Excellent choices! My poor Dorset Clown is one of those shrinky dinks that was in a pot over the winter. It's slowly coming back.

So, did you break the budget for the season with these?

Gesila

Budget?

Oh, they're all great choices. Dorset Clown is especially nice, and love the sheer size of Winter Snow.

Those are nice! I am interested in the price for the Dorset Clown? Cotton Candy comes from Pathfinder, so should grow well. I highly recommend getting some bio-tone starter plus to add to the mix for the liners. If you don't want to buy a bag let me know and I will help you out. I have a second year DC coming and am excited to get it for the seeds.

Nice plants! John just posted on his blog about his order arriving this week from Q&Z. Always nice to get first pickings!!
Vanessa

Here is a link that might be useful: John's Garden Blog

They look like they will be fun to watch grow up.
Cotton Candy looks very interesting

Nice haul, Paula. Some of those are plugs?...nice size. I got Dorset Clown in 2011. It's been real stable unlike some streakers. Has done well too, considering he's under a red maple.

You got some other really unique ones too: Zebra Stripes and Cotton Candy - I like them but don't have them. Are they all going in your new bed?

Gesila, just kidding - I am way past the budget phase this spring :)

Thanks HostaTakeover, I like your moniker

Smithstudios - thanks for the offer but I am not sure that you can help me as I am in Canada. I haven't grown liners before. I looked on the faq on the Q&Z website and it says in July to put them into 3" pots for six weeks and then up to 1 gallon. For potting mix, I have BM1. Any comments?

Hey Vanessa - I lucked out because I didn't even check his blog before I went. I live about 8 kms from him so I often pop in.

mbug, I agree, it looked very interesting. There were a couple of others that I was interested in but I had to draw the line somewhere, although I might go back for Kaleidochrome. Hypnosis and Justine looked good, too.

Irawon - I am glad to hear that it has been stable for you, I have two red maples and I just made a new bed under one. The hostas closest to the trunk I put in pots in the ground to help them out. My new bed is already full, the grass isn't all down yet as I can only put about 10 rolls of sod in my car at a time. This pick is from this evening.
The rocks that I added don't show up very well from the angle that I took the pic.
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This is the sand that I started with
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Compost arrived, as it is on a slight hill, I had to put it in a wheelbarrow and put it up there myself - big job.
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the pix are gone this morning...

please show me dorset clown ...

ken

What a score Paula! You lucked out! You'll have a lot of fun watching these grow into beauties!

I was able to view your pictures yesterday. Unfortunately your pictures have now been removed from this thread. (I believe when they are moved or removed in photobucket, the photo disappears in this Hosta Forum.) Hope you can repost!

Good luck with all!

i didnt know dorset clown ... as a streaker.. came thru TC ...

thx for the pic

ken

I have got 4 seedlings and a pack of bio-tone to get through customs. I would be more than willing to try bio-tone on its own. I do believe that it helps plants to grow better. I think it is the mycorrhizae that is in it that makes the difference. I also use alfalfa meal and greensand, but that is also in bio-tone. It has little nutrition, 4-3-3. I think it helps greatly with root development and as has been said before, the root system is what matters most in a healthy plant.

Here is a H. Aphrodite that I received as a liner on 4/14 and this picture was taken 6/5. They are now quite a bit bigger.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mycorrhizae