My Twist of Lime was new last year,it gets afternoon sun and it did burn up last year in August heat.I know that it is an oldie but Lancifolia is cheap and is perfect for a long border.Now having written that most landscapers tend to group things in threes or fives so you could try threes in Heucheras,hostas and at the end where it gets a lot of sun try a dwarf daylily.Just an idea.Remember a curvy border is more attractive than a straight border.Phil

i might have enough of both... anything to trade???

frankly.. ANYTHING you plant in such mass.. is .. one way or another .. going to attract vermin ... its the pure volume of closely planted plants that will bring them in ...

you are truly are delusional.. if you think you can BUY a slug proof plant ...

make your decision based on shape of leaf and color ... your two choices are completely different ...

golden tiara.. can get to be a 3 foot clump rather fast... might not be the greatest edger ... but then the other can do the 2 feet ... hence the reason i have them in such volume ....

email me direct ....

ken

I love minis as edgers, and use quite a lot of them. One problem I foresee with your plan is that if you use only one variety, it's going to grow differently in the three different areas you have. Golden Tiara, for example, will be a lighter green with a parchment colored edge in full sun, darker green with a bright gold edge in full shade, and somewhere in between in the partially shaded area. The height of the plants can also be affected, as well as the rate of increase. You might consider using three different varieties for this project if any of these factors would be a concern to you.

As far as sun resistance, Golden Tiara will grow in full sun, as will Emerald Tiara, Jade Sceptor, Grand Tiara, Golden Sceptor, and Diamond Tiara, although DT will have a bit of edge burn the first year or two if not kept well watered. Avoid Platinum Tiara for full sun, as it will burn, but it's fine in about 3/4 sun.

Lancifolia is a much maligned plant (strictly because it's an old, classic variety) that is a perfect edger if you are looking for a medium sized plant. It is one of the few hostas that can be planted in a nice serpentine row and with a year or two of growth, show a solid wall of plants, without any demarkation between the individual plants. Mature Lancifolia will reach 15-18 inches tall and clump out to 18-24 inches. Pacific Blue Edger is another medium sized plant that makes a good larger edger, with a mature height of 16-18 inches and a spread of 36 inches.

In the mini to slightly larger size, there are quite a few choices for your situation. Some of the ones I have used or seen as edgers are listed below, in no particular order.

Allen P. McConnell will take full sun to full shade, grows fast, and forms very attractive clumps. It's readily available, reasonably priced, and looks good all season. Slugs will eat this one, but it's not a slug magnet, and the use of Diatomaceous Earth will keep the slugs at bay.

Kabitan is one of my favorite smaller hostas, and I use it for a border plant as well as a specimen, and have it tucked all over my gardens. It's a fast grower, looks good all season, and will take full sun. It's got somewhat thin substance, but the slugs don't seem to be partial to it.

Baby Bunting is a nice blue/green mini, very hardy and a nice grower, and will take lots of sun if given plenty of water. This is one that I've not seen any slug damage on in any of the gardens that have it.

Little Wonder is another of my favorites, a super grower under almost any conditions, widely available and very reasonably priced. It looks great all season, and is a very classy little mini. It also has very attractive dark purple flowers.

Lemon Lime makes an excellent edger, with masses of attractive flowers. It will grow in full sun if given lots of water, and it's very fast to clump up.

Gold Edger is a bit larger, topping out around 10-12 inches, and it's completely sun tolerant, not attractive to slugs, and attractive all season. Again, I know a source that still has a bunch of this, email if interested.

Venusta would be a good option if you like really tiny hostas--mine tops out at about 4 inches, but grows like a weed and is very hardy under all conditions. It will take full sun to full shade.

Feather Boa is another very small mini, quite hardy and a good grower. It will take full sun if kept well watered. Easy to find and reasonably priced, too.

Blue Mouse Ears is a lovely edger, and it will grow in full sun, but will lose it's coloration fairly quickly in the spring. Green Mouse Ears might be a better choice. Neither of these is very quick to increase, so the cost of buying a large number initially might be more than you want to spend.

Wylde Green Cream will grow to about 10-14 inches and makes a nice slightly larger edger. It will take full sun, but is somewhat more attractive to slugs than some of the other varieties. Very pretty in a mass planting, though.

Lakeside Elfin Fire will take lots of sun, if watered well, and it is a beautiful edger. Almost too beautiful, as the one place I've seen it used as an edger, it got all the attention and the hostas planted behind it were overlooked. A bit pricy as well, but definitely worth the money.

Saishu Jima is a unique small hosta that makes a terrific edger. It grows like a weed, tolerates full sun to full shade, and looks great all season.

Golden Spades is a lovely edger, very bright and showy. It will easily take full sun. It is an average grower, and might not be easy to find, but it's worth looking if you like a bright yellow.

Lakeside Zinger is a good edger with an interesting, more upright growth habit. It has crisp white margins, seems to be quite prone to sport or streak, and grows well in full sun to full shade. Readily available, quick to increase, and reasonably priced.

Thunbergiana is a wonderful edger in a slightly larger size. It has small, elongated, ruffled leaves, and grows to about 14 inches high. Very fast to increase, grows anywhere, and is very hardy. Also has nice flowers.

