Ludi,

On any online auction you should never bid well ahead of the deadline. Wait until the deadline and have a high price that you want to pay and stick to it.

This is a basic strategy that is used on Ebay and any other online auction. You will also notice that the Library Auction allows bids for one minute after any bid and will extend the deadline by this one minute for every bid. This is to allow you to stop someone from putting in a bid at the last second and stealing an item from under your nose. Using this information will save you money and maybe avoid disappointment.

Putiing your bid in early has no advantage...except to others bidding.

Jon

Jon, of course once you explain it like that it makes perfect sense. I was also not aware that the bid lasted an extra minute.

We live and learn most definitely.

I thank you for the words of wisdom. I am not a gamblin' man and do not dabble with sites like Ebay. I find I would get to anxious if there was something I really wanted and lost, or would have to watch every minute to guarantee success. I will be more mindful when bidding on a more exotic cultivar.

Gary did say he was almost certain (not 100%) that he would have Frisian Wavey Steel in the spring so here is keeping my fingers crossed.

Ludi

Sorry about GM and Frisian Waving Steel. I'm surprised that you had competition, but FWS is way new and no one has it yet. UK was lusting after it this past Spring, but it wasn't out yet. As for your Bridgewood order I'm really liking She's a Dancer. Very nice leaf shape and curl.

Steve

Nice order. Happy Day indeed. I too am liking She's a Dancer. Paula

Thank you !

Steve I only lost the auction for FWS.

GM is on its way to my front door as I type.

She's a Dancer was my splurge for sure.

Chick lists the following on his site under the description.

Small. Blue leaves with white margins, lanceolate with wavy edge, dramatically curved with tips pointing downward. A Bridgewood Gardens introduction, first offered in 2010. This plant was selected by the judges as best seedling in show in the 2009 First Look competition for new hostas. Notable primarily for its unique form. Only a few single-eye divisions are available. These plants are divisions of the original seedling. The plant has not be tissue cultured.

So not only does it have that collector's flair, the overall shape and as you guys said leaf structure was what sold me. I can't wait for her to grow up !!

Chris_e is the only person I know at present who also owns one.

Ludi

Ludi,

When you label it it should be written She's A Dancer OS. Since it's a division from the original clump, it's known as originator's stock.

Steve

How exciting - your Mikado is stunning. Do you have an idea of how your new aquisitions will be arranged or will you wing it? I find that part a little daunting, so many considerations, but it's fun.

Best of luck finding your Steel plant in the spring, Ludi. I'm trying to remember which plant that I have came from Mikawe guess I go to MYHOSTAS.BE and check. The shape of the leaves and their vertical stance but not the color look very familiar.

What beautiful plants - every one in pristine condition. Christmas in July.
Jan

Moccasin,

According to my notes - Mikawa no yuki is the

POD parent for:

Awakening Angel
Frisian Pride

I believe you have Awakening Angel ?

Ludi

Nice plants - happy for you!

Mikawa no yuki always gives me a smile - reminds me that I've promised to register a plant as Megetta no nuki...

Steve - Thank you for the info on the labeling. :) I knew it was OS but I didn't know that it should actually go into the label. ::noted::

Lavender - I am quite fond of Mr. Mikado. Although I will say for being a "green" plant Bridegwood must have been growing him in a bit of sun to look as yellow as mine does. I'm not worried though, once it gets a year under my canopy it should mellow out to a more stately green. :)

Jan - oh how I wish it were Christmas all year :( alas these three orders will be my last since it is getting really late in the season and I am not sure if I am going to have my bed ready for a fall planting. I know Steve would disagree and tell me to plunge them in now, but I can coddle them more in pots.

Idiothe - I must confess I was the idiot and went to look up the literal meaning of Mikawa no yuki instead of grasping your witty wordsmithing. Well played !

Day 2 of my Hosta procession !!!

My first order with Naylor arrived right on time. I came home for lunch and there on the front porch was that infamous brown box. I unwrapped everything and soaked them until I came home from work. There wasn't any noticeable damage to the plants and most of them were two and three eyes that practically fell off one another when I pulled them out of the soak.

Now they are all in comfy pots and looking swell. I did end up potting all the "divisions" together so as to give the largest effect. I will have plenty of time in the future to worry about dividing for propagation.

Hope you enjoy and thanks as always for looking.

Ludi

This is a good example of what I was saying about the multiple plants. There are easily three solid crowns in this pot.

Thank you Moccasin, Half & Half is amazing !!!

I ended up getting a third Andrew. I am h*ll-bound to see this plant mature even if it takes 42 years. The two I ordered back in June from Hostasdirect are fairing well but I now have them growing under my orchid lights to help give them some buff for next year, they are just so small . . . this guy however looks promising.

My GM is better than Jon's . . . kidding !!!

Good to be part of the Paisley club now. :)

Tetraploid of Paradise Island . . . hoping it will fair better in shade. We'll see.

According to the description on Cranberry Wine the leaves start out yellow and fade to green over the summer.

I LOVE looking at all your pics and purchases!!!

Awwww thank you Cricket. I love sharing !!!

I only wish this wasn't my first summer. I lust after the pics you all link of your mature hosta in the ground.

I do plan on putting all of these into the ground as I clear more beds.

But I also figure better to get the ones I def want now and grow them in pots so that by the time the space is clear they are off to a good start after being coddled in pots for a few years.

Ludi

Ludi, your excitement sounds VERY familiar.
That was me for about the first 4 years or so. Year 5 was starting to wane. Now, in year 6, I buy only what excites me.... really excites me.

What I find humorous is that every year here on GW, there's a "Ludi".... in the last couple years, it was Gesila.... before that, it was me.

