We discussed it recently on another thread. It will be hosta of the year in 2016.

Babka likes it. I can't remember anyone else who did.

They had it at one of my local nurseries last week on sale. I passed. I came home and found it was a Bob Solberg plant. So I went back to get it. I still didn't like it enough to choose it over Krossa Regal, so I passed a second time. I don't think it's a match with my taste in hosta.

bk

Here is a link that might be useful: HOTY......

I love Curly Fries. I think I posted a picture of it last spring. It's very cute, not really hosta-like looking, but seems very hardy. This will be the third year for it in my garden but it did very well last year.

Sandy

I think Blue Jay is a nice choice, Esther. As for Curly Fries, it's an acquired taste.

Here's my favorite pic of Blue Jay in a friend's garden.

Steve

Thanks, Steve. I am a bit concerned about Blue Jay's eventual size. I went to many websites seeking data and I saw it put at 15" diameter, 24" diameter and 35" diameter!! Mrs. Jim's Hostas said THOSE were plants at least 10 years old, that Blue Jay was way smaller than those size quotes. She suggested Curly Fries as well, just for its small size and novelty. She said it was going to be 2016's Hosta of the Year.

BTW, I love the placement of the Blue Jay among the rocks. I put some decorative rocks in my garden. They were stolen.

I asked Mrs. Jim's Hostas about Blueper, which I really loved from its pics, but she told me it's VERY rare and has not been tissue cultured, hence the $30-45 price. Hey, I can't help it if I have champagne tastes but a beer budget!

And lastly, I berated Mrs. Jim's Hostas on behalf of ANYONE looking for a hosta on their website that their website is absolutely the worst, non-user-friendly website I've ever seen and that they should kick their web designer's butt down the road and get a new one.

Steve, your Blue Jay has a blue blush to it, something that I prefer to defined color patterns. Sort of like a brushed velvet which has tones that shimmer and change.

I have Curly Fries, got 2 of them when Solberg had it as a "2 fer $$" sale and that was in 2011. It reminds me of the rippled fries, and so yes it is appropriately named. It will be noticed.

Wish I had my 2011 and 2012 pictures to show. It is a slow grower for me, of course in a container. But it is steady. Never had a setback with it. No problem with slugs, it has good substance and it is also narrow bladed. Late in the season, it bleaches out to cream colored parchment. But of course, I was pushing the envelope to see what would happen. It did not burn, it bleached.

Had no idea it was scheduled to be 2016 HOTY, my list stopped at 2015 I think. Guess I need to catch up on my reading. It remained fairly high priced for a long time, it must be in TC production again to have enough plants available for its HOTY debut in 2016.

Esther if you are chatting with Karen Schwarz (Mrs.Jim) then ask her what she thinks about Masquerade. It multiplies, makes a nice little mound, and you can separate them regularly. Someone on here had a stunning bed featuring them with some really big hosta, and I fell for it...even though I've learned to steer clear of a lot of white. My pot of it is growing briskly this spring, hope it has adjusted to our climate. But I also added 4 more Verna Jean, an overlooked and underrated smaller hosta with a lot going for it.

Anyway, I digress. Here is the Curly Fries. "Acquired taste" is a cute way to express it. :) (Sorry, but now Flickr has changed things around and I cannot find the HTML CODE to post what it looked like in 2012 spring. I can find the 2013 picture on my computer, so here it is. This first one is in April.

And here it is beginning to fade/bleach in August

Very nice 'Mojito' and 'Sugar Plum', Mocc. ; )

Don B.

So, Mrs. Jim's Hostas said Blue Jay, huh? Man, does that sound familiar, somehow....Seems like someone else mentioned that one, too???...Oh, well, I'm sure I'm just crazy, LOL

Anywho, I think you'll really like Blue Jay. As for Curly Fries, an acquired taste it definitely is. IMO, it just looks like a weed and has none of the wonderful attributes that make hostas, well, hostas visually. Just ICK. With your limited space, you can certainly do better.How about a Lakeside Banana Bay?

Hey there MOCC, thanks for the lovely pics and info. I just looked at Masquerade. It looks too much like my Little Treasure. In my small space, I need DIVERSITY. The Blue Jay won't even be visible from the street--it will have to go in back of the Obligatory Bushes. Curly might have to go there, too.

I want to wait to see what hostas made it through the winter before I do any ordering, however.

BTW, some of my heuchies are showing itsy bitsy tiny baby leaves in the center, while others are not. I guess different varieties of heuchies have different "come alive" dates just like hostas do.

Hi, FUNN--

I just looked at Banana Bay, and it looks very very similar to my Maui Buttercups. It is very pretty, but so is M.B.

One thing I don't have is a mostly white small hosta. Are there any really outstanding ones like that?

There's Pandora's Box. It can be difficult, but Paul has had good luck with it. There's also Cameo which is the opposite variegation of PB.

Steve

Yep, I second Steve's vote for Cameo. Gorgeous, small, will fit right in.

FYI - Lakeside Banana Bay doesn't really look like Maui Buttercups, but I can understand wanting a lot of diversity in a small space. But, just for FYI, LBB has a yellow center and green edge, whereas Maui is a gold hosta. Also, Maui has much rounder leaves and heavier corrugation. Very different from one another. I have both of these guys.

Take a look at Cameo and see if that meets your needs. Happy hosta hunting!

Hi Esther,

Maybe you looked up 'Banana Muffins' by mistake? Just a guess. That one does resemble 'Maui Buttercups' quite a bit. I love 'Lakeside Banana Bay', kinda reminds me of a little 'Cathedral Windows' or 'Holy Mole' a little bit. 'Cameo' looks like a great little plant, as does 'Pandora's Box'. I've also heard it can be a finicky grower, but it's variegation is sure beautiful.

Cheers,
Don B.

Esther, behind the obligatory bushes? Hmmmm, well, ummm, what if a hosta you put back there could have tall multiple spires of deep purple bloom scapes? I'm thinking one that is a bit wider of leaf and more vigorous at spreading around a bit, but if it is hidden behind bushes......

See if you might like Purple Lady Finger. I got two pots full and they came from Chris at Hallson.

Here is the original plant blooming in 2012

And here they are as of this afternoon. The one on the left is a 2012 purchase, and the one on the right is a 2013 purchase. After I saw it bloom, I knew I wanted more of it.

Dear MOCC:

Those purple blooms are gorgeous! However, the hosta plant itself doesn't do anything for me. And the spot behind the Obligatory Bushes is not that wide. At one end of the bed behind the Obligatory bushes is a lovely dicentra I planted last year. Then there is about 18-22" of available space, something like that. I can put a teeny something in front of the clematis. Then the next bit of space is taken up by the transplanted Maui Buttercups from the plowed-under hosta garden. Ha-ha, the grass seed the "landscape workers" sowed has barely taken, there's just a large nekkid soil oval where once stood my lovely hosta garden under the tree. Uglee!! Then there's about 15" of space, then there's the 18" diameter pot with the mini hostas in it. That's the undeveloped space behind the Obligatory Bushes. I hope to put the Blue Jay right next to the 18" mini hosta pot so that at least a little of it might be seen from the front, and my handicapped neighbor can enjoy it from her wheelchair access ramp.

mocc, what a nice blooming !!!