Will the real Halcyon PLEASE stand up?

6 years ago

A few years ago, I bought 6 Halcyons for an arrangement with
alternating Junes around a tree. After a while, I suspected that half the
Halcyons were something else. Leaves were smaller, plants shorter, and they
weren’t as blue. The more time went by, the more I was sure that I had 2 of a
different blue, and one of a yet smaller and different blue. I marked the 3
wrong ones, and waited to see if more time would make them look like Halcyon. No.
As time passed the right ones just got more Halcyon-esque, with leaf shapes
just like the maturing Junes, and a beautiful frosty blue color. The wrong ones
stayed wrong.

Meanwhile, in the fall of 2015, I had the chance to buy on
clearance, 5 Halcyon gallons (or so marked). I put them in my back garden,
figuring I would have some replacements, but wouldn’t plug them in til I was
sure. I already had 2 back there. (I
thought). By last fall I figured that only 2 of THOSE putative 7 Halcyons hanging
out in the back garden WERE Halcyon. The rest, maybe Blue Cadet. Or something.
So last fall I marked the 2 I thought were right to transfer this spring.
(Still short one Halcyon.)

I moved out the 3 wrong ones today, and transplanted them
into a totally non-competitive new bed where they don’t need to match ANYTHING.

Then I went to dig up the True Halcyons, going to the ones
I’d marked last year, and….started to wonder. Now I think I have ONE
Halcyon back there, and one that is…not quite right, but righter than the
others. Or, geez: have I been staring at these too long, and they are ALL
turning into Halcyons?!

I don’t want to repeat this exercise down the road. Whatever
goes in with the Junes, now, stays there. It's very hard to dig in there.

THIS ONE below is Halcyon, I am
pretty sure. It’s got the frosty blue color, and leaf shape looks right.

So…this shot below is the "not-quite Halcyon" leaf at the far left with
the long stem, with leaves of 2 of the ones I pulled out of the arrangement. (Somehow the leaves don't looks blue here, though they do on the whole plant)

Second is the whole plant for that left hand leaf: Halcyon,
or not? I call it "Almost-Maybe-Halcyon #
1" , below:

But what about these others?! Arghh!

Maybe-Halcyon # 2:
below

Maybe-Halcyon # 3:
below

Help!!!! Thank you!

Featured Answer

Kindness Matters (NE Ohio 6a)

6 years ago

Your post made me smile because I was going nuts over my Halcyons earlier this Spring. Mine were all divisions of one and the same plant that I bought 7 years ago, and yet all of a sudden this Spring some of them looked way different than in previous years so I wondered if they had sported or reverted. Wouldn't necessarily be the case with yours since you bought them in separate pots, and I can't confirm or deny that yours are all Halcyon, but just wanted to say that even divisions of the same plant can apparently look different from each other, and even different from themselves in different years. If you're going for a symmetrical look like it sounds like you may have by bordering/alternating, hostas are clearly not the plants if you even have a little bit of OCD. Over the years, my Halcyons anywhere near our Dogwood tree have always stayed small (both in leaf size and in mound size...height and all), the ones in more sun are of course less blue, and I suspect that supplemental watering last year and lots of fertilizing early this year resulted in the round, large leaves that some of them had for the first time this Spring. The difference in mine was clear in person but not so much in pics. All the divisions that retained the smaller leaves kept the longer, pointy leaf shape similar to June, but the couple of divisions that seemed to have exploded in leaf size definitely adapted a rounder leaf shape such as yours. Long story short, I don't know if some of yours might be something else, but it is possible that they are all Halcyons that look different due to any combination of things that might be affecting them in their individual spots. I'm attaching early Spring pics of mine (my OCD convinced me to pull most of the divisions, only keeping one, but in hindsight I'd recommend chilling instead). All four of the pots (pictured here) containing the blue hostas are, again, divisions of one Halcyon I bought 7 years ago. They did all become more blue as this Spring went on, although I'm still not convinced that all of them became quite as blue as they used to. So again, as you can see, divisions of the same plant can have different leaf size, leaf shape, leaf color, and possibly even leaf substance (the extra large leaves appeared a bit thinner to me, but I might be imagining things there). Others commented to say that a blue hosta wouldn't revert to another blue, but I don't know if it's possible for it to sport to something that is similar but not the same. As of right now I'm thinking that it is simply the additional water and fertilizer that resulted in the monster growth of some this year while others remained more normal. Keep in mind that mature Halcyon has a leaf size of around 8 x 5 inches, and it can take years for them to display those characteristics (regardless of how old the plants were when you first got them).

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Comments (8)

Kindness Matters (NE Ohio 6a)
6 years ago
Forgot to mention, keep in mind too that longer stems can be due to plants in shady areas stretching out to "reach" for the sun, and shorter stems can be due to plants having been planted deeper. And again, blueness can be affected by both the amount of sun and overhead watering. With the placement of yours, I would guess that the amount of tree roots that each plant has "choking" around it would play a role too (in addition to other plants in close proximity that are taking water and nutrients away from it). In any event, whatever is going on, try to enjoy them more than going crazy over them :) Yours look quite blue, and there aren't too many very blue hostas of small-medium size out there, but they are all nice once established, which yours look to be. If anything, I would remove some of the plants around the Halcyons to give them more room to shine.
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago) thanked Kindness Matters (NE Ohio 6a)
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linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks, Pretty Birds. Yes, the pics all look bluer than the
plants do in reality. Except for the “Known” Halcyon in the first pic.

The position at the front of that raised bed was meant to be
temporary, as soon as I was sure who was correct and also had another bed
ready. That other bed IS ready now, but now I’ve gotten attached to how they
look where they are. J The geraniums around have crowded 2 of them the
most. But those are the 2 I was sure I was going to move.

That “temporary” bed does get more shade than where 2 or 3
of them were supposed to go when properly ID’s. I will wait a bit. Making sure the
Junes from the “blue and gold” circle arrangement in the front yard don’t have
exposed roots.
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
Original Author
6 years ago
Any more input to offer, anyone? The spaces are still waiting to be filled with the "right" Halcyons, and the bed is looking unsightly with the gaping holes from where the wrong ones were removed. I need to do something soon. Thank you.
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
6 years ago
Well, I'm as OCD about ID's as anyone- not knowing drives me nuts.

But at the end of the day I'd just place in whatever is the right size and shape for the spot and be happy. I'm new to hostas but all your photos looked like all of my Halcyons to my newbie eye :)
stephanie_h12
6 years ago
They look like Halcyon to me too.
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
Original Author
6 years ago
All the ones I showed, of the ones still planted in the ground? ?

Could it be that of the 5 ones I bought on clearance (and dormant), in the fall of 2015, some looked less like Halycon than the others, and with greater maturity now show their proper form? When you buy 5 plants of the same size at the same time, you expect them to show mature form at the same time. But that doesn't mean they will.

Certainly of the original 6 juvenile plants I bought for this spot, none looked suspicious at the time. They looked identical (not the mature leaf shape). It wasn't til they came up the next year that I could clearly see that half were wrong.
Kindness Matters (NE Ohio 6a)
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
My best suggestion would be to divide the ones you think are right, and use them to fill the spaces you want to contain only Halcyons. If the divisions look different from each other in following years, then you can be pretty sure that it was a location issue rather than a wrong ID or maturity issue.

Will the real Halcyon PLEASE stand up?

Kindness Matters (NE Ohio 6a)

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Will the real Halcyon PLEASE stand up?

Kindness Matters (NE Ohio 6a)

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