I know it's overused and cliche, but Albo Marginata is still always a good landscape hosta and costs very little. And nothing much seems to bother it, it almost always looks nice.

well my 2 cents......

Since it is visible from the road I would use the hostas that last longer into fall. So June is a good choice my other ones that lasted long into the season was Fragrant Bouquet and Halcyon. Also since you want it filled in fast I would use as many cutting from my present garden as possible.

When I moved and some were broken from the mother plant grew fast and the original plant was just as big.

A triad of Blue Angel, Earth Angel and Guardian Angel.

You need to first ask yourself, "Why won't grass grow here?"
If only it's an issue of too little light, then hosta may be your go-to. If, however, it's an issue of tree roots competing for moisture and/or nutrients, you may not have the luck you're hoping for with hosta.

That said. Let's do some math. Say you are looking at medium-ish hostas.... and say that they get to be 3 feet across in maturity. 3 feet X 3 feet = 9 square feet. 1000sf/9sf = 111 hosta. Now, say you're looking at larger varieties that could get to be 4'. that's 16sf. 1000/16=62 hosta. 5' hosta: 25sf. 1000/25=40 hosta.
So, a $400 budget is do-able if you're mixing this size of hosta.

Lately, I've been in love with Halcyon and the progeny thereof. Halcyon, June, El Niño, Touch of Class (in my top 5) Paradise Joyce, June Fever are all great choices. And they are all among the last to go dormant in my garden.

You could also cover a lot of space using Sum & Substance and its progeny. Sum of All, Final Summation, Parhelion are all great choices.
Paradigm is always a favorite in my garden.
So, let's say your average mature hosta in the medium-large family is 4' across at maturity. You're looking to plant about 60-70 plants. A $400 budget means you need to find your plants for the $6-7 each range. Definitely do-able, even if you do it at a big-box store, which often sell 1 gallon hosta for around $6 each.... the problem with these is that many big box stores end up selling diseased material.

Another consideration is White Oak Nursery who has a large list of hosta $5 and under. From that list, good choices in my opinion, would be Birchwood Parky's Gold, So Sweet and Francee.
Naylor Creek has June for $8. Sume & Substance or Sagae for $9. Elegans (another good grower) for $7. Gold Standard is $6. Attached is a link to their price list.

Come spring, many people will start to advertise divisions of their hosta on Craigslist. Most will not know the name of the variety, other than "the green and white one" or "the green one".

I have to disagree with mosswitch on use of albo marginata or and undulata for that matter. They're notorious for the 'uglies' earlier in the season than many that have been listed here. And, really, everyone has already overused them. And since you can average $6-7 each, you need not necessary buy a super cheap hosta for your space. Just watch for sales (buy 2 get 1) or ask about buying in large quantity from your local nursery. Many times, if you call ahead and let them know you're working on a large project and plan to spend a few hundred in one fell swoop, they might cut you a discount....

Here is a link that might be useful: White Oak List

wait a minute .... why wont grass grown there.. norway maple???

and if grass wont live there.. why would grass on steroids ... aka hosta ... grow there ....

more facts please ... otherwise .... you will have to stick with the tried and true workhorses.. like the undulatas noted above ...

ken

The grass won't grow there because it is just to the north of a stand of Eastern Firs (outside the canopy for the most part). It's not really that grass won't grow there, just that the extremely-dark "Elite KBG" grass that I grow there doesn't get enough sun to thrive there.

On both GW and another major lawn and garden forum, I am one of the soil testing and soil chemistry specialists. I interpret hundreds of soil tests a year. You can be assured that I will be testing, amending and reworking the soil to accomodate Hostas well.

About Norway Maples... I asked on this Forum three years ago about planting Hostas under a Norway Maple. I got unanimous "don't even consider it". I planted 30 "Gold Standard" under it anyway. They are roughly 70% out from the trunk toward the canopy edge. They have thrived and doubled in size in the past two years. Sometimes you have to test the limits, and see what happens. They get a little extra blood meal and triple superphosphate, but that's the extent of any special treatment.

I remember someone saying that Norway Maples are ok as they don't have fibrous root systems. It's Silver Maples that are the nasty culprits.

but golden standard is one of the weed hosta [aka workhorses] .. able to grow on the driveway without soil ...

this is what you deal with under maples.. all maples mel ...
{{gwi:208954}}
that is a 1/4 inch of sand with the grass growing in it .. ignore the backhoe soil ... with a root mass filling the entire area shown by the hat .... NO SOIL AT ALL ...

its not really an issue of soil sciences.. as hosta are widely adaptable .... its more about the trees ability... as a super competitor ... to steal all available water ...

its about digging a hole.. and truncating all the roots.. and then a few years later.. the tree filling the planting holes with a bazillion new feeder roots... especially if you spot water only the plants.. or even worse.. spot feed the plants.. everything must be broadcast.. or the trees will take it all ...

and the real deal .. is 3 to 5 to 10 years down the line ... when all of a sudden.. your full sized SS is now tiny tears sized ...

but again.. and i will yell .... ITS ALL ABOUT PLANTING THOSE WORKHORSES ... not the foo foo hosta that can barely live in heaven ...

ken

Regal Splendor is the answer to most hosta questions, including this one.