We all get to live vicariously through your excitement!

The Grand Finale !!!

Order #2 from Naylor came today and again I was blown away by what was in the box. The Frisian Pride is small but Gary warned me and I was stubborn and said mail it anyway :p

So this concludes my week long procession of fabulous foliage !!!

I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. It is exciting to look out onto the side porch and see all these lovely plants smiling back at me.

It is certainly motivational in getting more space cleared in the yard when you have a horde of hostas waiting for a good home in the ground. I will definitely end up splurging on some fancy-shmancy coordinated clay glazed pots for collection gardening on the side porch to feature some of the more delicate hosta. But for the most part I bought most of these to set as the architectural anchors for which the rest of the shade perennials will be designed around.

However, I must remember to always pay tribute to the Queen Elegans. She is definitely the one who pushed me down this crazy rabbit hole.

I would like to say thank you again to everyone. You all have been so gracious with your support and I must confess this collection is in large part due to all of your informative and beautiful posts.

This is a great community and I am very excited I decided to step in. Thank you for having me.

I look forward to updating you all with my “Jungle Nightmare”. I see a light at the end of this dark tunnel and there is a Jade Cascade sitting there waiting for me, 10 years mature and almost 4 feet tall.

::drools::

Hahaaa it's funny to think about out of ALL the different hosta I seem to be stuck on Jade Cascade. It isn't an overly exciting plant nor is it new to the market. But it is one of those that has that magical power I was talking about.

Cheers everyone !!! Couldn't have done it without you Ludi :)

These last two pictures include all of my new purchases I got this year

EXCLUDING Emerald Scepter, Quilting Bee, and the two Andrew I bought from Hostadirect. Those four are upstairs under my orchid lights in hopes of giving them as much energy to build reserves before they go outside for the cold hard winter. I am basically treating them like seedlings and hoping for the best come winter.

LIGHTS ON !!!

LIGHTS OFF !!!

You got some great looking Hosta. Congratulations on all the new additions.
Cher

Ludi,
Nice plants!
The size of your 'Frisian Pride' is really good considering it's new this year. Mine only has about 5 leaves.
Vanessa

What a haul. Really nice. Where are you going to put all those plants?

Re: My GM is better than Jon's. I think so, but why is everyone always taking advantage of my good nature?

Jon :-/

From someone who feels the same about Elegans as you Ludi, you have fabulous taste in hosta! I found myself googling Jade Cascade and like you state, she's simple but I see the draw - very elegant and stately looking.

Please keep us posted on your plants' progression as I am really, REALLY curious on how your darlings will be arranged in the garden. Sending you good grow wishes!

Nice looking plants, Ludi!

Hey, Ludi, so happy to look at all the new plants. I see the lineup extended all the way to the end of the low brick wall. Must be the end of the line!!

Just wanted to let you know that I potted up my Elegans today, and it is in a big pot, hoping it settles in nicely with many new roots so it will wake up next spring looking big and handsome. Every time I look at Elegans, I think about you and your excitement over hosta, and I have to smile.

Thank you again everyone for the kind words. :)

Where am I going to put all of these ? That certainly is the $64,000.00 question !!!

I counted yesterday:

31 different types in pots
3 of those pots are Andrew
33 pots total

3 different types in the ground
3 Elegans (stationary, not moving them)
2 Wide Brim
1 Tiny Tears

5 NOID in ground
3 clump #1
3 clump #2
1 ½ clump #3
1 mature mini no ID
1 mature mini no ID

TONS of Elegans seedlings we dug up out of the front bed and put in the back.

That is all the hosta on the property. So I have about 31 places to find for all the new additions.

This does not include the 40+ I have still “to order” on my wishlist.

As of today 7/29/12 I have only one bed clear.

Initially I feel like I want to panic . . . but the flip side (for me at least) is I am not necessarily in any hurry to get them in the ground. I would almost prefer to let them get a few years in pots where I can coddle them and take my time finding just the right spot.

So, in theory I believe I have enough room for them all (plus more) but it may be a good long time before they get placed in a permanent position.

When I started this project I knew it would be a long hard road to beautification. My goal is to work with as much already existing in the ground as feasibly possible. I will be ripping out a lot of established shrubs and moving existing perennials, but more so to rearrange and start over. There is an existing design that was originally landscaped into the yard, so I will be working with that and adjusting lines and height as needed.

But for the most part I am settled into a very long project with no real agenda. I will of course keep you all updated as to any progress that is made. This year though is rather uneventful since I am still in the process of amending and clearing out the first bed so that I can be ready for a spring planting.

Here are some glamour shots of “The Jungle”.

This first one is a pic of me in the process of clearing out the first bed. These were all taken in early June.

And here is basically the jist of what it looked like before I mowed it all to the ground . . .

The next grouping are of the section of yard that leads up to the side porch. This I don't think ever had anything planted in it. There is a bed separating the two sections of the front yard so you can't get to this part without going around the house and coming off the side porch.

The Hosta in the picture are of seedling Elegans and one of my MIL NOID. It is still too young and neglected to pitch here for proper ID.

So all in all I def have enough space to keep me plenty busy for a very long time. Plus we are having an arborist come out in the winter and trim a few trees that desperately need it as well as remove a few that are too close to the house. So there will still be a nice canopy but I will have a lot more light coming through starting in 2013 and that is also something I am going to keep my eye on for plant placement.

Thanks as always for looking and reading,

Ludi

Where am I going to put all of these ? That certainly is the $64,000.00 question !!!

Welcome to MY world!

If that was the $64,000 question, I would be RICH everytime I asked it and actually managed to find a spot!