost
Flemish Sky
Montana Aureo
Ice Follies
Great Lakes Gold
Whirlwind

I could on ad nauseum...
paul_in_mn
11 years ago
Much more than a few.....

-Love Pat - cupping and blue
-Abiqua Moonbeam - color in shade always draws my eye
-Small greens with white centers - Fireworks is a favorite, -Warwick's Comet, Pandora's Box
-Wide leaves that taper to a long tip - Atlantis, Abba Dabba Do, montana Aureomarginata, On Stage
-Grey Blues with cream margins - Aristocrat, Sleeping Beauty

-Pebbled Yellows - Aspen Gold, Maui BC
-Wide margins of Cream/Yellow - Liberty, Formal Attire, LS -Dragonfly, Queen Josephine, Satisfaction
-Blue Arrow - color all season and form
-Ruffled Blues - Blueberry Muffin, Cutting Edge, Neptune
-Paradigm - grows so well in all season in different conditions
-Cathedral Windows and Stained Glass - Brightness of yellow

-Big nearly-round leaves - Hoosier Dome, Bressingham Blue
-Golden Meadows - Ruffles, color changes, growth rate
-Subtle Blue with Green combinations - Dark Shadow, Pamela Lee, Toy Soldier
-Earth Angel - pattern variations from leaf to leaf
-Fair Maiden - amazing amount of color pattern
-Fire Opal - Narrow white edge on a subtle yellow-green leaf

-Fragrant Bouquet, Summer Breeze - apple greens
-Frances Williams - rugose, roundish leaves
-Blue with yellow-green margins - Garden Treasure, Jack of Diamonds

-Ginsu Knife
-Striptease and Sports - most grow well and different shaped center color
-June and sports - High Society
-Irish Luck - shiny green, ripples and waves, looks to be a good grower
-Journey's End - ripples, ribs, stretches out, good grower
-Key Lime Pie and Squash Casserole sports - low height, ruffled, good growers
-Krossa Regal - blue and height and spread
-Northern Exposure - roundish leaves and bright margin

-Olive Branch - unique colors
-Pistache and Spilt Milk - misting and white streaks

-Praying Hands - as a mature clump it is amazing.
-Rainbow's End - irregular color and plastic quality
-Simply Sharon - still young, but colors in leaf center are very nice.

-Spring Fling - Ruffled whitish edges make if look very regal
-Teaspoon - great small form and good grower

Paul
don_in_colorado
11 years ago
'Continental Divide' and 'Blue Hawaii' spring to mind right away. Most of Olga's Hostas are outrageously beautiful to me. Her meticulous standards of her breeding/hybridizing programs are plainly evident....I own a BH, and my neighbor has a CD he has forced in his home. Fantastic.... More later! :)

Don B.

This post was edited by Don_in_Colorado on Wed, Apr 10, 13 at 18:18
paul_in_mn
11 years ago
Don, I picked up Continental Divide as a small liner in '11 so still small and immature last year - looking at HL pics, it reminds me of Journey's End with an additional color in the center. Listed as VL so I guess I'm going to have to clear some room for this one.

Paul

edited to add link

Here is a link that might be useful: Continental Divide - HL

This post was edited by paul_in_mn on Wed, Apr 10, 13 at 20:12
tepelus
11 years ago
I'm a sucker for hostas with rippled edges, especially large hostas with rippled edges like Hoosier Dome and Niagara Falls. I also like blue-green hostas with wide yellow or white edges like El Nino, Liberty, and First Frost. I like minis because they are so dang cute!

Karen
Pieter zone 7/8 B.C.
11 years ago
Without question the one I most eagerly await for to unfurl in the spring is 'Dawn's Early Light', it's my favourite spring beacon. Other favorites are 'Sea Octopus', 'Ray of Hope' and 'Hadspen Blue' for various combinations of leaf form, clump shape, colour and general overall appearance. They all speak to me in varied tongues for various reasons....