Gilbert Wild and Sons is a source for common varieties at good prices. I've had really good luck with their lower priced varieties. They have been multi-eyed and have grown well with no apparent diseases.

The ones I paid more than $10.00 for were single eyed and small. Their website said they were container grown, but I didn't understand that made a difference. They were the newer varieties.

However, last year, common varieties like Sum and Substance went for $6.50, So Sweet was $4.00, wide brim was $4.00. I bought 5 wide brims and they were all 2 or 3 eyes.

They also do a sale in the late spring/early summer. It's something like $50.00 for 50 hostas. They guarantee X different varieties, all unlabeled. If you're not picky about what variety you get, you could cover a lot of ground with them.

I've also gotten good sized plants from Avalon Acres and they aren't too pricey.

Bkay

Since the new area won't involve maples but Balsam Fir you should be fine with most non foo-foo hosta. Montana aureomarginata might contrast the firs nicely.

tj

Andy,
I would consider the Halcyon family also. Halcyon, june, first frost, el nino, touch of class, and devon green, especially. Rather than scatter them about, try drifts of each, or even a pattern of some kind. 1000sqft, sounds like FUN!

SWMO

Thank you all for a large number of great ideas. I've now got a lot to consider before Spring ordering time!

Andy,
I would suggest transplanting some of your mature hostas into that area for instant gratification. Just take half of the plant and that way you would have something to look at while the smaller plants mature. I do that often when I start a new bed.
Add annual plants for color for the 'viewers'. At my age I don't have time to wait for beds to mature. LOL

Connie

Connie:

Will do on the mature transplants. I'm planning on filling-in with "Kong" Coleus or "Black Dragon" Coleus until everything starts to reach mature size. Anyone have opinions on using those as fill?

The fastest growing big Hosta here is 'Abba Dabba Do', even in heavy shade, not to mention how showy it is.'

'Paradigm', 'Bressingham Blue', and 'Blue Angel' are medium, big, and big, respectively but here they want less than full shade. Given light they're pretty fast, though.

The Halcyon family are slow here and don't get all that big, but there are other good reasons a couple of them are HOTYs.

'Regal Splendor' is cheap, sturdy, showy, and a good background to lower clumping ones, and say, isn't it a HOTY as well.

'Gold Standard' is just that . . .

'Spartan Glory' is fast and medium big and easy on the eye.

Don't forget some fragrant ones . . . a drift of plantaginea or . . .

'Katie Q' is fast and medium big. Visitors almost always pick it over 'Earth Angel' that's right next door.

'Carolina Sunshine' is fast and a big clump easy. 'The Razor's Edge' is looking like a quickie as well.

Just some fast flashes, off to supper.

Happy Trails,

hh

Comment to Ken's picture above :
Yesterday I drove past an elevated stand of conifers (don't know which) where the ground had recently broken off, saw the same picture Ken posted for a maple. Roots were only in the upper 2 ft, no roots in the 3 ft of sand below.

Not sure about those coleus varieties you mentioned... but don't most coleus like a little sun? Correct me if I'm wrong..
John

If you are looking for some mature full size Albo Marginata for trade, I'll have a few available in spring.

I'm looking for (3) mature August Moon.

Contact me via gardenweb if interested.

I think trading a mature plant would be cost prohibitive to ship.

Ever thought of planting Heucheras(Coral bells)? They are my 2nd favorites after Hosta and they have some gorgeous new colors,they will take the sun, they stay relatively green all Winter and they grow fast. If you aren't familiar with them go on line to Terra Nova Nurseries and check out their pictures. They are great compnion plants for Hostas. Terra Nova doesn't sell them online, but you can order them from Wayside Gardens or Eminence meadows or Casita Azul, they are all reliable and between all of them they have a great selection.

I love Heaucheras, but I'm unsure about how they'd do where I'd be planting them. The spot is on the north side of a stand of trees - open view of the sky but no direct sunlight. What I read says that Heucheras will pout in that situation. Opinions?

My experience with Heuchera is that they are fairly adaptable. Some of them do better in full sun and others like shade. I have a grove of trees on the East side of the house , some areas get alot of sun and some are shady and the Heucs seem to get along well. If you check on line they will give you info on which do well where. (Does that make any sense?)

I have some heucheras in the deepest shade section of my garden and they're growing quite well. Very similar situation as you're describing, Andy.... North side of a stand of trees, open view of sky, no direct sunlight.

See for yourself. These are about 3 years old: