Not sure if I have the #4 and #5 correct, but I think it was:

#5 Fragrant Blue
#4 Touch of Class
#3 First Frost
#2 June (I was amazed at how long this one kept going.)
#1 Lancifolia (Wasn't really paying much attention to it until one day I noticed how green it still was. Can't really be that surprised as we know how tough this hosta is overall.)

Hard to say! We had a night of freezing temps in October,and they all went down in one night. Now,if you look at my garden,you won't see anything but tree leaves,and a few chotskies,and a few Autumn ferns are sticking up,but everything else is gone. Phil

Who was last to go here? Ripple Effect was the last to go...potted up and on the deck...it escaped my attention for awhile (typical 'right in front of my nose' kind of thing) because I was so focused on the ones spread about the garden! One tough and tenacious hosta and interesting to look at, in all it's stages of growth.

I am having serious hosta withdrawal - winter hasn't even started yet and I am already stir-crazy! Looking forward to the Alphabet game. I found older Alphabet threads from the past and the pics were spectacular! Can't wait!

Jo

I remember only the last one I had to wait for to pull the leaves off : several H.'Halcyon'.

It's been unusually warm here, so I still have few that haven't disappeared yet! Since I don't know who will be "last standing", I'll just list the ones I have that are still standing. They are:

Halcyon
Katherine Lewis
June
Spritzer
Flemish Sky
Frisian Pride
First Frost
El Niño

If I had to venture a guess, I'd say that it's going to be a tie between 'First Frost' and 'El Niño' for last standing.

The theme here seems to be hostas with Halcyon genes. I also notice that those are the same ones in my garden that consistently look nice during the hot summer months and have the least bug and slug troubles.

This post was edited by flower-frenzy on Thu, Nov 21, 13 at 18:21

Praying Hands looks like its still August.
Kathy

Can't remember all five, but the last three were

3. June
2. Red October
1. Blue Sophistication

Don B.

We've had some fairly heavy frosts so most of my hostas look like mush - Tongue Twister gets the prize, but High Society, Touch of Class, Halcyon and lancifolia are runners-up.

BUT - let's hear it for the heucheras - great reason to have a few of them mixed in - they look pristine - motivation to still walk in the garden.
Jan

I'm with you, Jan! Being a heuchera fan too, (11 varieties at least) I love seeing them intact when the snow melts in the spring! can't recall how long I've had them but imagine my surprise years ago when I discovered they were evergreen!!!

Esther's posting of the minis had me starting a want list...than you, Esther!

Jo

Remember Me, Empress Wu, First Frost , Whee were all good, and I don't remember what the few others were. 16 degrees took care of everything in one night last week. Got plenty of green tho--the hellebores, heucheras, some ferns, native gingers, Jacob's Ladder, some other natives.

Sandy

My garden has way way more than five still standing. Even some which were down and out are now coming back to life. Moonlight Sonata, and Boyz Toy are multiple leaved again, looking right pert. I had pulled a bunch of dormant ones away from those still green and growing. Many many fragrant family members are going strong, but so is good ole Dick Ward. It is tough as nails!

Having other things going on at my house, I lacked the time to index the pictures and upload to Flickr. But at least I took some two days ago. Here is Venus in her special pot (pot in pot). Will have to wait and see what goes down last. Over 100 are still green and perky, with maybe a few withered leaves draped over the rim of the pots.

Halcyon by a week here !

Halcyon, and his relatives El Nino and Sleeping Beauty. Along with Mighty Mouse (!) Photo taken today 11-24-13.

-Babka

{{gwi:1100542}}

Mine are NEVER going down this year. We've had promised freezes for a couple of weeks now, but they haven't materialized inside the city. The suburbs have had frosts and freezes.

So Sweet is always the last to go down, though (and the first to come up). After 8 months of growth, the leaves are sprawled over the edges of the pot, but not a brown or orange leaf on either of them.

bk

Oh my goodness, Babka, I love the look of your room/shelter! What's on the other side of the bamboo? On the outside?

Halcyon, Touch of Class and June were the winners. Its a tough family.

Halcyon in early November.

Funnthsun....this is so bizarre that I just had to post.....you asked Babka what was on the other side of her ( I agree that her shelter is fantastic!) shelter..

.....look what I found when I went googling for Hosta 'Nougat'. The pic turned out grainy when I saved the image, but the shelter is unmistakable.

This looks like Babka's bathroom's window looking directly at the same shelter posted here.

I'm still baffled at seeing pics of a bathroom while viewing hosta, lol. The outdoor garden is lovely.

Jo

This post was edited by josephines67 on Thu, Nov 28, 13 at 15:23

Babka, I hope you revisit this thread...I also wanted to add my compliments on the 'hosta lanai' for overwintering. I admire the way you have it organized. It must be a terrific multi-purpose room in which to accomplish a number of gardening tasks....also makes me think of a greenhouse....I really love the appeal.

If you have a minute and are so inclined, google "hosta nougat" .... Click on images and you will find what looks like pics of your bathroom. You may or may not be aware. FYI
Great looking one, btw! :-)

Jo

Jo, I've seen a picture somewhere of Babka's front garden, and it is very Japanese in style, or maybe Asiatic, don't recall what word Babka prefers. Hosta are totally in keeping with the style of home, the landscaping is very Zen.

Remember the thread DON'T BLOCK THE EXITS! A small set of stadium seating displayed the hosta on the deck by some sliding doors, and I thought the room beyond was the family room.

