Technically it's an interloper since it's not a TC of the original TC sport. But, having said that, if it's close enough to what's shown in the HL so as you wouldn't notice, give it a garden name like "Starship Enterprise" for example. That establishes that connection to 'Starship' yet it is a different name. More over, if you like the sport you have planted up, who cares if it's not the real thing, this is close enough, isn't it?

Pieter

BUT Mark's Starship is a tc sport while mine is an actual plant sport.

========>>>

isnt there an FAQ dumbing down TC [ i put it that way cuz some dummy wrote it ..] .... i will sum it up

they take a piece of meristem... which is like an artichoke... strip off all the leaves of the artichoke ... down to the meristem .... so they have the crown to start with .... and sterilize it to within an inch of its life .... so its still the same plant ...

they then place that in some jello/agar which has hormones to release dormant buds .... a few weeks later they take it to a chamber and start slicing off little plantlets .... which are still the same plant ... now they have crown + leaves ...

then they get a different jar with rooting hormone in the jello .... and grow some roots on all the pieces cut of ... and it is still the same plant ... and now a complete plant with roots, crown and leaves ...

in a few more weeks.. when they all might be an inch big.. they move them to liner trays by the hundreds ... and they are still the same plant ...

and there you have TC in a nutshell ...

now.. because hosta are inherently unstable.. lets say for every hundred of the same plant ... out will pop the weirdo .. centered.. edged.. just different from momma ...

and that is how a TC produced sport ... and .. IN THEORY .. would be no different than your sport .. if they look the same ... though in all reality .. only maturity.. and a DNA test is going to tell you if they are exactly the same ...

you can divide or stomp your plant.. to start releasing the dormant buds.. to increase your odds of getting the little weirdos .... and eventually.. you will have 250,000 copies of momma .... and a good percentage of sports.. just like the TC guys ...

i doubt your are thinking of registering it and putting it on the market.. but in all reality.. these TC guys have swamped the market with hundreds of look alikes.. because each lab names the same sport and takes it to market [God forbid they throw away something that they have this much invested in, even if it is a look alike] .. and frankly.. no one is going to bother to do the DNA to find out ... ergo presto.. a bunch of TC sports of something like striptease.. that all look familiar ...

so in specific answer to your question... yes it is the same sport.. until someone else proves me wrong ...

regardless ... it is a thrill to 'capture' your own....

you may resume having fun in your garden .. lesson over

ken

Ken did a great job of explaining the situation. Given the uncertainty, and my being something of a stickler about accurate labeling...

I'd label this plant either "sport of H. 'Captain Kirk'" or I'd make up a name and use double quotes to indicate it is not a legal, registered name but one I am considering for the sport, as Pieter suggested. I'd avoid "Starship Enterprise" only because both 'Starship' and 'Enterprise' are already in the market. There are no end of good Star Trek names. If it was a wimpy, irritatingly immature little squirt, you could call it Wesley... but since it is robust, ... I think "Worf" is still available.

I have a white-centered sport from CK. Initially I labeled it "sport of H. 'Captain Kirk'" After observing it for three years, I decided it might be different enough from Enterprise - narrower white center, more color mixing along the overlap - to be considered a different sport. I've given it a tentative name, so it is now labeled "H. "Dammit, Jim""

BTW, it is in a planting with Starship, Stargate, and Smooth Sailing. Starship is one of the fastest growers I've seen in a long time, which suggests good things for your sport.

And Stargate - streaked and getting lots of attention from garden visitors...

love ken's splainin, but also idiothe's nomenclature illumination

given hosta's instability, it seems futile to resist naming one 'illogical'

~ freshair

One year, when I was teaching, a kid gave me a sign that said, "Hey you learn something new every day". I still have the sign hanging up! And today I learned lots--I hope many readers see this post as I found it very informative. The naming info is invaluable--my babies will now get correct nomenclature! Ken, your tc explanation was fantastic--I now know how tc works, and thank you for correcting my misinterpretation between tc and plant sports. Idiothe--thanks for the info on Starship. Mine looks very perky today so I have hopes of getting a nice H from this sport. Zillis said the center turns from green to gold as the summer progresses--so that will be my first "test". You guys are so patient and helpful with us "learners", and take such pains to explain things thoroughly--you are truly appreciated!! Mary

Ken, your tc explanation was fantastic--I now know how tc works,

===>>> well.. you are welcome..

but now you ONLY know basic theory .... which is all most of us need ...

how it all works is a mystery.. wrapped in an enigma.. surrounded by a burrito of a riddle.. or something like that ...

have a great day in the garden... link below for a little further learnin'

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

I would bet that your Captain Kirk is still a TC plant, and that sport you found could still be considered a TC sport. These things sometimes happen with such frequency that while tissue culturing Captain Kirk they just take out the white centered ones and call them Enterprise or the light colored with a cream edge ones and call them Starship. The other possibility was that Starship was put back into TC and some Captain Kirks came out of them (true reversions) so the Captain Kirks were separated out and sold, this one possibly had a tiny piece of Starship there too.

Personally I thought that Starship looked so much like Moonlight that I didn't think it was worth keeping and naming, but that's the TC business for ya...

Well... you called it, Chris... so far, Starship and Moonlight are indistinguishable in my garden except they are different ages and in different light conditions.

One thing I intend to watch in Starship is the color change and if it develops an uneven, virusey look like Moonlight does. After Zilis described the uneven coloring in Moonlight as a virus in his handbook, I observed it in my plant. That was back when Dr. Lockhart was still doing free testing, so I sent him some leaves and the all came back as virus-free... so every year I look at that Moonlight in deep shade going through uneven color changes with green patchiness... and think virus! - No, checked that!

So I'm wondering if Starship will show a similar color change... mine should be big enough this year to get some sense of its nature...