You have to get Little Treasure! It’s a great grower hasn’t skipped a beat! Here is mine. Also check out Rouge’s recent “Little Treasures” hosta post, Rouge grows in your neck of the woods.

Stiletto has been a good growing small for me. Cute lavender flowers later on.

I just thought of another mini/small I have that has been so reliable that I overlook it. Cheatin Heart if you need a solid color. Starts light green and yellows up a bit more later on.

You already have a lot of the ones I would have picked. Golden Needles is a speckled gold with amazing substance. Munchkin Fire is nice and bright. I had Baby Doll, which looks like a mini version of June, but it reverted to Blue Cadet. I'm still hunting for a replacement.

We like Mighty Mouse, whats another mouse to go with the others?

Little Treasure first of all the above mentioned :-) And a new small one I got this year...Wonderland...I really like the look but can not say much about how it performs.

Needlepoint, Paradise Puppet,Japangirl, there are so many if you really start looking for mini and small...

I have put * by minis, the rest are small. I love Pure Heart*, Cracker Crumbs*, Appletini, Little Treasure*, Hyuga Urajiro*, Cameo*, Royal Tiara, High Society, Grand Prize, Rainforest Sunrise, Dinky Donna*, Blue Jay (small, but not tiny, a real beauty), Faithful Heart, Hideout, Ivory Queen, Rainbow's End, Coconut Custard, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Paisley Print (a beauty!), Remember Me (especially gorgeous in early spring), Ripple Effect (best year ever!), Marilyn Monroe (gets to be 26"), Raspberry Sundae, Gypsy Rose, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Paradise Island. None of these gets more than about 22-24" and the true minis don't get more than 16" or less.

I don't have many mini/small ones but I like LS. lollipop, Stiletto, Apple Green and Teaspoon not forgetting BME.

Cheatin' Heart has also done well for me. It's a cute size and the color is so vibrant. I got Venusta this year and it's completely adorable! It's so tiny and delicate. I love Baby Bunting but it has languished in my yard as has Cherish. I really want Twist of Dwarf but am no able to locate it.

Sherrygirl, Little Treasure does look good. I did go and look at Rouge's thread again. Looks like a winner!

Sandyslopes, I haven't heard of Cheatin Heart. Yours is so cute! I looked it up in the HL and it says it grows to 6 inches in diameter. It seems to me that yours looks bigger? I think I have seen Stiletto in other people's hosta gardens. I just didn't know its name. Seems to me to be a strong grower.

Madplanter, I am looking into your suggestions. I am glad I have some of the ones you would have suggested!

Karin, thanks for your suggestions! Unfortunately, none of the ones you mentioned are available at the nursery I am going to. Darn! (Sorry, but I didn't include them on the list befow.) But I am still glad you mentioned them!

Esther, what a list! Thank you!

Mountainyman, glad to hear that those mini/smalls do well for you. Unfortunately Apple Green is not available where I am. I think you have a lot more garden land to work with than I. So as much as I love the big ones---in order to have more---I've got to begin to look at more smaller sized hostas. Because I can't stop buying hostas! (I think they call this an addiction. LOL!)

Popmama, I am glad that Cheatin Heart is doing well for you also. How much sun do you have it in? My Baby Bunting hasn't taken off in growth. I was wondering if it requires better drainage. I have it in a pot. Hope you find Twist of Dwarf one day.

So these are the suggested hostas so far:

Baby Doll (really cute! Maybe unstable?

BME (I forgot about BME too. I have it!)

Cameo

Cheatin Heart (x2)

Cracker Crumbs

Dinky Donna

Golden Needles

Hyuga Urajiro

Lakeside Lollipop

Little Treasure (x3)

Mighty Mouse

Munchkin Fire

Pure Heart

Stiletto (x2)

Teaspoon

Smalls recommended by Esther:

Royal Tiara, High Society, Grand Prize, Rainforest Sunrise, Blue Jay (small, but not tiny, a real beauty), Faithful Heart, Hideout, Ivory Queen, Rainbow's End, Coconut Custard, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Paisley Print (a beauty!), Remember Me (especially gorgeous in early spring), Ripple Effect (best year ever!), Marilyn Monroe (gets to be 26"), Raspberry Sundae, Gypsy Rose, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Paradise Island.

Both Frosted & Holy Mouse Ears are great but slow growing, FME is a little stronger grower than HME.

What is not to love about Little Treasure. I will X3 Stiletto, x2 Teaspoon and Cracker Crumbs & a bunch of Esthers. And a few more...Hands Up, Dinner Mint, Gemstone, Ruffled Mouse Ears, Ladybug, Woodland Elf, Itsy Bitsy Spider, LS Dot Com, LS Looking Glass, Appletini, Strawberry Yogurt, Crumb Cake - and so many more. Gee and I bet you thought this would be an easy choice lol!

p.s. How could I have left out Curly Fries.

