Here is this GREAT advice on growing GE, from forum member dhaven, which I have saved for future reference. "dhaven Some varieties are very picky about growing conditions, and unless they are planted in optimum conditions, they will either remain small, or fade away and die. The best example of this I know of is Great Expectations, which also happens to be my favorite hosta. A great many people have lost this one, sometimes more than once. I have three very large mature plants, and they are the prettiest thing in the garden. It took some experimentation, but there are three things that GE absolutely must have to thrive. First, and most importantly, plant it shallowly. It's going to be a very large plant, so the natural inclination is to plant it deeply, but this will kill it faster than anything else. Plant it so shallowly you are convinced that it will tip over, and you've got it right. Secondly, it likes a lot of light. Dappled shade is ideal, but it will take several hours of direct sun, either morning or afternoon. Third, it likes a lot of water. If you give a GE all three of these things, you will increase your chances of growing it into an absolutely stunning plant. If you want to try any of the hostas that have the reputation of being difficult, be prepared to try different locations and growing methods, and possibly go through several plants before you discover what works for that variety in your location. When you do find out what works, please share the information with the rest of us!"

Hi, Christopher, your plant is a cutting of the HimeougonKagetsu in the above picture. This was the plant that I have imported from Japan. However, under my conditions it got more green over the year and only in late autumn with cool night temps showed distinct colors to crosbys. At my Flickr account i have some more pictures that also show the normal Crosbys side-by-side. As your conditions seem to be different from mine it will be interesting how your cutting will look like in autumn. All the best, Ben

You guys would probably love the one where the snow was over knee high in places and Shasta got loose and went running around in the trees (she would never go very far away) the loose leash got caught on some trees and she just stops still and waits. I struggle through over knee deep snow to get to her and free her from the tree. I start to struggle out and my boot gets pulled off one foot and I have to fish my stocking foot down through the snow to retrieve the boot.....or the time when walking down another slope and she went off after a squirrel and slammed my knee into a big pine tree and it was swollen for 3 months which probably kept it from being very painful. She is a baby, but she is instinctively a hunter and something switches when she sees a rabbit, or squirrel, groundhog, turkey, deer....almost anything. ...but, she is beautiful. Jon

Interest stuff...... I've never had a problem with this one. I've had 2. 1 I left at my old house it was doing fine. Afternoon sun from 3 to about 6 or 7. It was slow but steadily increased for the 3 years I had it. Currently: I bought a 1 liter 3 division plant last year, planted it where it recieves similar sun conditions. It popped out 7 bullets this spring and is doing better than a similar sized Dreams Queen ( roughly the same size as last year) I agree that it is a thirsty plant, but may have more to do with its "Sieboldiana" heritage than the lack of chlorophyll. All those types for me anyways do better in a wetter area of the garden. In drier beds they shrink and the crown dissolves over a couple of seasons I also agree that once you plant them, moving them even once will kill them. Again this is what I've found with all the Sieboldiana types (I've killed color glory, thunderbolt, Frances Williams , 2 dream weavers and a Linda Sue) by repositioning them for aesthetic purposes......took me awhile but lesson learned. Lol. J.