DD-unfortunately, that one is notoriously slow. I don't know about finicky, but definitely slow. Similar hostas are Dream Weaver and Thunderbolt....also slow for most people. Not to say it's not worth growing. The adult specimens I've seen were all beautiful.

FYI, I believe Dream Queen is a sport of the infamous Great Expectations. That kind of says it all right there. Lol.

One hosta that I've been growing with a similar look is Lakeside Shore Master. (I never can tell if there's supposed to be a space between the words Shore and Master. I've seen it spelled as two words and also as one, Shoremaster.)

That one is newer to my garden, so I don't have a good pic of it. However, I can tell you that it put out two batches of new leaves for me in just a few months. I live in the PNW, so my growing conditions are a lot different than other people's. That being said, I have friends in other parts of the country that have said that its a good grower for them as well.

This post was edited by flower-frenzy on Tue, Jul 30, 13 at 17:51

Thanks for the info flower-frenzy. Well I guess these two hostas are on borrowed time in my garden until I find them a good home. I'll do my homework for their replacements - I WANT ACTION! Ha!

Well, I have one that I got this spring. I think it's a beauty; BUT it does seem like a pretty slow grower. I would implore you to keep one, and see what it gives you next season. If not enough progress to suit ya, give it the BOOT! : ) (Of course, they're your plants. You wanna boot 'em both, post-haste, we are very good at suggesting replacements) heh heh

Don B.

Ah Don, You're the voice of reason. I'll compromise and keep one.

DD

Following the sloooooowwwwww progress of Dream Queen too. It's in it's third growing season now and it's smaller than when I bought it.

Even though its slow, the leaves have grown longer...I really like the way it looks, small or not. It's up on a table outside my kitchen door, looking ever so pretty. I'm just biding my time. Just like when I waited for Sagae to LEAP. I don't think the word LEAP will ever apply to DQ though ... Lol

Please don't toss it...would you toss a kitty or puppy just because it was a runt? They're cuter that way. You could pretend its a mini, like I have? Lol

FYI. It was on the hit list for HVX three years ago.

DD-I'm with Don B. Keep one and trade one. Unless, like me, you have a small garden and simply can't put up with the slow pokes.

Don B.-I love that Golden Creeping Jenny. Stunning! I'm too afraid to plant it myself as I don't have a way to contain it. Plus, the slugs would have a field day laying eggs in there that would be impossible for me to find.

Love Creeping Jenny too..slug hide-out..I slosh ammonia wash over it after the rain and that keeps the slug population only slightly checked..ugh.

Heres a Dream Queen, Great Expectations (i bought another, doing fab.) new Whirlwind eye that separated, Baby Bunting, Maui Buttercups that had ONE itty bitty root last year...daughter wanted to pitch, but I saved it, a couple of mini divisions...all that require encouragement to grow...they each get a pat, or a little ruffle each morning...I confess to being a Gemini...impatient as heck, then you see the photo, and you shake your head, right? That's what I consider a labour of love...something akin to labour pains tho'! Lol

Look, just ship them to me, I'll babysit them here at hosta bootcamp and send them on home when they've grown up, okay? My daughters send me their sickos all the time! Only they're not sick, just slowwwwww. Lol

Thanks, FlowerFrenzy. I love how it grows right into the pond; The fish get their leafy greens that way! Yes, seems like it'd be an ideal slug habitat. Thank God they aren't big fans of my climate.

Don B.

DON . No. No. No. No. No. We don't boot 'em out, we ACCUMULATE 'em...worst case scenario, drive them to someone's back 40 wooded lot, heave them in, then go back and get them next year...they'd have learned their lesson by then!!! Lol....

now, WHO was it here on the forum that confessed to that one? Wish I could remember...I won't even try to guess...the last time I did that, Ken smacked me upside my head as I gave someone credit for something that should have gone to him. Yikes, I'm still smarting from that one! Lol.

P.S. that Dream Queen is nice! A keeper, yes? I know, I know, enough already...:-

Jo, when you say 'Dream Queen' was on the HVX hit-list 3 years ago, do you mean it was one of those deemed 'particularly susceptible' to the virus?

LOL...Sorry, yes 'ACCUMULATE'! That's what I meant!

Don B.

One last post..I have a new Lakeside Shore Master (ff: your first guess is correct...name has been officially updated to reflect separate words)....the centre is showing gold now and looking lovely...I will post photo the day I got it and another photo from minutes ago.

No experience with it yet, but am liking it so far...perhaps someone will grace this thread with a spectacular specimen for you to consider.

The day I brought LSM home...it's grown a handful of leaves since then.

I actually heard that a store carried viruses DQ's...perhaps Costco...I think it was I.d'd as HVX, and could likely, as a result of that finding, have subsequently been deemed highly susceptible to the disease..I'll check online to jog the memory. If I don't post further, then the above recollection stands.

Don't forget Don....ACCUMULATE, ACCUMULATE, ACCUMULATE... LOL you've been heading the leader board on that count, or pretty near! Seeing how quickly you get things accomplished, is there another tier for us to admire yet? :-)

I find my Dream Queen to be temperamental and picky, as well. She hasn't really grown either since I got her or added new leaves. In fact she had a few leaves whither and die. I checked her for rot and other stuff and she seems fine. I moved her. She is doing better it seems. She doesn't dry out as fast and no new leaves have died. The recent rains have made her very happy. Here she is today.