Pieter
timhensley
11 years ago
Hollywood Lights
ilovetogrow z9 Jax Florida
11 years ago
My fave: Lakeside Shore Master.
esox48
11 years ago
Sun Power, Journey's End, Paradigm and montana Aureomarginata....Here's three of them....
don_in_colorado
11 years ago
Awesome, Paul....That's what you have to look forward to; Pure Beauty. I intend to get a 'Continental Divide' this season. Not sure where to buy it yet, though.

Don B.
newhostalady Z6 ON, Canada
Original Author
11 years ago
hostafreak, you and I agree with Earth Angel. OBL I have on my wish list. I got Sagae last year, but it was too young for me to love it yet. (Sagae did make awfully lovely fall colors.) Lakeside Ripples I had not heard of. I took a peak at it in the Hosta Library. Very nice hosta. Reminds me of Niagara Falls in its juvenile stage.

bkay2000, I have seen Orange Marmelade and like it a lot. It is also on my wish list.

Beverly, I see you are loving the mature hostas. I did visit a hosta garden last year and it was full of mature hostas. That was a sight to see. I took pictures of all the ones that I really liked, but then lost them to a defective memory card. So now I don't know what it is that I liked in the mature size!

moccasinlanding, so Golden Meadows is your ultimate favorite right now? I too love green margined hosta with a lighter centre. I think my three choices reflect that too.

mikgag, I was only familiar with 4 out of your 8 hosta choices. I did have to look up the other four. Nice choices.

Paul, you put a smile on my face. I saw a few lines of your choices and one picture, and then there was another and another and they just kept on coming! Now that's a hostaholic! I can just picture me in a few years---having lots of hostas I love and I hope pictures to go along with that, like you. Boy you are organized! I need time to take in all of your wonderful choices. I am overwhelmed---in a good way!

Don B., the hostas that come to mind at first are usually the ones that have left a big impression on us---I find that anyways.

Karen, I haven't got any rippled edge hostas yet, but I will this year. My Liberty, First Frost and El Nino were just purchased last year so they are not much to look at yet. But last year I visited a new hosta friend and she had a mature First Frost and El Nino. I thought they were both lovely, but First Frost really stood out for me.

Pieter, "They all speak to me in varied tongues for various reasons...."
That is a great way of putting it!

esox43, great pictures.
woodnative
11 years ago
'June' by far. Tokudama aureonebulosa probably too but don't have that in my garden. 'June' is awesome!
MadPlanter1 zone 5
11 years ago
Gunther's Pride. I love the mottled, streaky large leaves - the whole plant seems to glow. Great Escape for the way the cool blue and ivory look together. Montana Aureomarginata because it's such an eye catcher. A mature Frances Williams, in spite of the dessication marks. Camelot when it's going from light to dark green and has leaves in both colors. Foxfire Palm Sunday and Rainbow's End for their brilliant variegation. Also fond of the more subtle variegation of Paul's Glory and June. I haven't seen a good mature rippled edge plant in person, but admire the pictures enough I'm adding some to the garden.
jan_on zone 5b
11 years ago
Ah - so many choices, so little time/space/energy/money......... but glad to see that 'June' finally got a mention. It absolutely draws me in and makes my heart speed up. But - many of the 'also rans' may be my favourite this summer when they leap!
Jan
Steve Massachusetts
11 years ago
This one.

Alligator Shoes.

Steve
don_in_colorado
11 years ago
'Spartacus'! I hope mine takes a big leap this season...

Don B.
Ludicious Acres
11 years ago
Hands down . . . Jade Cascade . . . I have yet to see a hosta with as much character. No need for variegation, the leaves and shape do all the work.

Don't let Elegans hear . . . but Jade Cascade is by and far my favorite hosta ever.

Great thread :)

Ludi
Delphinium zone5
11 years ago
Here's one that doesn't get mentioned much, Millenium. There's a nursery near my house that has a mature clump, it's so impressive. I just love the huge, heavily textured leaves.

I also love Dream Queen, Thunderbolt, and Olive Bailey Langdon. I bought all of these last year and can't wait to see them come up in my garden.

Terri
Babka NorCal 9b
11 years ago
At this time of the year, here in Califiornia, I love every one that has unfurled so far. Those fresh new leaves, some with ruffles, some with crinkles, the freshness of the colors, the size, the shape the little drops of water on the ends of the leaves in the morning.... I look at each one every day!

