Theresa, nice additions. You may find 'Blue Ivory' quite a bit slower than 'June'. I have one that's now in it's 4th year and it has managed to grow to a whopping 2 shoots this year, rather disappointing I must admit. Hopefully it gets that proverbial kick-in-the-butt this year and show a growth spurt or I might have to move it from where it is and try it in a different location.

Whether or not there are different forms of 'June' is a big question mark. Certainly this cultivar shows tremendous variability in it's response to the amount of light it receives. My biggest 'June' is in a location where different parts of the plant receive differing amounts of direct light during the day and the side that gets less light stays a lot greener than the side that gets more. It's quite the chameleon.

Pieter

I have the first three on your list and all have done well for me. Fire Island is a nice sized clump, Brother Stefan is a bit slow, but it has increased from two eyes to three this year, and it was one big eye the year before when I got it. Blue Ivory has done well for me (knock on wood), it went from three eyes last year to seven this year. I like it better than El Nino, it has wider edges and they don't green up for me like El Nino does (not a lot, but BI stays white the whole season for me) and it seems to be increasing faster, but now that both are in a different state with completely different soil (clay loam to sandy loam) we shall see how they perform over the next couple of years, as well as all my others.

Karen

Theresa, I have two Brother Stefans, both doing fine. They are from different sources, and even with this one it is a noticeable difference in look. I ordered my first one back in 2010 and it was not delivered, got a couple of NOIDS instead. So I ordered from another source. That one was languishing so badly that I ordered one in November for March 2013 delivery. Now, THAT one is so much different from the other, it could be a different plant. Of course they are from different sources.

My plan is if something from one source fails to flourish, get it from another source next time. Of course, with squirrels being the problem, your problem is not the source!

As for a way to prevail against the fiendish squirrels with a cage over the top of your hosta, and hardware cloth is too hard on your hands, think about chicken wire. It is less stiff but if you roll a rim at the bottom, stiffens up pretty well. Nice thing is they can be crunched into a shape with your gloved hands much easier than hardware cloth. A few leaves poking through might get chewed, but not the roots dug out and killed. I listed my losses in another post, and they were from squirrels digging them up primarily. Little hosta, and they dried out more because they were in small individual pots.

If the lack of food resulted in the squirrels eating your hosta, I'd be feeding the squirrels corn on the cob as far away from the hosta as I could manage. Burying pecans in the pots was the problem here, not lack of food. One feeder I had to relocate because there was every morning fresh blood on the top of it. Probably a hawk or owl made a squirrel kill right there for its breakfast, not a sign left of the critter itself, so it was neatly carried off. But I moved the feeder to a different spot since I am not into animal sacrifice.

I have been very lucky with Great Expectations, but I do envy you the Brother Stephan. If I didn't have all of my prime spots taken I would have one of those. Such an intense plant. great colors, insane texture...

I think its a great one.

Have you checked the Host Library for pics yet? It won't be to long and we will have new pics of nearly everything .....

I've just about given up on buying small hosta because of the squirrel problem. (we're assuming Cleo will grow up and lose interest in hosta) The squirrels don't bother my older, larger hosta. Anything small, they dig up and lay aside. Then I plant it again and then they dig it up again.

My neighbor feeds corn and birdseed and we had a good crop of acorns last year, so they aren't hungry.

bk

Of those four,I only have Fire Island. It may be planted in a bad place because it still is very small after being there two years. I keep avoiding Brother Stefan,because it looks exactly like my Paradigm,and Cliffords Polar Moon,which are good growers. My local nursery has Brother Stefan,so I can look at a pretty big one there. Phil

Brother S and Blue ivory are the slowest growers in my whole garden, unfortunately. I can't get more than one eye out of Blue ivory and two from Brother S and they are both three years old, I think. I still enjoy them for what they are, though.

I'm sorry about your squirrel problem....I agree that hardware cloth is so unpleasant to work with. I wonder if that heavy plastic hardware cloth could be an option. Yes, a determined critter could probably chew through it, but it might at least discourage them or slow them down. The big box stores sell it.

My two Brother Stefans are different, and came from different sources. That's the way I do most times when I want multiples. Like I have 8 plantaginea now, from about 4 nurseries. No, 5 nurseries counting Mama plantaginea, the first one. I watch for variations or susceptibility to disease.