Big thumbs up on Dinky Donna, Dinner Mint and Hyuga Urajiro, although I'd consider them small, not mini. I love Fantasy Island, but it hasn't grown well for me. Maybe you'll have better luck. Dixie Chickadee is on the mini/small border, cute, and vigorous, but does tend to put out green eyes. It's no big deal, but you have to be vigilant about removing them. If you want to look at small hostas, all the Tiara series and Sultana are good ones.

We had two, Mouse Ears and...Maui something? That one didn't grow well for us but the Mouse Ears does. Love that one. We're going to put in another large hosta bed and put a centerpiece of some sort w/a birdbath or water feature (some sort of water anyway-we've got bees now and need to keep a lot of water out) and we plan to put mini's around it. I didn't realize there were so many to choose from!

Yes, I have Dinner Mint as well. Just planted it and Faithful Heart a couple weeks ago. My Dinky Donna is flowering! I just got that last year along with 2 specimens of Silver Thread and Golden Needles. Those little cuties are doing well, but are itsy bitsy. Royal Tiara is just a stunning small hosta I put in late last year. Cameo did much better for me when I moved it from the ground to the 18" diameter glazed ceramic pot to keep company with Cracker Crumbs and Pure Heart. My Appletini outgrew that pot, so I moved it to its very own pot, where it is exploding with growth and so beautiful, except what leaves squirrels recently tore off for no reason. I also have Country Mouse, a little green charmer with a thin white margin.

Missi, I think you mean Maui Buttercups. Mine did not come up this year. Have no idea why. It was fine last year.

Miniskirt has done well. BME is fabulous of course. School Mouse and Dinky Donna have barely survived for me.

Thanks for weighing in Peren.all. I liked hearing your comment in regards to FME and HME. I needed to know that they are slow growers so that I would have the proper expectation for them. You mention that FME is a bit stronger than HME. I would guess that that is one of the reasons it has made it to the AHS Mini Popularity Poll (rather than HME).

You are exactly right---this choice is not going to be easy at all! I am getting stressed! LOL!

Thanks Madplanter!

Missi I know what you mean about all the choices! Sounds like you are embarking on a fun project!

Esther, loved hearing your comments.

Miles, I just purchased a Mini Skirt. Glad to hear yours is doing well. I agree that BME is fabulous! I hope your School Mouse and Dinky Donna will improve this season!

So here is the upgraded list below. I am not sure I've got it right, but I tried.

Appletini

Baby Doll (really cute! Maybe unstable?)

BME (I forgot about BME too. I have it!) (x3)

Cameo

Cheatin Heart (x2)

Cracker Crumbs (x2)

Crumb Cake

Curly Fries

Dinky Donna (x2)

Dinner Mint (x2)

Gemstone

Golden Needles

Hands Up

Hyuga Urajiro (x2)

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Ladybug

Lakeside Dot Com

Lakeside Looking Glass

Lakeside Lollipop

Little Treasure (x4)

Mighty Mouse

Mini Skirt

Munchkin Fire

Pure Heart

Ruffled Mouse Ears

Stiletto (x3)

Strawberry Yogurt

Teaspoon (x2)

Woodland Elf

Smalls recommended:

Royal Tiara, High Society, Grand Prize, Rainforest Sunrise, Blue Jay (small, but not tiny, a real beauty), Faithful Heart, Hideout, Ivory Queen, Rainbow's End, Coconut Custard, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Paisley Print (a beauty!), Remember Me (especially gorgeous in early spring), Ripple Effect, Marilyn Monroe (gets to be 26"), Raspberry Sundae, Gypsy Rose, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Paradise Island, Tiara Series and Sultana.

Here's my Cheatin' Heart. It's 5" x 8". It's two years old. It's not looking its best as it is being eatin. Something is eatin' my cheatin'. (sorry, couldn't resist the rhyme).

I also think the creeping jenny next to it isn't the best combination now that I see it in a photo.

Popmama, looks like slug damage. Man the Sluggo!

That is a pretty picture popmama. I love the colors. When I imagine Cheatin Heart without the holes, it is very cute. And yours is 8 inches in diameter already. Isn't it funny how we can see something in a picture that we didn't realize before? I find that the more garden shade I have in an area, the more spaced out the plants should be to reduce slug damage and promote air flow. I have far less slugs in the part of the garden that has 2-3 hours of sun during the day as compared to the shaded spots that get some dappled sun at most. Maybe you can go out one night and check and see if you find slugs on your hosta?

