I have a small list, it was a lot longer until Mother Nature did enough "thinning" in the orchard. I am in USDA zone 9b, Sunset zone 15/16. I have a long growing season but not enough heat units due to the proximity to an ocean whose coastal waters remains stubbornly below 60F. The ocean moderates temps so that most of the time we are freeze free but we get the occasional freeze. We are mild yet chilly, with anywhere from 600 hours of chill on an unusually warm year to as much as 1200 hours on those unusually cold years. I push the hardiness envelope with cherimoya, ice cream bean, tree tomatoes, lucumas, passion fruit and mountain papayas. These are all so called "Lost Crops of the Incas", they do well here except when we get temperatures that dip below freezing. Most of these trees are growing next to the house under the eaves or under big evergreen coastal oaks that provide overhead protection. I push both the hardiness and the lack of heat envelope with bananas and tropical guavas. I've only managed to get bananas to fruit here once, but the tropical guavas produce every year, they seem a bit more reliable. Most things that require chill seem happy here, including pretty much all cherries. Out of the 450 or so varieties of apples I grow, I have three varieties that aren't happy due to lack of chiil, they are French cider apples: "Bedans des pars", "Noel des Champs" and "Reinette D'armorique". I'm pretty stubborn, so I will re-graft these onto trees that are fully shaded for the Winter months, which significantly increases the chill accumulation. The bottom line is that there are lots of things one can do to push the envelope. The right spot on the south side of the house can give a full zone addition. THe right spot on the north side of the house can do the opposite and simulate a colder zone. In our transition climate, such things make a really big difference. My southwest facing patio can often reach the 70's on a sunny Winter day when the rest of the garden is barely peaking above 55F. Areas in full sun might top around 600 hours of chill when the fully shaded areas get up to 1200 hours. Lack of Summer heat can be overcome with an inexpensive impermanent plastic tunnel. In Northern zones that could make the difference in ripening figs for example. Things that have failed here and that I won't be attempting anymore include a plethora of tropical fruits like mangos, starfruit, longans and lychees, all of which don't even put on growth in our cool Summers even though they don't freeze here in the Winter. (I have a jackfruit in the ground that has suived 10 years without ever freezing but it put on a total of three leaves in that time.) A number of table grapes don't get enough heat to ripen well here, such as "Muscat of Alexandria". The bottom line is that it's possible to push the envelope with the right location in the garden, but it's also helpful to know one's limitations, because some things aren't worth the frustration and trouble required to get fruit. Of course, one can always get a heated greenhouse.

I wouldn't grow hostas in full sun, mainly because they like lots of water and I won't be a slave to my plants :) However, lots of folks do, for whatever reason. I found that, very generally speaking, light-coloured and variegated hostas can handle sun better than the darker and blue varieties. Some of my hostas get sun until noon and have much less trouble with snails than those that are in shade. Some, like Guacamole, for instance, manage sun quite well. You can probably do a search at various hosta sites to find those who are more sun-loving than others. That said, I have friends who have masses of beautiful, rich-green, solid coloured hostas that right now look good enough to eat. They are in full sun and by July look absolutely pathetic. Still, pathetic or not, they come back every year and put up a good fight. Sad, really.

I agree. They may look ratty toward the end of the summer. But many varieties look ratty at that time, so a better location may not solve your problem. A good thing to remember: Hostas are SHADE TOLERANT. And with adequate moisture and not too much hot hot sun (like in the southern US), the can handle a great deal of sun. I myself am going to plant a bed of hosta this spring that's going to be full sun, but I am also running drip irrigation to that area. Once they're fully leafed out, take a pic of the whole plant and one of just a leaf or 2 and post it to us. Something helpful is to include something on a leaf for reference.... pens are usually good, but if it's smaller, use a quarter. You'll get several people who will be happy to give an opinion of its identity. Ok, forum friends, my money is on undulata mediovarigata.

Anyone know a June sized hosta that can take my Zone 5b afternoon sun??? Sun tolerance isn't as much a Zone related matter as it is an issue of the angle of incidence of the sun, as well as altitude. The farther North you are the more tolerant hostas will be of full-sun exposure. I'm just north of the 49th parallel, at sea level, and I have a great many hostas in full sun and by full sun I mean sun exposure well in excess of 6 hours a day. The steeper the angle of incidence the more heat is focused on the leaves which will result in melting of the glaucous coating that gives us blue hostas, leaving a kind of blotchy look where parts of the leaves will be green and other parts still blue. If you can put yourself beyond the blotchy appearance the plant will thrive provided you keep it well hydrated. I have a sizable stand of 'Golden Tiara' that sees full sun from about noon to 8PM and it thrives as long as I keep it watered...a nearby 'Empress Wu' however looks a little ratty but I rather suspect I haven't accounted for her being a much thirstier plant, larger leaves, much more transpiration.... Pieter