you can probably grow hosta on ... everyone now ... the driveway if you wanted .... with a little dirt on the roots, they would probably survive out of the ground ...

that said .. you dont mention where you are .. zone matters ... as does soil .. a little more info will help ...

i dont know where you have been shopping online.. but the hosta library has a lot of hosta that just arent available on the market ... have fun there.. but shop elsewhere ... as a group we have tried a lot of vendors .. and can lead you to the good ones .... i personally would suggest you stay away from ebay .. and support the vendors that support the American Hosta society ... i believe their website is at the link below ...

depending where you are .. zone .. your soil .. your trees/shade .. etc ... plant the hosta.. and if it thrives.. you are all set ... if it doesnt.. move it until you find a spot that it likes .... that really is the bottom line ...

and for hosta.. the key .. when it is all broken down. is WATER >>> WATER >>>> WATER ..... everything else is a bonus ...

good luck

ken

PS: consider visiting or joining a local hosta society .. and make a point of taking the garden tour they offer this summer ... computer screens and cameras are so variable.. that the only and best way to judge hosta is with your own eyes .... also consider joining the AHS and receive the Journals they put out 3 times a year .... mind boggling ....

Here is a link that might be useful: AHS

'June' is a great one for full sun - pale olive green centers with dark blue-green edges and stripes of deep lime green in between.

- Steve

I am in southern indiana ken. If you look at june on the hosta library site it looks like about 3 different plants lol. I'm gonna work on getting this down and try to go look at some myself as recommended. I have always been the kinda gardener that threw it in the ground and just let it go, other than watering, weeding, and occasional fertilize i don't do much- guess i have been lucky in that respect *knock on wood*. The two varieties of hosta i have their location has never depended on the color variation of them, they look the same no matter what spot i have them planted. However, i can see how the sun affects growth pattern and i just never thought about it that deeply until i came to garden web and started reading posts, like i say i just plant it and it goes. But my front flower beds which get quite a bit more sun is the ones with the 8 inch leaves and the other flower beds either have direct or indirect sun and at this site there are eyes everywhere but no leaves yet, so it definately affects growth pattern but i have never noticed it affecting color palate, although one of mine is a dark green the other is variegated but may be a hardy enough plant that sun does not affect their color change or maybe they are just meant for full sun. Lots to think about that is for sure. Thanks for the welcome ken i look at different forums on garden web and sometimes forget that each is its own seperate place, so i forget to introduce myself. It is a huge site.

What part of so IN?

madison, why?

The Louisville Hosta Society and Cinn both have garden tours, I think Lou is the end of June.

That would be a nice little gift to myself :)...do you have a link to either, i will try to google it. Sometimes hard to find time to treat yourself with 3 children and a career, but i have heard others talk about the tours and they seem very stress relieving, which is why i garden in the first place :). Well that and i love the beauty it provides. Do you live in the area as well?

I live near Louisville and was a founding member of The Kentuckiana Hosta Society. We will be on tour this year.
http://www.botanicakentucky.org/index.php?c=directory

The reason the shady ones are slower is their soil is colder. Eventually, their leaves may be much larger than the leaves of the hosta in sun.

To help you i.d. these guys:

Hooijer's Hosta Undulata Explanations

Tigger's Hosta Undulata Identification &mdash The Usual Suspects

And of course, the photos at the Hosta Library are the best way to double-check once you have a name tentatively identified.

Hi, Y - and welcome. You will spend most of your GW time here because this is the best group. I am posting to answer your Q about 'is it good to leave them big like that'. I am like you, in that I hate to divide. When did you plant your hostas? My first H was planted over 19 years ago - that summer I planted fairly common stuff - Honeybells, V. Aureomarginata, etc. Last year they started the 'fairy rings' - the center of the crown stops throwing up eyes and they just come up in a ring around the edge of the ever-increasing crown. That's when I realized there are some H that just have to be divided because they looked pretty stupid by the time they were unfurled. I don't know if all H do this because I didn't start planting the new cultivars until about 1995 and so far no fairy rings in them. Maybe someone else knows if they all do.

Westy

Welcome, this is a great forum, I have learned so much here. And everyone is very friendly. I usually do more lurking than posting as I don't have near as much hosta knowledge as many others here. I can tell you that generally the blues prefer more shade.