Here is Bro. Stefan #2 from Naylor acquired this spring. Growing strong isn't it.

And from MITS, got it last year. The new eye looks different from the original growth. Is that a sport?

moc, you always amaze me. I have a had time taking pictures standing on my feet and you've taken your standing on your head. tee-hee!

It looks like your BS from MITS is two different hostas in the same pot.

It never occurred to me to feed the squirrels corn as a distraction from my hostas. It seem not natural to reward the little evil ones by feeding them. I'd like to wring their little necks. But planting acorn squash seemed to distract voles from eating hosta crowns and I hate voles also.

I LOVE El Nino, which is why I was attracted to Blue Ivory-very similar coloration.

When we lived in Arkansas I'd seen squirrels chew through smooth plastic cylnders on finch feeders to eat the tiny seeds. I doubt plastic bird netting would slow them down.

I've read that squirrels dig where the smell of recently turned dirt might indicate another one buried a nut. So newly planted small hostas aren't the target but an interference to them. Of course if we don't replant in time it will kill the young hostas as their roots dry out. If this is the case why did I spend an hour today pulling out walnut seedlings? If I could be a squirrel teacher I would hold classes teaching them where to find walnut not hosta plantings. I never had this problem living in Arkansas, but then the problem I did have was walnuts everywhere. The squirrels drove me crazy though sampling my peaches every spring. They would pick a peach, take a bit and drop it and pick another one, only to do the same.

Do you wonder why I call them tree rats?

Of the 4 hostas I have listed, how much sun should I look for in bedding them? I have Paul's Glory & Old Glory doing well, which are very similar to Paradigm. Would Brother Stefan do well in the same sun/shade conditions.

Yes, I always check Hosta Library for EVERYTHING when I purchase a hosta. But what we have in ur gardens, and what the developers show as their registered hostas might be different altogether. For example our Blue Angels are awesome compared to those shown in HL-in my opinion. The best hosta pictures I see are those here in Hosta Forum.

Theresa

My Brother Stefan is in late morning and early afternoon sun, and its burning a little bit. Other hostas in that area aren't burning...

I've been waiting for my Blue Ivory to look like this. It took me three times to find the right spot. I'm hoping the white edges don't melt away.

Fire Island's color is beautiful in the spring:

My Vulcan isn't picture worthy yet. Here it is last year:

Gesila

Theresa, I took my smarty phone outside to take those pictures today, I never hold it properly, so things get turned upside down a lot. BUT, nice thing is, I click right then and can upload it via an app to Flickr. You really notice things, don't you Theresa?

Gesila, all your hosta are picture worthy. You are such a perfectionist! However, I understand why.

I noticed today that two leaves on Sum & Substance have burn spots, or so I HOPE that is the problem. I'll post it in another (separate) thread, because it is not related to this. I mention it because I THINK it is due to the whole day of sun it is getting. It is fading the gold somewhat. It is not possible for even the strongest hosta to take "full sun" in this latitude.
How much sun Brother Stefan can take up in IL is out of my kin, T. But mine are soon heading for the shade as much as I can manage.

Your Blue Ivory is awesome Gesila.

Theresa, I have three out of four of your new hostas and each one of these is in a pot. I cannot comment on Blue Ivory as I just got it this year. Fire Island was purchased last year and is very bright right now, looking similar to Gesila's. Seems to be doing well.

As for Brother Stefan, it is one of my favorites right now along with Earth Angel and Great Expectations. I bought it last year and it had two eyes plus one tiny one. This year it has six eyes. At this point in time it has not come to its full color, but it is a beauty. I took these pictures to show you how wonderful it looks and how the water droplets cling on to each leaf (probably because of all its indentations and dimples. I think you are going to love this hosta!

Also, sorry to hear about your hosta losses.

I too have lots of squirrels, and I feed the birds. So in early spring I try to keep my pots elevated---I have a table and I turn over garbage cans. After the trees and shrubs leaf out, I find the squirrels dig in the pots much less. If the squirrels tend to target certain pots, I will put mini rocks from the dollar store around to discourage them. I also use a plastic mesh that I can cut to size and stick them in around the hosta with garden staples. I find during the summer the squirrels have more things to eat so they are not that bothersome.

I have another picture of Brother Stefan.