Those are some cute little minis. I'm glad they came back for you.

Cherish and Pandora's Box in black round large pot against the wall.

Josephine, I love your little tub garden! Cherish is on my list of "must haves" for this year. Now..where did I put that list?

Josephine, your mini's are so cute! I don't have any mini's but I may have to get some now after seeing your pictures! I love the tub garden too!

Thank you, Popmama and Linda. It is one of those "tubs" that sit/slide on top of a deck railing. I like the fact that it is almost eye level when it's in position. :)

Love your tub too! My four minis survived the winter in my shed, am thinking about trying more.

Aherry

My Sparkler hasn't deigned to make an appearance yet. And, the Country Mouse I swore had been dug up by squirrels was NOT! It is pipping about 3" to the ominous hole I had found. The other MIAs are Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, First Mate, & Gypsy Rose. Everyone else has pipped or is showing luxuriant growth. Particularly gorgeous is "Remember Me".

Hip, Hip, Hooray for Country Mouse, Esther!

I just planted an Olive Bailey Langon, a Sum or All and a Komodo Dragon. I have on order 4 Liberty, a Humpback Whale, a T Rex, a Big Daddy and a Powder Blue.......I started to read about these minis until my eyes started burning and I had to stop, sorry.

Big Toys for Big Boys eh Jon.

Jo, fantastic set of minis. Mine are hanging back waiting for some warmth, can't blame them. I got Mini Skirt new this year, it's doing nicely in the greenhouse. Might have to get one of them GSME's.

Popmama it's always nice to see the minis return they seem to be so fragile.

Dave

I am suffering from a 103.6 degree fever today. Some kind of bacterial infection, my doctor said. He put me on Zithromax and an inhaler. When I went outside to go to my doctor, of COURSE I had to check out my garden. Progress report: Only Sparkler and High Society have not pipped yet. Gypsy Rose, First Mate, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Autumn Frost, et al have all pipped over night. Cool! Has anyone experienced late appearances of High Society and Sparkler in zone 7b?

:( sympathy - get well soon!

:) happiness - for appearing pips!

Thanks, Josephine. I really would like to know where my 2 MIAs are. Are they just late to the party?

Dave, I do prefer big hosta. I have a large area to cover and small ones just get lost. Lack of patience by me doesn't help either. I do like to poke fun at the mini wranglers, all in good fun.

Jon

Hey, Jon....you haven't killed Blue Mouse Ears yet, have you? LOL Knowing you, that BME will probably end up growing into a small giant! ;-)

Esther, you know I am in zone 5 but fwiw my Sparkler is about half emerged... more pips to go. High Society as of three days ago was still underground. I'm always hopeful for your two....:)

Buyorsell, that is an impressive Lemon Lime! Baby Bunting sure looks great - nice deep blue/green.

You all have a way with minis. It's good to see so many can do well. I've planted some I guess are minis into my garden because I thought when I bought them they were smalls, like Blue Cadet small, which isn't that small. Anyway, I'm thinking I should dig them up and try potting them before they get lost out there.

I have not gone out today, due to my fever and illness. Perhaps one or more of my two MIAs has pipped. We are expecting t-storms later today, so that should water my garden well. If I go out today, it will only be as far as my garden, as I feel very weak.

No Jo, as the years go by and my BME (and Hadspen Blue) spreads out I'm less inclined towards hostacide.

They also serve as a constant reminder to check the mature size before buying based on close-ups. Unlike people; close-ups make hosta look deceivingly appealing.

Jon

Lemon Lime is a vigorous little thing. I have one in the ground too and I just split up another pot like the one pictured for trades. By contrast Baby Bunting is twice as old and has never been split.

Buyorsell--that's Tiny Tears you have, Saishu Jima has much longer, narrower, wavy leaves.

I'm always amazed to hear that people think the minis are fragile. I grow a somewhat ridiculously large number of varieties of minis, and most of them are tough as nails. Of course there are also a number of minis that are rather difficult to grow, but the good ones far outnumber the touchy ones. All of mine are planted in the ground, mostly because pots and troughs require more attention than hostas in the ground. However, the pots and troughs are very pretty with the minis, it's a very nice way to showcase the plants.