Little Razor is a great edger, with a very different look to the upright foliage. It's hardy, likes lots of sun but will grow in full shade, and is quick to increase.

Fair Maiden is one of my favorite edgers. It has a low, slightly spreading habit and beautiful coloration. It will take full sun only if mulched and watered deeply and often--otherwise it will burn. Slugs don't seem to like this one, possibly because it has somewhat thicker leaves than some hostas.

Abby is a wonderful small hosta with subtle coloration and a very nice growth rate. It makes a fabulous edger in full sun to full shade, isn't a slug favorite, and looks good all season. It's very reasonably priced and widely available.

Blue Cadet is a classic edger, a good grower and slug resistant. It will lose the blue coloration fairly quickly in full sun, but is still attractive as a dark green plant.

Dark Star is a larger plant, growing perhaps 12-14 inches tall and spreading to 18-20 inches, but it makes an outstanding edger if you have the room. It increases quite rapidly, looks good all season, will take full sun to full shade, and it reasonably priced. It is somewhat slug resistant.

Dragon Tails is a very cute mini with great plant habit, nice coloration, and good growth. It will take full sun to full shade, although the coloration will be slightly different under different conditions. Still new enough to be a bit pricy for a mass planting, but it would make a gorgeous border.

Lemon Delight is the reverse of Twist of Lime, and a much tougher plant than TOL. It will take full sun, increases very quickly, and looks good all season. A super hardy little mini that would make a nice edger.

Sherbourne Swift is a very pretty small blue that will tolerate full sun and is slug resistant. It will green up more quickly in sun, but still looks good all season. A bit hard to find, but worth looking for.

Veronica Lake or Pearl Lake are good edgers. Both very hardy, quick to increase, look good all season, and will take full sun to part shade. Both are fairly easy to find and reasonably priced.

Special Gift is a very old hosta that isn't widely available, but it makes a beautiful edger. It is about 10 inches tall, with grey-green leaves, grows very quickly, and looks great all season. It's slug resistant and will take full sun to full shade without noticeable changes in the appearance of the plant. Floradora is a somewhat similar plant that is another older variety.

There are many others that would also work, but these are a few of the ones I grow that make especially good edging plants.

I have a large curved area edged in Kabitan. Hosta looks good all season and takes a fair amount of sun.

My favorite edger is nakiana. Super fast multiplier, neat clumps grow together quickly, always looks neat, solid color does not detract from other hosta, stay short so does not block other hosta from view. Not a heavy substance, better than my Twist of Lime or Lemon Delight tho. Cheap also.

Have used Stiletto for a very short area, quick grower, looks nice but too busy/distracting for a long border IMHO. So-so substance. Gold Edger is attractive but gets a little larger than the other two for me. Used it with a blue-gold area.

dhaven, Thanks for such a great descriptive list! I'm going to copy and paste this for future use.

If you want an eye popper, consider Ginko Craig. It is green and white and grows about 12 inches tall. It can take shade to sun but will brown up a bit the first year in heavy sun. And it increases very rapidly. My favorite edger is lemon-lime because of it's fast growth and lovely bright color. Mary

Thank you all so much for the feedback, especially dhaven, lots of great information here.

Now I'm even more overwhelmed though! I am spending time looking at all the varieties mentioned, trying to figure out what best suits our situation. Of course, I look at pictures online and the same variety can look VERY different based on who posted it, growing conditions (I assume), photographic conditions, etc.

I sort of had decided on Twist of Lime when I started this thread but the only feedback specifically on that one was from hostapumpkinman who said his burned so... have to reconsider.

I'm still working on it. But I do appreciate the advice. Thank you all.

Ann, I love Twist of Lime. It has grown quickly and looks wonderful. I have it in a bit of sun, but I can't really speak to its sun-resistance. My is blooming right now, and it has tons of bright blue flowers. I think its a great hosta.
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Alright, folks, enough dissing on Twist of Lime, since we are part of the registration team with Bob Solberg (he ordered Lemon Lime from me (wholesale) years ago; we dug it from this particular bed of Lemon Lime and didn't notice the variagated ones went to him. He called us and said we need a name to register it - Twist of Lime is what my wife Lois and Bob came up with!!)

When we found it years ago, it was taking over some beds of Lemon Lime.

For small hosta, both TOL and Lemon Lime are not slug resistant, but they grow new leaves so fast they can outrun slugs!

NO, I repeat NO hosta are entirely slug-resistant. And some are slug-bait. Hosta Direct needs some leeway in their judgement!

Once established, TOL is very durable in full sun and colorful: that photo say volumes.

I have borders/clumps in full sun that are massive. Yes, it enjoys water as a little one but given a lot of water grows very agressively, as does its parent Lemon Lime.

Abby is also good, again ONCE ESTABLISHED. In poor growing conditions they can be weak growers. I have Gold Edger also in full sun with limited burning. Blue Cadet grows well in full sun up only north - with water. IN more direct southern sun, it bleaches out.

Of note is the fact that TOL is stoloniferous and will spread roots under ground in good growing soil. Also have had them rebloom three times in cool summers and full sun.

Anyone needs plants email me separately.

Bruce Banyai