Bob and Nancy Solberg, Owners                                                                                    Phone: 919-309-0649

       P. O. Box 16306, Chapel Hill, NC 27516                                                             Fax: 919-383-4533  

       www.HostaHosta.com                                                                        E-Mail:  greenhill@mindspring.com                                                                            

 

 

Color

 

          One of the things I like about the First Look seedling and sport competition is that it is a competition. Hybridizers bring their best new seedlings and sports and they are judged not only by AHS Judges, schooled in the finer aspects of hosta appreciation, but also by the attendees, just average hosta collectors. It is interesting that both groups have very different taste in hostas.

            The judges see hosta characteristics, leaf shape, ruffles, substance, puckers, etc. and give extra points for each of these. The plant with the most accessories placed in the most pleasing mound arrangement usually wins the prize. The last two years, a green plant has been chosen best seedling over all those flashy variegated ones.

            The attendees just see color. They have chosen a white centered seedling the past two years. To be fair the attendees see red petioles, ruffles, substance, puckers, etc. also, but they give more weight to color. The judges too are also often attracted to a certain seedling over another because of color. Dark green leaves are often preferred over lighter shades of green on both all green hostas and variegated ones. Our new mini, ‘Plug Nickel’ has richer color than ‘Cody’ and thus, should be a higher rated

hosta in the contest. 

            I believe Mildred Seaver figured this out first. Color is not everything but it is sure what attracts us to hostas. When asked what her favorite hosta was, Mildred would say, “I’m a color person,” and point to  ‘Tokudama Aureonebulosa’. Customers today are still attracted to Mildred’s favorite hosta at our nursery even if they can’t pronounce the name. It’s the color. 

            Mary Chastain has taken color to a new level. Not just with her dark green hosta colors but also with her clean variegation of dark green margins and white centers or borders. Mary knows that it is more than just color that catches the eye, it is contrast. ‘Lakeside Premier’ is a great example of that. Good definition between the green portion of the leaf and its variegated border is what catches the eye. Hostas that have several shades of coloration may be more beautiful but only when viewed close-up. It is the difference between ‘Patriot’ and ‘Minuteman’. Like Mary’s hostas, ‘Minuteman’, has an elegance about it that ‘Patriot’ lacks.

            Some hostas are bright lights in the garden. They are more festive and scream across the path, “Hey you, look at me!!” It is more like the mayhem of Mardi Gras than  the pageantry of royalty. Many of these are at their best fresh out of the ground and fade into the background later in the summer. ‘June’ is my favorite example of this but spring golds like ‘Whiskey Sour’, ‘Gilt by Association’ and even ‘Cracker Crumbs’ are at their peak for only part of the season. But boy, do they shout in spring! A new hosta we are offering this fall, ‘My Marianne’ may shout out to you well into summer. Its variegated leaves emerge a glowing creamy

gold and then turn a shiny white. It does not have that Chastain contrast but it has dazzled my eye this summer in the nursery.

            Subtle color is also popular with some hosta aficionados. ‘Five O’Clock Shadow’ and ‘Rascal’ are good examples of a gold hosta with a light green not dark green margin. This sort of flies in the face of the idea of the more contrast the better but aren’t hostas and hosta collectors known for breaking the rules. ‘Fallen Angel’, a ‘Guardian Angel’ sport, shares that misty gray white color with its parent but in the case of ‘Fallen Angel’ it covers the entire leaf. It too will turn blueish with summer’s heat but subtly lighter in color than ‘Blue Angel’.   

            If it is color and contrast that catches your eye, here are a few hostas that have caught my eye recently. For a gold centered green margined hosta you can not beat ‘Paradigm’ for color contrast. The gold center and green margins are deep rich colors with great definition. ‘Garden Treasure’ is equally good as the reverse of ‘Paradigm’. ‘Soft Shoulders’ and ‘First Frost’ have great marginal color on strong green and blue backgrounds respectively. ‘Faithful Heart’ and ‘Cookie Crumbs’ this time of year are spectacular, little minis with different color schemes. ‘Sagae’ and ‘Jewel of the Nile’ are large leafed beauties that show strong summer color when given some bright light. Many of these are “Two for Twenty” or specially priced for fall delivery.   