Thank you for the name clarification, Josephine. That two words/one word thing has always bugged me. I like your LSM. It looks a lot better than mine, which was one of two that were trampled by my naughty dogs this year.

Brandy, your Dream Queen looks good. It has nice color contrast. If you have the patience, I'd imagine she's going to be a stunning specimen one day.

Any Doctor Who fans out there?

Imagine a hosta-loving dalek ...

ACCUMULATE!

^_^ --~

P.S. that was a good one!

Mother Jo - Your babies are doing fine in the 'nursery', I see - tended to with loving care. Now for that guilt trip you just put me on.........I wouldn't 'Dream' of tossing the 'Queens.'

DD

Oh Donna! YES!!! (picture fist pumping in air)
(Wait...do I hear Richie Valens in the background?)
You made me laugh at your clever play on words!! I'm so glad to hear the Queens will remain in residence...and I'm sorry for the guilt trip...but when you look at mine, then at yours, aren't you glad yours isn't so puny? Lol

Brandy, yours is queenly!

Don, .... AND you have a pond too... but of course you do...if you feel like it, can you post a pic, sneak it in just for me (having a selfish moment here) when you're posting your update, of a larger view of the pond's surroundings...I'm soooo curious where it's nestled in on your property...obviously close to a sitting area perhaps? I see some siding...not being too nosy I hope.

Flower frenzy...could be it was fighting survival after the puppy raid and hurriedly regrouped for you! LOL. Good thing too. I wonder if this holds true for so many plants, shrubs, trees...I think after a trauma these living things'
instinct kicks in and they go into survival mode at a furious pace. Their leaves may have gotten mangled but the 'heart does go on', doesn't it?
Getting sappy here...better go to bed.
'Nite, All!
P.S. Loved watching Dr. Who...the hair always comes to mind lol

Yes I will, Jo. I'll take some pics of the pond in the very near future and post some updated ones. It's about 400 gallons, and it's directly to the North of the deck. Next to the lower level of the deck, there's the sitting area(That pic above was actually taken from the deck).

Don B.

Actually, Jo, here you go; A pic from 2005, shortly after we moved into our home. I'll post some 'Hosta Era' pics on another thread, after I get some nice updated pics. Sorry Donna, I just realized I totally hijacked your thread, and I apologize! Hope you like the pic, though!

Don B.

I don't sweat the small stuff! That's a lovely little pond.

DD

Thanks everyone! I hope so! She is from Lowe's and she's the only one I worry about besides the Fragrant Blue right by her. Hopefully next year will be better. She's doing better. She hasn't had the chance to dry out due to rains. She's very happy and perky right now.

Donna, I don't have experience with Dream Queen...just picked one up early this summer when Wal-Mart did a clearance on their parking lot plants. (No new growth.) But, if I had two of 'em, I'd just plant them together instead of in two different locations.

Lakeside Shore Master, I do have. Planted it last summer and am satisfied with its growth rate...is in the process of putting out a new flush of leaves. Nice hosta.

Haha, I guess I'll be happy my Dream Queen isn't shrinking. Bought it with 4 large-ish leaves and 1 eye. Second year it had 6 leaves on 2 eyes. This year it came up with 8 leaves on the same 2 eyes. I wonder what a leap year looks like?

So...is DQ sun tolerant? Reference library says 80%, Hosta Directs info says that it is not.

Dream Queen has been in my garden for a while, long enough that she's getting crowded by the S&S on either side. It took at least three years to start growing, but did pretty well after that. I think she was worth the wait!

Next spring I think either I'll take off a third of one S&S or move DQ. The grouping gets about 4-5 hours of sun, from 9ish to about 1 or 2 and they do just fine. DQ is a little more sheltered by a redbud tree than the S&S, but I'd say 80% sun tolerant is about right.

BTW, that's Thunderbolt in the background. It's been even slower than Dream Queen, but then it's in a shadier spot.

WOW Eleven, now THAT'S what we're waiting for, huh? What a gorgeous specimen of Dream Queen!! Look at the size of those leaves! Definitely worth the wait...DD I think next year might just be the year for your DQ!

Dream Queen is slow,to say the least,but it is worth the wait.Here is a pic of one leaf of mine,which I have had for at least 5 years. Still only 3 eyes,but the leaves are huge! Phil

I agree that they grow slowly, but the large blue-green leaves with white center are very beautiful in my taste. Here is my hosta 'Dream Queen' which I bought 3 years ago. I have two because I like them. Bernd

And here is my hosta 'Dream Weaver' which I bought 4 years ago, really got bigger with more eyes this year. Bernd

Hi Donna,

We did Dream Queen as Hosta of the Day on the Hosta Forum back on June 13. If you would like to see some mature plants, you may wish to check it out. Personally, I think it is one of the most striking hostas out there. In the first year, I would not judge growth by what I see. A lot may be going on underground where the roots are getting established. It takes three years for the average hosta to get to its growth spurt, and about five for most to acquire the fully mature look. They are all worth waiting for, in my opinion.

I encourage you to stick with it.

Steve

Oh, Bernd, you're 'Dream Weaver' is beautiful! Makes me want to add it to my garden. I've limited myself to 3 difficult or slow hosta because I'm an impatient gardener and I find them draining. Since I grow 'Great Expectations', 'Sagae' and 'Liberty', I'm all tapped out. Lol.

Just keep growing it. Someday it will be a fine hosta. This is Thunderbolt from last year. It's bigger this year, but I haven't bothered to take a new photo. I love the plant, amazingly thick.