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Started my new "Hosta garden" yesterday

9 years ago

Hey, just signed up and looking to share information and gain knowledge of Hostas. I received two orders in last week;one from Easy to Grow Bulbs and one from Gurneys. The order from Easy Grow was flawless. The plants came well packed and marked with the specific plant which was in the bag along with care instructions. The ones from Gurneys came in a bag which didn't tell what variety of Hosta was in the bag, so I guess I will have to figure it out after it comes up, it was part of the Shady Places Hosta Mix.

Anyway, I got around to planting about 20 bulbs yesterday, and my aching back is still paying for it. The varieties that I planted yesterday include;Royal Standard, Gold Standard, Medio Variegata, Sum & Substance, Francee, Wide Brim, Blue Angel. The ones from Gurneys I may need help in identifying later. Really not any rare ones in there as far as I know, but being a beginner I thought I would start out with some basic Hosta's.

My Hosta craze began last year when I purchased a few (Abba Dabba Do I think) from a local nursery and it grew from there. BTW, My apparent Abba Dabba's have been out of the ground about two weeks and look great. Hope to learn a lot while I am here, and will post pics when the other Hostas I planted come up.

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Comments (20)

Michaela (Zone 5b - Iowa)
9 years ago
Frustrating to not know the names of the ones from Guerneys... I hope you enjoy your new garden and take pictures when they start popping up!
DelawareDonna Zone 7A
9 years ago
Welcome to the forum, Koffman99. So you got the hosta bug, eh. It's contagious. It's always helps to include your zone on your profile page so you can get specific help for growing hosta in your state. We can help you identify the unnamed hosta once they start flourishing. Good luck with your new garden. Lots of knowledgeable peeps here.

DD
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Hi Brandy, I feel your pain! However, before you resign yourself to the ordinary and common (not as unique looking foilage) cheaper hostas that are available in abundance at many places... Have you considered ordering some hostas from online nurseries that do mail orders? From what I have read in your previous posts, you can purchase eye catching and newer varieties of hostas for less than what you have in your local area. In my limited personal experience ( one year with Hostas) I have found that there is much more variety/selection for better prices than things that are local in my area. Sometimes better values can be found online... and with proper research the sizes of the plants are comparable to what you have purchased locally (larger than "liners", "starter plants" or first year seedlings plants). * Some places online you pay too much for the sizes they send. Been there, done that. Just putting that out there. But you do have to look around and compare prices to sizes offered and reputation. I have found value in bare-root selections, rather than purchasing potted plants - for online orders. There are some places that ship the hosta potted and others without the dirt, and others just the bare-root (maybe a pip showing depends on the time of year for the purchase). You have my sympathy for the failed hostas and this is just my 2 cents, take it for what it's worth because I am new to the world of hostas. This will be my first spring looking for the pips of the hostas I planted last year late spring/summer. My container hostas have already leafed out (too early for my zone!). I lost 1 to crown rot and the other to root rot. There is a lot for me to learn. For example reading through past years threads, I recently learned that regular potting soil (miracle grow and the like even with added perlite or vermiculite) is not the best for hostas in containers. Regular potting soil does not drain fast enough for hosta roots to "breathe" and it gets compacted over time leading to root rot. So I will be repotting my containers this year with a more textured mixture adding a mixture that is used for orchids or similar. I am currently holding my breath and have my fingers crossed for my outdoor hosta graden. But I just wanted to repeat that you do not have to go for the cheap ones usually the classic common hostas. Sure there is nothing wrong with the classic hostas, but you have a great opportunity to purchase a few specimen hostas! So, if you have not yet, do try mail orders from reputable places online that specialize mostly in hostas for your future hostas purchases- more selections and better values are to be had! :) :) I realize that I must feel strongly about this - thanks for reading it all- hope it helps and pardon for the long post ! LOL ;)
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koffman99
Original Author
9 years ago

These are the Hostas I believe to be Abba Dabba Do. Also noticed the leaves around some edges are starting to curl and turn grayish brown. Could this be from too much sun exposure ? I was told these Hostas could take a lot of sun. BTW, I am in zone 7B.
bkay2000
9 years ago
I don't have Abba Dabba Do, but the hosta library says it should have a yellow edge, not white. If it's Abba Dabba Do, it should do well for you. Abba Dabba Do is a Tony Avent hosta. He breeds hosta for warmer areas. It kind of looks like a undulata albomarginata in this shot. If you can post a closer shot of the leaves, we might be able to tell if it's ADD.

Welcome to the forum.

Here's the address of the hosta library, where you can find photos of most hosta.
http://hostalibrary.org/index.html

Here's the link to the listing for Abba Dabba Do on the hosta database, myhostas.be

http://www.myhostas.be/db/view/Abba+Dabba+Do

Stick around. We'll have you at 40 hosta by the fall.

bk
don_in_colorado
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Welcome to the forum, and to the world of hostas. My guess on the brown edges of your plant(s) is that even though certain hostas can take a lot of sun, maybe these were raised in mostly shade, so when you put them in more sun than they are used to all of a sudden, without them acclimating gradually, they'll start to burn. Most important thing for these new plants right now is water, water, water! : )

Have fun!

Don B.