 

Hostas: The Big and Little of It

            It really struck home again this spring. At a leaf show the point is really accentuated. Hosta folks are attracted to giant sized hosta leaves and teeny, tiny hosta leaves and pretty much walk right by all those in the middle.

            In the garden giant hostas always steal the show. Bonnie Rutnick’s clump of chicken manure fed Hosta ‘Millennium’ was probably the most photographed plant at this year’s AHS National Convention. The line for photos was backed up all the way to the chicken coop. In St. Louis, I got a great photo of Cody sitting under an enormous clump of ‘Lakeside Ripples’ in the Buehrig garden. WOW! Impressive is the only word for well grown giant hostas.

            The word for the little ones is cute. It’s not just how small you can grow them but it’s how neat and well kept the little mounds look. Troughs filled with 4 inch hostas are now the rage. I was shocked to see one of the blue ribbon winners containing a miniature clump of my own medium sized ‘Toy Soldier’. I wanted to rush in and rescue it and give it a little, well, chicken manure.

            It seems that giant hostas are meant to be grown as big as you can and minis are meant to be grown as mini as you can. Even the Hosta Show judges seem to believe this. They give the blue ribbon for the biggest leaves, all things being equal, in the giant category and for the smallest ‘Tiny Tears’ in the mini group. To grow giant hostas well, the bigger the better, but well grown miniature hostas are the most shrunken ones.

            While I can see the logic in this from the Hosta Show perspective and even in the garden, I have always thought that a well grown hosta was a well fed hosta; not to little, not to much, just the right amount of food. I also believe there can be too much of a good thing even for a giant hosta and starving minis may border on plant abuse.

 

      Fortunately, unlike the human population in this country, most of our hostas in gardens are more likely to be underweight rather than overweight. We generally tend to under fertilize rather than over fertilize our hostas.

            So, how much is the right amount of fertilizer? First, it depends on how rich your soil is to start with. Some hosta growers grow fine, healthy hostas by not using any additional fertilizer. Their soil has plenty of nitrogen and other nutrients in it from years of adding manure, compost or just being lucky enough to be located in Iowa. To find out where you stand, like they always say, “Start with a soil test.” Then listen to your hostas, they will let you know if you have used too much fertilizer or not enough.

            Hostas need lots of nitrogen in the spring when their new leaves are expanding. They need lesser amounts in summer and early fall and none in winter when they are fast asleep. Any fertilizing program should take your hostas’ culinary wishes into account. I like to use a slow release fertilizer just as the hostas emerge. This can be an organic, (manure, cottonseed meal, etc.), or inorganic type, (resin or plastic coated chemicals). Your hostas do not care. Be prepared however, you will need lots of the former if you decide to go that way, as they tend to be relatively low sources of nitrogen. I like a nitrogen number, the first number in the fertilizer formulation, to be 15, 18, or even 21 if your soil lacks nitrogen.

            Building good healthy soil will reduce the amount of fertilizer that will be needed to be applied each spring. Even the best soil however, needs a little help during those crazy spring days when your hostas seem to grow a foot overnight. May is a good time to supplement your feeding program with a foliar feeding of a high nitrogen liquid fertilizer to help get nutrients to the leaves. Cool soil and air temperatures may be hindering you hosta’s ability to translocate them up through the plant. In the evening, apply 20-20-20 liquid fertilizer from a hose end sprayer and just get the foliage of your hostas wet, do not drench. Then, stand back! You will see the difference in a day or so.

            Some of you are thinking if 20-20-20 is so good. then why don’t I hit my giant ones with a little 34-0-0. You can, but too much and yes, you will have giant leaves, but boy, will they have some weird shapes! Too much nitrogen and especially the second flush of leaves will be elongated and mis-shapened. Remember, your hosta will let you know. If the new leaves are almost the same size as its first leaves then you have done it right. If your second flush leaves are much smaller than the first, then your hosta is hungry. 