And I had not paid that much attention to the wall structure of her shelter. Now I realize that I could harvest some of my very straight very tall bamboo (from the river clumps) and build some great walls in my Back40....la la la. I know my DH will sigh about it. I've been told before that I have some great ideas, JUST TOO MANY OF THEM. I think the bamboo, which will be free, is appropriate to my sub-tropical environment, and even appropriate to a Japanese style, which is far from tropical.

Her hosta area used to house a hot tub, if I remember correctly. One of those beautiful photos from "don't block the exits" was from outside her family room.
bk

Hi Bkay, ...I found a terrific thread of Paula's (ilovetogrow) where Mocc provided a link to Babka's DBTE thread, but unfortunately for me, and others who are chomping at the bit to see the pics, the photos are no longer available.

The only one I saw was the deck photo which displayed gorgeous various plants, all encased in white pots. I saved it.

This is only the third time I've attempted to hunt down these elusive pics but by the sounds of it, the effort is definitely worth it.

I have potted up the majority of my hosta for the first time.....some will remain in pots, perhaps more. Threads like Babka's inspire (as I have read) and I soooo would love to see these pictures. I need inspiration.

Yes, Iam begging for pics of Babkas hosta. Babka....anyone??? Can you please answer my plea? Maybe you saved some, Mocc? Help!?!?
Can someone make my day?

Jo

Mocc, I could swear I responded to you in the wee hours but it is not here...it obviously disappeared when my iPad's battery suddenly ran out...(after I ignored the 5% remaining life warning) lol....

I think your idea is terrific to use the bamboo nearby - tropical and Zen combined - now that could be beautiful harmony as well.....no doubt you will create another masterpiece. You do realize, don't you, that you've planted a seed? ... and now we are all waiting to watch it grow! Lol

Jo

Jo, I'll check my PLANTS folder, where I save hosta pics by their variety, indicating whose picture it was. Let me see what turns up. Only problem looking at that folder, I get distracted....have no idea WHY. :)

Yup that is my new bathroom. I'm astounded that photos I posted in the bathroom forum of my remodeled bathroom show up in "hosta nougat" images. The (remote) connection there is the word "nougat", which is the name of the Caesartone pattern in the countertop.

This is one of the reasons I only leave my photobucket photos up for a couple months or so then take them down. I figure that the poster who I was responding to, as well as anyone else interested in that particular thread would have seen it by now and it was probably way back on page 32 by now.

Yes, I sit on the can and look at hostas out the doors. I can see 3 or 4 of them from the throne and I always put ones there that make me smile. Just as I put ones outside the family room doors to see all day.

For Winter, they all go out of sight, stacked up on those benches with a tarp covering the far part of the atrium to keep the rain out.

-Babka

Don't know where those pictures of Babka's landscaping went. Might have starred them on Photobucket. One hosta was the impossible to find Snake Eyes of the Striptease clan.

Nice seating concept, Babka! Now you can live, sleep, eat, breathe and...ah...uh...dream hosta!

Don B.

Babka, you had me roaring with laughter painting that image! LOL.

Regardless, you have beautiful surroundings, from every angle! LOL
It was a treat to see some of your plants (white pots) and the way you had them displayed. It looked lovely....and I understand why you would remove the pics after a time. Thanks for coming back to reply. :-)

Mocc, I really appreciate it, but I don't want you to feel put upon. Relax, enjoy your week-end!

Have a great week-end, All!
Jo

Jo, I already checked and did not find the pictures from Babka. I did find a lot from Gesila and Paul in MN, and Berndny....I expected to see the one of Snake Eyes, but it wasn't there either.

And, not a problem checking for HOSTA, Jo....it is always a treat.

Happy holidays to everyone...from the not frozen south.

And Happy Holidays from the 'American Highlands', it's warm today here as well!

Don B.
Westminster, CO.

So Sweet finally went down. We're having a freezing rain event and everything finally fell over. So Sweet still had a few green leaves. My large Red Oak has not lost any leaves, so is heavy with ice. I hope it doesn't suffer a lot of broken limbs, but I'll be lucky if it survives without major damage. The Cherry Laurel is in pieces in the back yard, but it was going anyway when/if we ever get that garage built.

bk

BKay, we went down a couple of nights ago. I took a few pictures with the leaves still colored green or yellow, but the texture was almost translucent. I'll put Squash Casserole below.

Thank you, Mocc for your efforts.

Well, it Looks like most of us are caught up with the busy-ness of December leading up to Christmas.

So I will take this opportunity to send you all Holiday wishes...travel safely wherever you go, have a wonderful Christmas, and we'll meet again when things go into Alpha-mode!

All the Best,
Jo :-)

Thank you, Mocc for your efforts.

Well, it Looks like most of us are caught up with the busy-ness of December leading up to Christmas.

So I will take this opportunity to send you all Holiday wishes...travel safely wherever you go, have a wonderful Christmas, and we'll meet again when things go into Alpha-mode!

All the Best,
Jo :-)

Same to you, Jo.....I await Alpha-Mode with great anticipation... : )

Don't forget about The Hosta Alphabet, starting December 26th!

Cheers,
Don B.

Then here is the "last one standing" and it is.....
CERVEZA.....a fragrant hosta. Of course, it was sitting beside a peace lily beneath the limbs of a camellia japonica. Not bad though.

Ahhh, yes Mocc. 'Cerveza'. Excellent. Those fragrants are troopers for sure. I tire of this non-gardening weather, and it's not even actually Winter yet! Got a long wait...

5 degrees F. here right now. A little chilly. : )

Don B.