General hosta questions

bkay2000

13 years ago

I intend to plant a large hosta inground in the spring. I'm looking at Komodo Dragon. It hasn't been testing in our area that I am aware of. However, it's a progeny of Donahue Piecrust, which is a progeny of Montana, which is recommended as a group in warm climates. So, would this fall under the umbrella of "montana family"? I thought the big leaf of Komodo Dragon and it's texture would be really attractive. It's possible that it's too big for the spot, however. My hostas have never gotten as large as the book says, but I've always grown in pots. (My sum and substance is only abt. 36" wide, also in a pot.)

The recommended large varieties that have been tested are Guacomole which is not very tall, Royal Standard and Plantaginea, which are not very "showy". Blue Angel is also recommended, but mine didn't do well this year. It's also not very "showy". September Sun is recommended, but some of the photos look really yellow and it's not very tall either. That's my least favorite color in hosta.

Any other ideas?

AND another question. If Halcyon didn't do well in the trials, would you assume that June wouldn't do well either?

Bkay

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Comments (8)

Babka NorCal 9b
13 years ago
I wouldn't write off any of them. Assume nothing. June is worth any extra effort, IMHO. If you can grow a large variety in a pot, try moving it to the ground. You will know in a year or two if it thrives or just remains the same size, or gets smaller. How much do you know about how the "trials" were conducted. Did they use a bunch of plants supplied from the same grower? Did they do it over several growing seasons? There are such things as bad batches and weather anomolies. I don't generally give up on a variety that I really like until I manage to kill it more than once.

-Babka
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
it seems like you might be comparing apples and oranges ...

plantaginea .. the mother of all fragrant hosta... is a heat loving plant... those genes are dominant ... as far as i am concerned ... apples

but the oranges.. montanas ... genes are probably NOT as dominant as those... so it doesnt necessarily follow that KD is as strong as a great grandma montana.. depending who all the men were ... consider that momma had the seed pods ... and considering that some of these mommas are sluts.. and will take the pollen from any guy blowing in the wind ... wrap your head around that for a while ... lol ..

regardless ... what she said.. give it a go ... what do you have to lose????

BUT!!!

giant leaves.. and my KD has leaves nearly as big as your arms can make a circle... might not appreciate the heat ... IF THEY CAN NOT GET THE WATER THEY NEED ... to support those leaves ... but i will defer to what the other hot zone peeps tell you in that regard ...

ken
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bkay2000
Original Author
13 years ago
One of the trials was done in an East Texas county (Smith) by the A&M extention service. It was multi-year (4 years, I think). Plants were evaluated 4 X per year. The plants were supplied by Tawakoni Plant farm (the farm for Northaven Gardens, a premier nursery in Dallas) and Whitehouse plant farms, a supplier to independent nurseries. (Smith County is 7b and has acid soil, we're 8a and have alkaline soil.)

The other plant trials were done by the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. They don't say how many suppliers were involved in the original trials. However they are doing another set of hosta trials right now with 5 or 6 suppliers. The Arboretum is about 5 miles from my house, so soil and climate are very close. (They maintain huge trial gardens of all kinds of plants for the area.)

The recommendation for montana came from Tony Avents' list of hosta for warm climates.

I found also that Krossa Regal and Regal Splendor have done well at the Arboretum. I just didn't realize they were large upright plants. They don't seem to be very showy either, though.

bkay
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
The recommendation for montana came from Tony Avents' list of hosta for warm climates.

===>>> yes ... but you understand.. every time there is a new seed based generation.. you have the possibility to dilute the montana heritage

so all i was trying to say was that you have to look into what was mixed with the montana to get to KD ...

i did not mean to imply that it would not work for you ...

tony .. in the hot carolinas.. has been working on breeding warm zone hosta for years.. he would also be my fall back for info on what works.. and if he suggest KD ... simply ignore my warnings... but for feeding that huge leaf.. lots of water ... and shade in the hot afternoons for sure ...

ken
thisismelissa
13 years ago
In the online hosta journal that came out this week, Harold McDonell of Fayetteville, GA is featured as a hybridizer working on blues that hold up well in the south. It might be worth reading that article to see if you can glean some good info for your area.
bkay2000
Original Author
13 years ago
Tony Avent did not recommend KD. I was just hoping the montana connection might make sense.

I think Guacomole is the best choice for the spot. It's a recommended variety for our area and it's proven. I had hoped for something taller, but it's a beautiful plant. It's big and showy, and I wanted big and showy. If it only gets 18" tall, I can live with it.

Thanks for your help.

Bkay
stevie57
13 years ago
Hi everyone I am new on here and before I ask my question I would just like to say it is nice to meet other hosta lovers.
I live in the uk and I have among my collection a Paul's Glory
which I purchased 2 or 3 years ago, last year I split it into 2 and gave one half away.

The piece I kept I placed in a large container and was rewarded with a great plant which had a 5 foot spread,
however I noticed that there were several leaves that were just deep green.
So I was wondering if this variety reverts? if so is there anything I can do?
Many thanks
Steve
caliloo
13 years ago
Morning Steve.

You should definitely remove the all green pieces, there are a lot of posts on the Hosta Forum regarding reversions, sports, etc and how to separate them.

Probably the best way is to grab the offending eye and twist it off (or carefully dig the eye out and remove it with a knife)

And welcome to the Hosta Forum!

Alexa

General hosta questions

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Babka NorCal 9b

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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General hosta questions

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Babka NorCal 9b

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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