Hosta 'Tiny Tears' vs. Hosta venusta

14 years ago

Last year I purchased (separately) three different miniature plants that, at the time, I thought were all Hosta venusta 'Tiny Tears'. I now realize that these are two different cultivars: Hosta venusta and Hosta 'Tiny Tears'.

So, which one(s) do I have?

Plant #1:

Plant #2:

Plant #3:

I just found (in a box) the labels that came with the plants -- 2 labels for H. venusta, 1 label for H. 'Tiny Tears'. That would lead me to believe that #1 is H. 'Tiny Tears' and #2 and #3 are H. venusta.

It's hard to get accurate size comparisons off the web. The Color Encyclopedia of Hostas lists H. venusta as 10" wide and 2 3/4" high, but gives no size for H. 'Tiny Tears' (though saying it is "similar").

MyHostas Database, on the other hand, lists H. 'Tiny Tears' as a smaller (6" wide) hybrid of H. venusta -- though the database confusingly lists H. venusta as growing "clumps to 4 inches". (If 4" wide, then venusta would actually be smaller, so maybe they mean 4" high?)

Anyway, do the experts here know which-is-which based on the pictures above? Because I bought all three only last year, it's quite possible that none of their sizes is that of a fully mature plant.

Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
hugo's database says TT is a venusta hybrid..

old nomenclature would list species.. aka venusta.. then the cultivar ... TT here

new rules say a named clone is a named clone .. and being a hybrid.. it is wrong to add the 'venusta' part to the named variety ...

what that all boils down to is... improper labels at the wholesale or retail level ....

all 3 of yours look like the pix at the library ...

ken
extragalactic
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the info, Ken.

When you wrote, "all 3 of yours look like the pix at the library," did you mean that they all look like H. 'Tiny Tears'? Or H. venusta?

To be honest, my eyes can't tell the two apart based on the pictures in the library, but that's probably my ignorance of the subtleties of botanical classification...
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dhaven
14 years ago
This one is problematic. I've been told that Tiny Tears is really a selection from venusta rather than a hybrid. It may also be venusta x venusta, and since this is a species plant, the offspring should all be venusta, but as anyone knows who has self crossed a hosta species several times, there is sometimes a little bit of variation in the offspring. Ventricosa is a classic example of this--it comes true from seed, but there are a number of ventricosa selections that have been named and registered, and there are very slight differences in these plants.

Now here's the real kicker on this one--there are supposedly somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 or 30 "different" venusta forms. In fact, there are people who collect the various venustas. The differences are fairly subtle, but one of the main variations is in size--some venusta is very small, less than 3 inches, and some gets up to 4-6 inches. All are solid green with somewhat heart shaped leaves, and most have a bit of waviness to the leaf. Complicating this issue is the fact that under different conditions, many hostas will grow slightly differently. Factors such as climate, soil type, light levels, and plant competition can all affect the appearance of a hosta. So it's unclear exactly how many "different" venustas there are, but it is clear that there are at least several that are notably different when grown in the same garden.

So where does this leave you with your three plants? My answer would be that for the moment, you aren't going to have any idea which might be Tiny Tears and which are venusta. You will have to grow them out for a couple of years and then try to make a determination. In this case, the two that look the most alike will probably be the venusta, since you know there are two of those, leaving the other one as Tiny Tears. What you aren't going to know until then is whether or not Tiny Tears is going to be the smaller of the two hostas. I happen to have a very small 'version' of venusta that reaches about 3 inches, and Tiny Tears in my garden is closer to 5 inches, so it's the bigger of the two. If you have a taller 'version' of venusta, your Tiny Tears might well be the smaller of the two. Only time and patience will tell. There seem to be a number of hosta growers who have sold venusta as Tiny Tears, because it's a more expensive plant, which doesn't help matters any. It is therefore possible that at maturity you will have three identical plants.

However your mystery resolves, you will be happy to know that venusta is a wonderful little hosta, incredibly hardy and quite prolific. My clump has been in place for almost 20 years, and at one point was over three feet across. I've since divided off quite a lot, but the clump is still a good 20 inches wide, and very pretty. It's a great edger, looks good all season, and has pretty flowers. So whatever your three plants turn out to be, you will enjoy all of them.
extragalactic
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, dhaven, for the extensive info.

While I also, at first, guessed that the two similar ones must be H. venusta (based on the tags), sizes can vary considerably for plants picked up in nurseries. I don't know why I got all mixed up last year...