who knew.. lol ...

have you been cutting the bottoms??

ken

ps: with that small vase.. i suspect you have no dogs.. cats.. nor children around to knock it over ...

pps: why do i think.. you are going to start a craze ....

Florists use large leaves to wrap around the base of flowers in a vase to add interest and hide the stems. They hold up very well.

They are often used in ikebana. Those have lasted an incredibly long time!

Ken, I've only cut the bottoms twice! Pets? I only have a budgie who likes to taste any plant that I bring into the kitchen to water. But I don't have to worry about the hosta leaves because they are edible.

I think I have seen what you are taking about in photos, miles. The leaves look great like that.

peren.all, ikebana, they look lovely that way! I am very surprised at how long these two leaves have survived.

sandyslopes, I don't blame you for helping your leaves survive a little longer. I would do the same. I used tap water and changed the water, at most, twice a week.

In my case, I cut them because my horticultural society had a "show and tell" and asked us to bring a hosta leaf that was 8 inches or more in width. So I decided to cut an Atlantis leaf. I went inside and measured it. Only 7 3/4 inches! Darn! So next time I brought my ruler along with me and made sure the leaf was at least 8 inches wide. So that is how I ended up with these two leaves!

Very nice. The Iowa State Fair has a special section in their plant and flower show for hosta arrangements. I haven't been for a few years, but there are some amazingly creative people out there arranging hostas. Ikebana makes up about half the entries, the rest are a wide range of styles and sizes, utilizing everything from large leaves to minis.

There is also a flower and plant show yearly near my area. There is a section that requires one to use a certain number and variety of hosta leaves in an arrangement. I don't know whether they "allow" the use of additional plants or flowers within the arrangement.

Here are a couple of photos I took from those exhibits:

I didn’t document how long the Hosta leaves lasted but well beyond a month before they no longer looked fresh. I also kept them indoors. The kitty likes to hide underneath my large hostas and on occasion I find the odd leaf on the ground...instant focal point in a vase. :)

Your leaves are beautiful, NHL and so is your presentation. Perhaps next year some leaves will reach 8”! :-)

I also kept my leaves indoors. I bet you are most forgiving of your kitty, Jo!

My second leaf was over 8 inches wide. I took it to the horticultural society's meeting, and then we get to bring our leaves home.

My Atlantis this morning:

I have used hosta leaves in flower arrangements that I put together for myself? Love the pictures newhostalady shows of the hosta leaf arrangement!♥️

In those hosta leaf arrangements I photographed, there are 9 different hostas. The judges will actually move the leaves around so that they can inspect the quality of the leaves when judging.

That last photo, NHL, of Atlantis is stunning - colour and texture.

Yes - gorgeous! Library-worthy!

I have also used hosta leaves in bouquets. I think they look wonderful either alone like yours newhostalady or combined with other things (I have used ferns and flowers with them). They last really well!

Adding ferns and flowers to make a hosta leaf arrangement sure sounds wonderful, cyn427. I hope anyone making an arrangement with cut hosta leaves decides to take a picture to show us in this forum!

Aging quickly, but nicely.