Mine get no special treatment in my garden other than the occasional removal of overly aggressive neighboring hosta. Some of mine are specimen clumps, but many are used as edgers, which not only spotlights the minis, but also allows them their own growing space without pushy larger varieties encroaching. Minis are also perfect for creating little vignettes in the garden. One of my favorite spots in my garden is a corner that has a June with Baby Bunting surrounding the front and sides, it pleases me every time I see it.

Jon--poke fun all you like! I also love large and giant hostas, and have a large area to work with, but once you have successfully integrated some minis into your garden, you might find yourself able to better appreciate the little beasties. In fact, on my list of my 10 favorite hostas, 4 are minis. You will also find that it's vastly easier to dig and divide minis than to tackle a mature medium or large hosta.

popmama I love all my minis from Appletini to Woodland Elf. All sizes and shapes appeal to me, but you always have room for more minis! lol!

dhaven, if I ever have any giant hosta that I think might be trouble to transplant (why, I don't know) even by using a tarp I would simply chop it out in halves or quarters and piece it back together in the new location. My BME does look nice when it blooms. I think it realizes that it has to perform because it's existence in my garden is so tenuous.

There you go! Lol. That BME is absolutely adorable! ... was wondering when you were going to post a pic...;-)

Jon--I'd be happy to visit your garden and watch you dig, divide, and transplant a mature Frosted Jade! I made that mistake a number of years ago, decided it needed to be in a different spot. It was a 5 year old plant, so not fully mature, but plenty large, and taking up way too much real estate in a prime area.

Now keep in mind that I've been working with hostas for 30+ years, and know a thing or two about efficiently transplanting and dividing, but Frosted Jade just about did me in. My heavy duty garden fork did nothing to budge the root ball or even the individual roots. My good shovel had trouble cutting through the roots. I finally dug a trench around the entire plant, just out past the drip line, cutting all the roots with a sharp garden knife as I went, and then tunneled underneath the root ball, cutting all the roots immediately under the crown as well. After an hour and a half, I had the darn thing dragged out and above ground, so I set about dividing it. After failing to cut it with my sharpened shovel, my edger, any of my various garden knives, and a hacksaw, I finally grabbed my heavy duty Japanese pruning saw, and was eventually able to whack it into 3 pieces. This took another 45 minutes, and entailed the use of a great deal of bad language.

The crown of the wretched plant was in the 10-12 inch thick range, it was 20 inches across, and it was as solid as green wood and unbelievably heavy. I've never seen another hosta that had such thick, heavy woody material in the crown. Even the pruning saw, which will easily cut through cedar, oak, or walnut, was barely able to get enough of a groove that I could use a lever to open it up a bit more and saw deeper.

I replanted the three pieces, which was perhaps an error on my part, and if I ever have to dig one of these up, somebody else will be doing the digging while I watch from my lounge chair. This is one reason I like the minis so much, I simply stick the garden fork in next to the clump, pull it down, and the entire plant pops out with roots intact. Takes a few minutes to break it up into smaller divisions, then back in the ground the new divisions go, and they don't even falter, just keep right on growing like they were never touched.

Well dehaven, don't let my frail appearance fool you, I'm tougher than I look. I don't have a Frosted Jade. Taking chunks out my 6 foot long Elegans with a shovel is the biggest hosta I've tackled.

:- {

PS- I saw a neat trick once where the brown center of a HUGE hosta was cut out with a reciprocating saw. The owner of the nursery then replanted the center and said it would quickly grow into a new plant and the 'patient' looked fine after the operation he performed and he filled the donut hole with dirt.

My reciprocating saw would have torn through into as many divisions as I wanted quickly and after circling the clump then the divisions could have been lifted out; easy, peasy. Probably 3/4 of an hour including planting the new divisions.

When faced with this type of situation again, you could go down to your local Home Depot (or equivalent) and pick up a reciprocating saw and go to town. Probably cheaper than hiring someone and there are so many uses for toys like this. More fun and a good feeling of accomplishment when you do things on your own.

Jon

:-)

Lol, Jon!