My Baby Doll has been a cutie, but it seems to be in the process of reverting to Blue Cadet this season. I need to get out there and see if I can divide out the one part that seems to still have some of the BD characteristics.

I love the look of Cheatin Heart... I may need one too!

YES Maui Buttercups, thank you!

Better late than never! I measured my Cheatin Heart and it is 9 inches but stays in that cute little mound.

I love Teaspoons!

Diamond Tiara, Rainforest Sunrise and Blue Mouse Ears are great little hostas.

A few that haven't been mentioned, but are excellent varieties: Lakeside Lime Time, Paradise Sunset (may get moved to my top 10 list, very pretty, very prolific), Purple Lady Fingers, Ops, Lakeside Little Missy, Hush Puppie, Blue Clown (not really a mini, but stays low to the ground and looks good with minis), Extasy, Surprised by Joy, Kikufurin Ko Mame, Blue Jay, Flamenco Mouse (very good growth rate, unique foliage, better grower than most of the mice), Allan P. McConnell, Nakaiana, Feather Boa, Limey Lisa, Funny Bones, Venusta, Gracillima, and Kabitan (on my top 10 list). There is also a Green Mouse Ears, but I don't know if it's widely available any more.

And I forgot about Vanilla Cream, Ice Cream, and Wylde Green Cream. Also Flash Forward, Bedazzled, Clown's Collar, and Trifecta. I love Popcorn, but hesitate to recommend it. It hasn't grown well for me. Doesn't die, just is very slow. Ditto for Dorset Blue.

So what did you decide on?

I love those pictures lindalana! Your Teaspoon is huge and cute! Thanks nshosta and Don. Dhaven, you have provided a wonderful list! Madplanter, thanks for adding to the list!

And look at this list! I tried my best to put it all together---for myself and for others. It's amazing---thanks to all!

Allan P. McConnell

Appletini

Baby Booties

Baby Doll (really cute! Maybe unstable?)

Bedazzled

Blue Jay

Blue Clown

BME (I forgot about BME too. I have it!) (x4)

Cameo

Cheatin Heart (x2)

Clown's Collar

Cracker Crumbs (x2)

Crumb Cake

Curly Fries

Diamond Tiara

Dinky Donna (x2)

Dinner Mint (x2)

Extasy

Feather Boa

Flamenco Mouse

Flash Forward

Frosted Frolic

Funny Bones

Gemstone

Golden Needles

Gracillima

Green Mouse Ears

Hands Up

Hush Puppie

Hyuga Urajiro (x2)

Ice Cream

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Kabitan

Kikufurin Ko Mame

Ladybug

Lakeside Dot Com

Lakeside Lime Time

Lakeside Little Missy

Lakeside Looking Glass

Lakeside Lollipop

Limey Lisa

Mary Marie Ann

Mighty Mouse

Mini Skirt

Munchkin Fire

Nakaiana,

Ops

Paradise Sunset

Purple Lady Fingers

Pure Heart

Ruffled Mouse Ears

Stiletto (x3)

Strawberry Yogurt

Surprised by Joy

Tea and Crumpets

Teaspoon (x4)

Trifecta

Venusta

Woodland Elf

Vanilla Cream

Wylde Green Cream

Smalls recommended:

Royal Tiara, High Society, Grand Prize, Rainforest Sunrise (x2), Blue Jay (small, but not tiny, a real beauty), Faithful Heart, Hideout, Ivory Queen, Rainbow's End, Coconut Custard, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Paisley Print (a beauty!), Remember Me (especially gorgeous in early spring), Ripple Effect, Marilyn Monroe (gets to be 26"), Raspberry Sundae, Gypsy Rose, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Paradise Island, Tiara Series and Sultana.

So what did I chose? And you can imagine how hard that was!

For the larges: Amalia (who could resist Donna's photos?) And Ooh La la. I have never been able to forget that one ever since seeing it at a garden tour. I don't think its a good grower, and I haven't seen anyone posting photos of it. But I just got to try it out for myself.

For the smalls I got: Stilletto, Lakeside Down Sized, Hush Puppie, Mini Skirt, Church Mouse, Hyuga Urajiro and Curly Fries. Some of ones on the list were not available or sold out unfortunately. I wanted Teaspoon (sold out)!

I love the list and I will use it when shopping again for smalls and minis. I had to really stifle myself and not purchase all that I wanted. I began purchasing minis last year and had a few losses so I am not feeling very confident in my ability to grow them.

I had a couple of minis which did not do well in the ground, but when I replanted them in pots, they did very well. You might want to move your minis which are not doing well to a pot with some potting soil for containers.