P.S. I agree with BKay; looks like an Undulata Albomarginata to me as well.
koffman99
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks guys. I think even though the margins appear white in the photo they are actually kinda of a cream color. I water them 2-3 times a week with a Miracle Grow mix depending on the amount of rain we've had.
Esther-B, Zone 7a
9 years ago
Does Guerney's ship hosta "bulbs" from Holland in those plastic or foil packages? Aren't those the kind which are often infected with HVX? I would not want Koffman to infect anything else he has in hostas if he was sent infected hosta material.
koffman99
Original Author
9 years ago
oh crap. How do tell if I have that ?
bkay2000
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago

You don't. It can take years for a hosta to show symptoms. Holland has a reputation for exporting diseased hosta. Is Guerney's from Holland? I'm not familiar with the brand. If they are from Holland, my suggestion would be to pot them up and wait to see what happens. Hosta grow well in pots. That way you won't contaminate your soil or risk transferring the disease to your other hosta.

Here are a couple of places to look for information on HVX

Hosta library article on HVX

http://www.americanhostasociety.org/Education/HostaVirusXLockhart.htm

It's not the end of the world. You probably don't have it. Better safe than sorry, though.

bk

I grow all my hosta in pots
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
welcome ...

you plants CROWNS ... not bulbs ...

they dont need fert until july/august ... if ever.. if you have decent soil ...

i dont think you told us where you are.. but fert'g when there is still a chance of frost/freeze .... can be very bad ...

i once used black mulch ... in the heat of summer... it fried the hosta due to retained heat .... late into the night ...

the straight down pix are not great ... i hope.. you didnt plant them too deep ... the pips.. or eyes... should have been right at soil level ... side pix.. later int he season will tell .. and if so.. you can lift them up ...

where are you???

ken
koffman99
Original Author
9 years ago
BK, Gurneys is one of the oldest and largest mail-order seed companies in the world, I think they are based in Indiana. I have performed several Google searches for Gurney's and HSV and have not found anything related.

If Esther has some additional information on this please share.
koffman99
Original Author
9 years ago
Ken,

I am in Zone 7b, Western Tennessee. I've tried to edit my profile to display this, but It doesn't show up ?

I planted the crowns at just below soil level. It's been two days and most of them have already exploded upward and one has even started to unfurl.
koffman99
Original Author
9 years ago
Here are some closer pictures of the Hosta above. Hopefully this will help with identification.
koffman99
Original Author
9 years ago
Also here are some of the Hostas I planted a few days ago starting to come through........
bkay2000
9 years ago
Koffman, I don't believe that is either abba dabba do or undulata albomarginata. As I said, I don't have ADD, but I do have the other and it's not like mine. My albomarginata has a wider margin and more strap like leaves. Yours is familiar, but I can't name it. It might be Antioch. To get an ID on it, post it again with the photos (I might wait for flowers, as they help with ID's) and use NOID or something of that sort for the subject. Someone will recognize it.

Keep us updated on your babies.

bk
Babka NorCal 9b
9 years ago
Welcome to hostadom. Those edges are not yellow. That is not Abba Dabba Do. Cream isn't yellow in hosta terms. If you follow Bkay's links to the Hosta Library and select "A" to get the list you will see any number of photos of what the plant should look like. It starts out all green then the yellow margins develop. Be sure to learn everything you possibly can about HVX.

There are THOUSANDS of hostas, and not all are named and registered. So many look alike, especially in young plants. ID-ing them is often difficult at first because you aren't seeing all the mature characteristics. They have different growth habits and flowers and quirks. But stick around and as the weather warms in the heartland, there's bound to be someone who has one that looks just like yours and can help with the ID. Did the box or bag even give a suggestion as to what they might be? If they were really cheap they might just be culled tc's with no name. AND, if you don't find out afterall, you can just name them Tom Dick and Harry in your own garden (but not to sell). ;-)

-Babka
koffman99
Original Author
9 years ago
Babka,

The bag I received from Gurney's just said Shady Places Hosta Mix, as did the heading on the website when I ordered. It also said it would be their pick of Hostas. I figure it's a mix of your standard Hosta which do well in the shade. Maybe we can figure it out after they come up and show their leaves.
Babka NorCal 9b
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Dedicated hosta sellers know where their tc's came from, as well as their names, and if they have been tested for HVX...they pay a premium for that and so will you. Most other places don't have a clue. Darned near every hosta will do well in the shade. Open shade but shade just the same. "standard hosta" was true in the 60-80's. Only the hybridizers had access to the special ones, so there were just the green one and the green and white one that showed up in nurseries. Then tc's hit the market and they had to find an outlet for the ones that don't come true to type. I learned all this stuff back in the 90's and soon you will understand it too, as does every hosta novice who comes here. In a couple years you will be an expert. Keep reading (and growing hostas!

-Babka

Edit: I just went to their website an searched for HVX. Nothing came up. A serious hosta seller would be very aware of HVX. Please be wary and pot them up rather than contaminate your soil.
koffman99
Original Author
9 years ago
After reading all this I am thinking of digging up the Hostas I received from Gurneys and putting them all in a "spot" away from all the others just in case.
Babka NorCal 9b
9 years ago
Good plan! ;-)

-Babka

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