Dhaven, I was right there with you! when I was reading your post as I have also moved and separated large, mature hostas - alone. But you won't convince Jon to acquire any more minis, lol. I, on the other hand... don't need any encouragement - if I see one I don't have, and I like it enough, it's a done deal!

popmama, I hope you will post some progression pics of your minis this season... I would love to see how they have grown for you! :-)

josephine, I will post some progression pics. Good idea! I'm so pleased with how they have turned out so far. I never paid much attention to them before they were gifted to me and now I find myself rather enamored.

I agree "You always have room for minis!"

Jon--haven't used the reciprocating saw trick on a hosta that fairy ringed, but have used a transplanting spade to dig out the center and fill it back in with good soil. Nursery owner is correct, the hosta will grow back into the center and do fine. You need to remove all the soil for about 8-10 inches deep for best results.

Like you, I know all about the tougher than I look thing. Last year I dug up a new garden area of 1200 square feet, taking out the existing overgrown pasture full of raspberries, thistles, a few multiflora roses, lots of brush, and various other nasty stuff. Got it all amended, planted and mulched, but when I told my co-workers about it I got nothing but stares of utter disbelief. Probably because I'm old, look out of shape, am not supposed to lift more than 15 pounds, and am otherwise enabled. But like you, lots tougher than I look! I may not be the fastest gardener any more, but I'm in the top 10 for stubborn, and eventually things get done. So far this year I have another 500 square feet dug up in the lower pasture area, hoping for 1000 sf total this year. The upper garden has way too many overcrowded hostas, so some are moving to the new lower garden. I tell people that I only come into work in the spring to rest up from gardening. Not too far from the truth.

Jon

Jon--looks wonderful already, hope you will post pics as it progresses. The trees you left are nicely placed. I can only imagine what it must have looked like before you started. The rock is beautiful, and the bench is particularly attractive, I like that it's got a corner and a second side. What kind of wood (or something else?) did you use for the top of the bench?

I went to a salvage store nearby that directed me to 'Billy' in Middleboro, MA who had salvage wood. He had a flatbed loaded with huge structural beams taken from a 350 year old building in Fall River, MA. They were black as coal and he was making flooring out of the maybe 4 foot by 4 foot beams he had salvaged.

He charged me $20 for one long board that I cut pocket screwed and glued together. There is a small concrete foundation under the three 'piers' made with hollow half concrete blocks reinforced with rebar and the blocks filled with concrete. There are two lag bolts screwed into the wood seat at each pier and sunk into the concrete filling the blocks.

The piers were covered with mortar and Mexican beach stones stuck into the mortar. The seat is routed around the edges and stained.

That's a brief overview of a task that has to be thought out step by step. I used to call it my Brand New 350 Year Old Bench but know I guess it is my 3 Year Old 350 Year Old Bench.

My guess is pine, but old growth lumber like this is simply not possible to get any more except maybe at Billy's.

Jon

Amazing project, and great to see re-purposed wood, especially 350 year old wood. Pine was my guess as well, although couldn't guess as to the specific variety. The only place to find old growth lumber in my area (Iowa) is in old barns. I have a 50-55 year old barn, but they used the beams from a much older barn in the newer one, so I have the pleasure of seeing hand hewn, pegged oak beams every time I go in the lower level of the barn. The original part of my house, dating from around 1880-1890, was framed out with 6x6 walnut, which was also cut on the property. But there isn't any lumber close to 350 years old in the midwest.

In northern Wisconsin and Michigan, there is a booming business of recovering old growth logs from lumber ships that sank in the Great Lakes. The wood is very well preserved, and they get some amazing stuff. Very pricey as well, quite a bit of it is snapped up by the makers of fine musical instruments and furniture makers.

Nice dhaven, I don't know exactly were these came from. They were very square so I guess an old factory, church ??? The piece of wood I got was set aside and perhaps not up to snuff for the flooring he was making. It must have been some pricey flooring, but at $20 the stock I got was a steal. The owners of the original store I went to (New England Demolition and Salvage in New Bedford) told me to use their name so I would get a better deal when they gave me the phone number. Link