            If you want the smallest hostas on the block, (that still sounds funny to me),  then put them in very well drained soil, like gravel or scree with a little peat moss. It is water that makes a hosta plump. Deny the plant water and it will dwarf. Fertilize as little as possible, but at least enough so that the leaves do not look chloratic. If you are really serious about this to the point of Bonsai, then cut the plant’s roots every spring as your hosta emerges so that it has additional trouble moving that water. Don’t worry, it will make new roots later to sustain it through the summer but by then the damage is done and your hosta has shrunk. Don’t let it totally dry out or it will rot.

            The irony of all this love affair with giants and minis is that our gardens are mostly suited for hostas with sizes in the middle.  Most of us have only room for a few really large hostas in our landscape setting and the really little ones get lost or smothered by the mulch. A hosta needs to be a foot in diameter, (the size of a “well grown” mini), to make it on its own in the garden. There are lots of uses for medium

sized 2-3 foot clumps and 3-4 foot large hostas make dramatic statements in any

landscape. I guess in reality, most of us are just hosta collectors drawn to the extremes of the genus and not landscape designers, planting a picture to be viewed from inside the  living room.

 

Fall Specials:

        This fall we are offering three new hostas and a one time mix and match “Two for Twenty” special. For hostas shipped the month of August only, you can mix and match any “Two for Twenty” hostas, you do not have to order two of the same hosta. This sale is only for the hostas listed below in our special “Two for Twenty” sale list. Visit the website or check your Gossip for our complete listing as many of those hostas are still in good supply. And don’t forget to use your coupons before they expire (September 30). We hope you will try a few of these for your fall planting. If you have any questions call Nancy or Bob at the office, 919-309-0649 or e-mail us at greenhill@mindspring.com.

 

New Hostas:

‘Fallen Angel’ - Large hosta mound emerges entirely a misted gray-white color just like the center of the leaf of its parent ‘Guardian Angel’ and later fades to a bluish great white flowers, unusual and impressive clump ………………$25.00

‘My Marianne’ - Small, brightly variegated clump of medium green leaves with a wide cream border and good substance, lots of color in a small hosta…..……..$25.00

‘Plug Nickel’ - Mini, from ‘Shiny Penny’ through ‘Cracker Crumbs’, very shiny deep green, heavily substanced leaves, worth more than its namesake …...$30.00

 

Mix and Match “Two for Twenty” Specials - must order in multiples of two!

          ‘Allegan Fog’ - Medium, green with a nicely misted leaf center, grows well

‘Blue Monday’ - Small, blue, very rounded leaves, excellent flowers 

‘Carolina Blue’ - Medium, waxy light blue leaves, fast grower

‘Garden Treasure’ - Large, dark green center, gold edge, puckered, great color

H. nigrescens - Classic, Large, upright gray green boat shaped foliage

‘Hi Ho Silver’ - Mini, with feathery foliage, green with a wide white edge, cute          

‘Lakeside Black Satin’ - Medium, dark green heart shaped leaves, good flowers

‘Lakeside Blue Jeans’ - Large, very blue sieboldiana, good grower in the South

‘Lily Pad’ - Medium, upright, dark green very shiny ovate leaves, a yingeri

‘Ming Treasure’ - Large, gold margined plantaginea, same large fragrant flowers

‘Northern Exposure’ - Large, cream margined, blue sieboldiana, one of the best

‘Paradigm’ - Large, dark green edged, rich gold leaves, great contrast, a favorite

‘Rascal’ - Large, upright chartreuse leaves with a yellow center, from ‘Gold Regal’

‘Sagae’ - Classic, large, blue green leaves with wide yellow edge becoming cream

‘Soft Shoulders’ - Small, white edged, long pointed dark leaf, from ‘Tardiflora’