many of us cant get the multi petaled plantiginea to bloom consistently ...

ken

Good to know, thanks.

of course.. you gotta have one to prove us all incompetent ... lol ... but dont rely on it to be a great performer ...

ken

I wouldn't be surprised if it was plantaginea. I've never had the pleasure of smelling a plantaginea flower, though. Varieties I know are strongly-scented are Guacamole, Fragrant Bouquet, Fried Bananas, Avocado, Fried Green Tomatoes and Stained Glass.

Lol - If I ever see one on sale I might try it just to see if being in a hotter zone makes a difference. I think the leaves look so similar to plantaginea that I'll pass for now.

I don't have Fried Bananas, Avocado or Fried Green Tomatoes. Those are on the short list, but I'm probably going to wait for spring so I can see how much room I'm going to have.

don said: I wouldn't be surprised if it was plantaginea. I've never had the pleasure of smelling a plantaginea flower

==>>> im thinking they all have the same basic.. gardenia like scent...

its more a matter of intensity ... not only in individual flowers.. but how many flowers are open on a clump ..

back in the day.. my royal standard seemed to have 100 flowers open a day... in the high season .... it was a big clump ... lol

can don tell much of a difference between those he listed.. as to the aroma.. rather than intensity???

ken

I've only compared the bloom smells (individual flower to individual flower) of royal standard and guacamole but those two don't smell the same to me. Guacamole smells sweeter in a way.

To me Guacamole has a stronger fragrance than Stained Glass but not as strong as my last purchase. I'm sure I will have a moment of weakness and order some more fragrant hostas, it's just a matter of when.

I have Honeybells and with a slight wind I can smell the fragrance when I step out my back door..even though the blooms are 20 feet away..

Guacamole and Fried Bananas are the 2 strongest-smelling hostas in my garden. As far as the difference of smell, their scents all seem identical to my nose. Lovely! : )

peeps used to say.. they taste peppery ... lol

ken

Weighing in here in favor of Frozen Margarita and Grape Fizz. FM is a fast and vigorous grower for me and GF has a gorgeous flower display. Both are highly fragrant.

Plantaginea definitely has the strongest scent (lily/camellia-like scent) in my garden. My other fragrants include: Cathedral Windows / Dark Shadows / Diana Remembered / Ginsu Knife / Guacamole / So Sweet / Stained Glass / Sweet Bo Peep-light, delicate scent / Fragrant Bouquet / Fragrant Dream.

Dark Shadows has had a "barely-there" scent for the past two years. Diana Remembered smells heavenly (of course) and so does So Sweet.

Oh boy, so many choices. Lol

I'm looking at Northern Grown Perennials and Avalon Acres now. Both have plantaginea in stock and several other fragrant ones.

I think we all know where this is headed. I can make room somewhere. ;)

Looks like it - if they're six inches I think they are.

Does she like them?

Yep, that's plantaginea, all right.

I hope they do good for you. :)

thanks stephanie.. they've been great..need to learn to take pictures immediately when they look good..always thinking I'll do it later and then it's too late..

Last year I actually had a few 6" flowers ...this year the flowers measure anywhere from 5 - 5 3/4, maybe because Ps did not receive that much supplemental water this year?

The flowers themselves are pretty but fleeting - I wish the fragrance was on the leaves. lol

Stephanie, wouldn't that be something? Lol. This morning I cleaned up some of P's spent hosta flowers so they wouldn't dry on the leaves and I noticed a couple of very late bloomers. Picture time! ;-)

Love pictures - can't wait!

pic of Honeybells (look right to you?)..both flowers and leaves are smaller than plantaginea..had trouble getting the glasses in the shot..the stems are high and when I leaned to get leaves and flowers it looked distorted..don't look perfect now but still smell great..

To my novice eye, it looks like other pictures I saw of it when I googled Honeybells, but sadly that is the extent of my knowledge. lol I'm sure someone that knows hostas will verify soon. : )

Can you tell a difference in this one and plantaginea, scent wise?

just went out for a sniff test..from just now I prefer Honeybells..but the test might be unfair..the plantaginea blooms aren't as fresh..so at one time could have been more intense?..

If you can catch them right after they open early evening. By the way, great pictures! Love the way the sun emphasizes the gloss of P leaves and Honeybells green is gorgeous - really makes the flowers pop.

The flower size can be affected by the amount of sun these hostas receive. The more sun and the higher temps and humidity usually will give you bigger flowers if they also receive adequate water. The hosta here on the left is Plantaginea. It receives about 4 hrs of mid morning to early afternoon sun and the blooms are huge. Divisions from the same plant in a shadier location only produce flowers half the size.

The fragrance varies with the time of day, too. Something that has a slight fragrance at midday will smell much nicer at the end of the day.

bk

Pkdale, I love your pond! Water features are so peaceful.

I'm like a kid in a candy shop when my Plantaginea start blooming . I pick them and bring them into the house. The smell is wonderful as you pass by and it permeates the room. I enjoy reading your comments and might have to try Honey Bells.

Never had any problem with my Plantagenia blooming. But then I have a good dozen (or 20). For a hosta known as August lily the blooms are still handing in there on Sept 15!

Wow, all of these comments, I have Stained Glass, Avocado, several large clumps of Royal Standard, So Sweet and one no one else has mentioned, Royal Wedding—-which smells heavenly! I already have plans to purchase Plantagenia for next spring planting, but I may also have to pick up some of these other lovelies!