Don't have any idea on what it is, but that is one awesome (I seldom ever use that word, but just had to this time) plant! I hope someone can ID it.

Kat

Well, I'm not an expert and those leaves do seem to be more streaked, but if you bought that at Home Depot, I bought one that looked almost identical (including the flower/leaf on top and the holed out brown spot on the whites of the leaves.) They were all labeled Great Expectations...and all of them had the flower/leaf "thingy". Can't think of that word...right now. I'll try and get a picture of mine for you.

That was my thought - something like Great Expectations that has been pumped full of hormones, given lots of water and fertilizer, then put into too much sunlight.

I've got 3 GEs and the one above doesn't look like mine. Then again, mine are 12 yrs old and I don't remember what they looked like when they were small. The leaves on mine aren't pointed like the ones above. No matter what, it's still a beauty.

Kat

Thanks to everyone who replied! So far, the replies favor 'Great Expectations.' I already have two mature plants of this variety, and got them as very young plants. Neither looked like this when immature, except for the creamy color of the flower stalk itself. No "palm tree" flower clusters, no streaks, no contorted leaves. Perhaps this was grown under different conditions, or got hit with a growth regulator, so looks different...time will tell, I guess.

I didn't get it at Home Depot...too many of their plants had the deadly ink-bleed of HVX. I didn't want to chance it. Mass growers supply the big box stores and local garden centers around here, so there's a chance that it came from the same grower as the ones at HD that were labelled as 'Great Expectations' - but I sure hope not.

I'm still open to more feedback, so keep those guesses coming!

- Lisa

I agree--G.E.! I bought one at a large supermarket type mega store ('07)and it looked just like yours!
As usual, it didn't make it for me!! I think it even had the same fasciation (sp) on top, too! I bet it's
the high hormone/fertilizer some suppliers pump them with, as Chris suggested!!

I sure enjoyed having it that summer--it just didn't survive the winter for me! Whaaaa--sob!!

BluePoppy very generously shared a piece of hers with me, last year and it came back this Spring with
the teeniest eye--which I dug up and am really pampering hoping it may come back--but it's like a tc right now!!!
It's sitting in a pot, in a saucer of water 24/7 and seems to like that--so far!! I'd so love to have one thrive for me!!

I saw several plants today at a local store that looked just like the photo- Great Expectations.

I've seen so many mis-labelled plants at grocery stores and mass merchants that I don't trust their labels anymore. Sometimes, customers switch the labels accidentally, I know...but I've seen tons of misidentified hostas for sale with adhesive labels stuck ON the pots. Yikes! Scary that hundreds of these go out that way from the growers, huh?!

I made a Home Depot run to check theirs out - thanks to Mary4b for the suggestion. I found a number of plants marked as 'Great Expectations' (including quite a few that were actually 'Golden Tiara', and some that were actually 'Krossa Regal'...!) None had the crazy bloom stalk, most had only 1-2 eyes/pot, and all had more corrugation on the leaves. Very few had such streaking.

The two GEs that I already have were/are v-e-r-y slow-growing, and took 4 years to become established. They still aren't full sized yet, and this is year #5! The other hostas in that bed go gangbusters - so it's not a deficiency in the soil or culture. All my hostas, (now 100+) except for 'Fire & Ice' and 'Spilt Milk' have thrived. My mystery hosta already had 5-6 eyes in the 1 gallon pot when I bought it, and has already increased quite a bit in size...YAY!

Maybe it is a GE that had growth regulators applied to it. I wouldn't mind having one that would grow quickly - patience isn't one of my strengths! ;) Maybe it's some other fast-growing variety. Whatever it is, I LOVE IT so far....this should be a very interesting hosta season!

Thanks again for all the input -

- Lisa