Think about the orientation of the line as to the sun. I will bet they are south to north with the biggest ones being on the south. Seems the big one got more sun than the others.
Dig out the largest and the smallest and switch their places.
Linda C

Are they on any sort of slope? If so, the bottom ones might be getting more water / rain than the top ones. I once had three weeping willows that demonstrated this principal perfectly! We transplanted the smallest (highest) one to a boggy area and within a couple years it had hugely outgrown its former companions!!

Gosh, I have so many that do this. I agree, probably the difference in sunlight.

I also agree. It is the orientation of the sun. However, if you are willing, it can be slowly corrected.

Dig them up and reverse their planting order. Eventually they will even out...then gradually the uneven size issue will return and you will have to start all over again.

But at least you will get some improvement for a few years before it is a problem again.

Good luck!

they are not south to north, but NE to SW with the biggest one being on the NE...isn't that just the opposite of what you were telling me lindac? When it comes to directions, I'm a complete idiot, honest LOL. I asked my husband about the slope, and he said yes, it does slope toward this largest one. I don't think they get much sun, if any, in the mornings. Looking at them in the early afternoon, the largest one is the one getting the most sun. My neighbor has a large oak tree in her back yard that overshadows the other three. She is to the right of me if you are facing the back yard. But, she also has 2 hostas planted in front of her storage building and they face the same way as mine do (her building faces the back of her house where the side of our building faces ours). Both of her hostas get full sun, no shade from her tree or any other tree in the area. Yet, hers are growing just like mine....the one on the left is larger than the one on the right. I don't know if her yard has a slope or not.

Gosh, the digging up and transplanting part sounds like a pain. I just want something that is going to be very low, and I mean very low maintenance.

So it isn't orientation that gives one more sun but the shade from a tree.
You really can't get much lower maintenance than hosts....
But If you are wanting plants exactly the same size that stay that way you will have to do SOME maintainance.
I say learn to live with the differente...or buy plastic shrubbery.
Linda C

I would have never thought about the sun being part of the problem. I thought hostas were shade loving plants, (at least the kind I have), but I guess they do need some sun. I am nowhere as knowedgable on gardening as most of you. About the digging up and reversing, I may try this (once), but I won't buy plastic shrubbery...lol.

Hostas aren't shade loving. They are shade tolerant.

"Hostas aren't shade loving. They are shade tolerant."
hostarox

Hosta are not shade tolerant they are heat intolerant. They love sun and hate the heat and must have water at all times. Forget shade it is only a side bar, shade helps with the heat.

I think what I was trying to say is I thought they prefer the shade.

I'm being picky about the term because it fit previous understanding of hosta culture. I did several experiments with hosta and water leading to the conclusion that they could not get to much water unless the crown is under water. The last was a mister that lowered the temp as much as 20 degrees especially on hot days and found no effect from sun or heat. Although I eliminated the heat factor with the mister.

So, I come to they are heat intolerant not shade tolerant.

Hostas grow fastest in full sun, given enough water.
They will grow and flourish in the shade unlike many plants and some hosta will wither to nothing in too much shade.
Plants make and store energy for growth by a process called photosynthesis, a magical process involving green plant tissue and sunlight. All true plants need light to grow and live, some will live with less sun than others.
Hostas need a period of cold temps to promote dormancy, without at least 40 days of temps near freezing they will just diminish in size.
But heat intolerant? They do better than fine for me even when it's hovering about 100...IF they have enough water.
Hosta grow fastest in the sun, but they look best in part shade.
Linda C

"But heat intolerant? They do better than fine for me even when it's hovering about 100...IF they have enough water."

I offer if the temp climbs into the 90's AND the humidity is high they will suffer from the heat. No dispute about the water part.

"Hosta grow fastest in the sun, but they look best in part shade."

Why do they look best in the shade, it is true that all plants look better in the shade because your eyes open more and take in more light, that aside why do they "look best" in the shade?

"Esther" they look better in the shade because the blues stay blue longer, the edges on the wide margined variegated ones don't shrink up as fast, and the centers on the others don't melt out as quickly. DUH. We all live where we live....heat happens in summertime. If you wanna live with misters spraying, so be it. I have a water bill to pay every month, and I water my Hostas on a regular basis all summer long.

