Do you ever not buy a hosta because of the name?

14 years ago

Weed posted a thread not long ago asking if you ever buy hostas just for the name. Here is the flip side of that situation...

Are there any you won't buy because of the name? There are several that I will never buy just because I don't like the name. They aren't necessarily offensive, I just don't like them for some reason! I probably am missing out on some great plants, but c'est la vie!

A few that spring to mind.....

Achy Breaky Heart (hate the song!)

Bedazzled (the infomercial killed this one for me)

Blue Haired Lady

Butter and Eggs

Coconut custard

Corn Muffins

Cream Cheese

Dragon Tails (my kids watched the TV show constantly for several years and the thought of it makes me cringe LOL)

Elephant Burgers

Elvis Lives

Sweet Tater Pie

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Comments (16)

woodthrush
14 years ago
lol - I want Achy Breaky Heart for the way it looks!
Names that turn me off are first and last name of a person.
I don't mind just first names. But if it's a nice hosta, it still won't keep me from buying it. Ok, so, empty pockets is the only thing that keeps me from buying a hosta - lol
Pam
sue_in_nova_scotia
14 years ago
I offered a friends mother 'strip tease' hosta and she refused based on the name...I got the impression she considered it inappropriate..personally I would buy any hosta I liked and forget the name If i didn't like it or rename it "lil' offensive" or "lil' whatchamacallit"
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ladywindsurfer
14 years ago
Top of my list:
Outhouse Delight A two year old could have thought of a better name!
Jaws
Jurassic Park (Both of those movies gave me the creeps!)
Abba Dabba Do Another kids cartoon that keeps echoing in my ears!
Any Lakeside XXXXX Hosta Have tried 15-20, all (OS) divisions. None survived in my garden, even though several hundred others have! Many friends in this area have had a similar experience.
botanybabe
14 years ago
Occasionally a name will turn me off. I don't like names that have the word "angel" in them and I don't like religious names. However this is more of a problem in the daylily world than the hosta world. Funny, because I think of myself as a spiritual person, but I don't like to be "sold" spirituality I guess.

I do like the names of persons. Every time I look at my Hosta Mildred Seaver when it's all sunburned and slug-bit, I think, "Even at her worst, poor old Mildred probably looked better than this."

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Janice
14 years ago
Yep--I do!

'Illicit Affair'
'Shady Affair'
'Hanky Panky' (had it once, for about a week but when it died I decided it was for the best, anyway!)
'Cheatn' Hearts'
'Deceiver'
'Fallen Angel'

Need I explain why? :o)

Okay--sort of an explanation beyond the obvious--had a Dad that was very unfaithful to my Mom,
and I find nothing appealing about adultery or the father of lies, so why ruin a good hosta with a bad name!
davemidohio
14 years ago
Elvis Lives and Marilyn Monroe, although I am really thinking about getting over that second one. Maybe I'll get it and call it Norma Jean.

Dave
Carole Westgaard
14 years ago
Botany Babe - you made me feel better.Was feeling guilty for hating the name 'Praying Hands' - reluctantly bought it last year even though it doesn't look a THING like a hosta. It looks like sanseveria -- that old plant from the 1800's that everyone's grandmother had in the house.

Westy
pzelko
14 years ago
Westy, Praying Hands is what I thought of when I read the header on this thread, And then Elvis Lives!! Didnt someone see him in a Burger King a couple of years ago? Yes some names do turn me off too. the outhouse one would be a third , I really hate PIT toilets, reminds me of camping (when a child) and was always afraid of falling in. and then there is the X files, where this thing ends up in a porta john? YUCK!! Who in there right mind gets any delight once they step in an outhouse (unless they just ate a WHOLE pot of chilli)! and the smell just about knocks you over!!

Paul

am sure there are a couple more but cant think of any at the moment. I dont mind hosta named after people, so many other plants are named like that too. I think that POOR Frances is feeling kinda sore as he (or she) is burning up in my back yard!! (thanks Lainey)
weed30 St. Louis
14 years ago
Alexa, in reading your list, it seems you have food issues ;)

Achy Breaky Heart - hate that song too!
I also don't care for the 'religious' names and some of the 'angel' names. (Blue Angel is an exception)
Then there are so many that just show no imagination or are silly. Silly does not do a hosta justice, know what I mean?

How about "Awesome", "Bizarre", "Disorder"? Blech.
jbranch
14 years ago
I buy mainly for the look of the hosta, but I do someday want to buy a H. Alabama Gold mostly for the name.
caliloo
Original Author
14 years ago
LOL Weed!

Yuo know I love to eat, but I don't want to LOOK at "Cream CHeese" or "Coconut Custard" (EW on the second one BTW). And I can't even wrap my mind around Elephant Burgers. Somehow it reminds me of Cow Patties (which would also be on my list if someone named a hosta that LOLOLOL)!

Lainey - I am so with you on the spiritual names. I have nothing against any form of religion, but I find plant names with a religious connotation offensive too. And yes, Daylilies are MUCH worse! I would love to own "HBHMB" (How Beautiful Heaven Must Be) but I REFUSE to have that name on a tag in my garden!

Anyway, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with the name hangup! LOLOLOL!

Alexa
hosta_freak
14 years ago
I do have Illicit Affair,in fact 2 of them,but I don't really care about the names,just the look of the plants. When people question me about the names of plants,I just say:Hey I don't name em',I just grow them! People say they don't like hostas with the word angel in them. I think Earth Angel is an appropiate name for a beautiful plant,and yes,it is one the "earth"! Phil
fenceberry
14 years ago
I have an unnatural fear of rodents, so none of those cute litte Vermin Ears hostas in my gardens.
Pieter zone 7/8 B.C.
14 years ago
My-oh-my, I does have trouble with Praying Hands, I'm with Lainey and others on this one... and beats me why it's HOTY for 2010, but that's another story for another time. Must admit though I do like the name Elvis Lives, how about 'Elvis has left the Building' as a name.... and while it's OT, how about names that somehow just don't seem to match the plant, like Sea Octopus, how could something that elegant be named like that.... it deserves something much more fitting... but that's another topic altogether..
hosta_freak
14 years ago
I was talked into Elvis Lives,by the nursery owner,and the first year is was ugly,but now has come to be one of my nicest. I like the frosty blue color. Phil
ginny12
14 years ago
Outhouse Delight has alwayss had a yukky sound to me. Wouldn't have it, no matter what it looked like.

Do you ever not buy a hosta because of the name?

Comments (16)

woodthrush

sue_in_nova_scotia

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Do you ever not buy a hosta because of the name?

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