Later on, with bug damage, weird spots, hard water dots, burned edges, gold centers that turn to parchment, etc. I get more picky. But for now, I LOVE THEM ALL!

-Babka
ConnieMay ON Z6a
11 years ago
My eyes are always drawn to Guacamole. The subtle variegation is very calming to me.
newhostalady Z6 ON, Canada
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you all for contributing and adding your "loved" hostas. I was kind of surprised though that some of you only had one hosta that you mentioned. I am thinking that it couldn't mean that you only love ONE hosta, could it? But if that is so, it's not for me to say. As is said "to each his own."

Babka, I agree with you about loving all of the hostas in the spring time that have just unfurled. Most are so fresh, some very bright and the weather and pests have not taken their toll yet. It is indeed a great time in the life of hostas!
newhostalady Z6 ON, Canada
Original Author
11 years ago
OBL is now on my wish list. I love big leaves and a beautiful shape.
I got Touch of Class only last year. I am looking forward to seeing it this year. What is the hosta beside Touch of Class? I am loving those beautiful large leaves it has!
esther_b
11 years ago
My real favorite so far has been Little Treasure.
harryshoe zone6 eastern Pennsylvania
11 years ago
The hosta next to Touch of Class is my noid. I think it might be Northern Halo. I have Earth Angel, so I don't think it is she.

Any suggestions? Besides "you're gonna have to move it soon!"

The other hosta pictured above is Frances Williams
rob_sneyers
11 years ago
At first I thought this was an impossible question to answer.
But I remember walking through Marco Fransen's growing tunnels, where H. 'Eos' captured my attention, every time I saw one.

So for me it's:
H. 'Eos'
H. 'Queen of the Seas' cause it's drop dead gorgeous.
in ny zone5
11 years ago
I would love any substantially big one right now, nothing is showing yet outside. Inside though I have my seedlings, and just got some in the mail, though wait for some big ones from LOTG in May.
Otherwise I love montana 'Aureomarginata', 'S&S', 'Blue Umbrellas', 'Liberty', 'Queen of the Seas', the biggie 'Empress Wu' and many others, hope I did not offend any other gorgeous hosta still sleeping outside.
Bernd
don_in_colorado
11 years ago
I haven't seen a 'Brother Stefan' with my own 2 eyes, but after seeing a pic of Babka's today, I am totally blown away. I MUST have it. Another creation by Olga P....Imagine that. Perhaps the most brilliant hosta hybridizer on Earth? Perhaps.

Don B.
newhostalady Z6 ON, Canada
Original Author
11 years ago
It is really nice to see what hostas you all love the look of.

Harryshoe, I cannot tell you whether or not your Northern Halo is actually named correctly. It looks gorgeous though. I have a sneakin suspicion that if it were in my garden, I would be loving the look of that one! I am not clear though about what it is you would like a suggestion on.

Rob_sneyers, I had never heard of a hosta named Eos. As for Queen of the Seas, I just got it last year and I am hoping to love it too.

Bernd, those are a nice bunch of hosta you picked.

Don B. I got Brother Stephan last year. It had 2 eyes. It is now emerging with 5 eyes. I agree that Babka's Brother Stefan is gorgeous. I am crossing my fingers that mine might look that good. Did you see McTavish's photo comparisons of Brother Stefan and Paradigm? I have attached a link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Paradigm & Brother Stefan Photo Comparison
threedogsmom
11 years ago
I think Northern Halo in springtime is mesmerizing - it truly glows in my garden when fully unfurled in late April/May.

I do love Montana A.m. for it's bright yellow and green spring colors and lance shape.

Throughout the summer, I like the colors of On Stage and Grand Marquee, and I like the flirty ruffle of Squash Casserole's leaves in the breeze.

I am partial to two-tones or more than two tones, but my single color hostas are usually the very large ones, so i like them for sheer size and texture (Elegans, Jade Cascade, Blue Angel).
User
11 years ago
This morning, Orange Marmalade looked elegant, and lit up the space in the garden. Gotta love something that can glow from within like that.