Question for esther opal...You said, "I did several experiments with hosta and water leading to the conclusion that they could not get too much water unless the crown is under water."
My pond has a lot of huge koi, other fish and frogs in it so I guess it's full of nutrients. This side of the house is facing south (full sun) Could I actually plant hostas in the stone along the bank as long as the crown is not under the water and it will thrive? Did I understand you correctly? Wow, that would be great if it would work! Wouldn't that look nice.
Let me know and I'll plant a few dozen Lancifolias today.

Could I actually plant hostas in the stone along the bank as long as the crown is not under the water and it will thrive? Did I understand you correctly?
Sassy

Yes, you did understand me correctly. Here are the pictures. I've explained this several times, I'll just say again that you can hand the roots down in the water and they will grow. You must anchor them so they don't fall or wash in.

None of these have soil around the roots.

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esther opal i agree. i used fish emulsion on my plants this year and they haven't stopped growing my hostas are the best they have ever been. huuuuge

here in nova scotia we can buy fish emulsion at some of the garden centers, we have a fish extraction plant 30 minutes away, they produce all kinds of fish byproducts for foods, etc. the fish emulsion is the leftovers. i figure water from a fish tank would be a good substitute.

sending some emulsion to my brother in ontario, he killed his blueberry bushes last year, thought he was doing best when he prepared the soil and planted them with lime. thinks his younger sister doesn't know anything.i know it will take some convincing for him to use it.

did you say snow on the mountain??? if it is what we call goutweed, stay clear it will take over the whole yard, i have a lot of it, plain and varigated, got it from a 'friend' years ago, been pulling it out ever since. last year i tried 2cups vinegar, 1/4 cup salt and 2 tblsp sunlight dish detergent. it works, turns everything brown. be careful it will kill anything it touches, but it is organic. repeat a few times for the goutweed aka snow on the mountain.

we have plenty of deer here, i plant daffodils every fall
so far okay i have 170 some hostas, 100 rhodos/azaleas
hope i haven't jinxed myself.

thankyou to everyone for the info over the past few months

my first post. now i have said what i have been thinking
should be in the yard working.

Snow on the Mountain is a scourge and I control with roundup, I'll try your formula.

So, what my hostas need are both sun and shade, but not too much of either one if I'm understanding correctly. Hostarox, I was watching one of the landscape designer shows on tv this morning, and the designer said that hostas were shade loving perrenials. I think that if I had planted these hostas in the flower bed in my front yard, they probably wouldn't have stood a chance. This area gets full sun from early afternoon until...well, when the sun goes down over the mountain.

I was looking out my kitchen window this morning and noticed that the largest hosta got only a very little bit of sun.

Esther opal, I do remember reading your other posts explaining your 'no soil' method of growing
hostas, but it seemed so weird to me that I figured
that I must not have understood what you said.
OK, I'll give it a try & see what happens. I noticed that you have a good
steady stream of water for your plants.
With my situation the water level goes down alittle as the summer heats up and we get less rain,
but the pond usually doesn't drop more than 6".
It will be interesting to see how well the roots follow the water level.
I'll post pics and let all of you follow the progress.

If this is a dirt bank then plant them about 6 inches above what you think is high water mark and they will find the root level they want.

Didn't expect this discussion to take quite the turn it did. My point was more of a technical one. Heat intolerant if you accept it does not suggest that they should be planted in the sun especially considering that there are many plant that do well in the sun and not so many for the shade. And, in the sun you will still fight the heat even if you win so they are wonderful for the shade.

They will grow larger with more sun but so what they are beautiful in even heavy shade where they may be quite small as a result. Plant large hosta in deep shade and you have medium or small hosta and beautiful.

Quite hollering at me, I told you everyone thinks my name is "where in the hell have you been"

Esther Opal,
OK, I had an Undulata that I didn't want so I put several divisions from it in my pond. I just put the plants
between some rocks to keep it upright and made sure that the crown was not in the water.
Now here's my question....how can they survive this winter?
I mean, those roots are going to be imbedded in several inches of ice.
Sassy