Pic of the Day--Witches Brew

[Hank Zumach]

Hi All--Witches Brew is one of those plants that I bought primarily because of the name so I shouldn't be really disappointed with the appearance of the plant. However, after having had it since 1999 I'm at a point of thinking there must have been a better choice available. The Hosta Library shows some plants with heavy corrugation and some nice blue coloring but there just isn't much to distinguish the Witches Brew in our garden. But, hope springs eternal in the minds of hosta freaks so maybe the plant will take on some really interesting characteristics in 2008. Starting in 2001 it measured 26x13, 41x17, 46x18, 50x16, and 53x20. Lemke's Database has the size at 48x24 and Wade & Gatton a somewhat larger 60x24. The plant does hold up very well in the late season and slugs have not been a problem. The pic is from 2005

[Izzy]

Beautiful Hosta!
I think it needs a contrast color as a companion, to enhance the color, Red Astible ..... yeah! Right in behind it, to break up the greens of the other Hosta's!
I beleive this will make the varied greens stand out.
I really like that Hosta!
Izzy

[Patrushka]

Oh, Hank, I like it!!! Yours even has some nice corrugation developing.

Here's mine at the beginning of June 2007. It was planted in Spring 2003.

Clickable Thumbnail

[Izzy]

I really like this one, it seems to be growing on me.
I take it it's a slow grower?
Izzy

[Hank Zumach]

Pat--Your plant has nice blue coloring. How much sun does it get? I'm starting to wonder if there might be several strains of plants out there under the same name.

Izzy--Are you implying that you move even slower than Witches Brew grows and it caught up to you

[thehostagourmet]

Hank, you may be right. I know I've seen it over the past 2 or 3 years in a Convention tour garden. I remember more rugosity (dimples), but not whether it was bluish or green.

George

[Patrushka]

Hank, I think it only gets some filtered sun. It is planted on the inside of a bed that encompasses four Oak trees. The pic was taken at 2:27 p.m. You may be right about different strains. I got mine from Bob Kuk.

[Izzy]

After re reading my Post ....
Thanks Hank! I neeed a good laugh tonight!
It should have read .... It doesn't even matter!
Yes actually that plant is bigger than me! Well it's width is the same height as me!
One more week ...
Izzy

[Don Rawson]

Hank,
I agree with what you've said. The Witches Brew hostas I've seen aren't nearly as seer-suckered as the pics and weren't very impressive. If you want the same medium green hosta but EXTREMELY puckered, replace it with American Green Quilt. If you want a med. green EXTREMELY puckered and somewhat cupped, then get Black Hills or Puckered Green Cup. And if you really like EXTREMELY puckered, med. green, and very large, then plant Iroquois. Don

[thehostagourmet]

The registration called the leaf "a vivid green; rugose".

I took two pictures of this cultivar last summer. The first was at the AHS Convention tour of the Ammons garden. This was an older plant.

The second is from the First Look tour of John O'Brien's nursery's display garden. This was a younger plant.

p.s. I have tried a dozen times, but no matter what order I add them, they come out with the second first and the first, second. I give up.

[Hank Zumach]

George--Nice photos. Thanks for posting them, particularly since they seem to match the registration description. The problem with the order in which the photos appear is because the software insists on first posting any photos under 50 Kb and then the rest of the photos. This happens to me every once in a while with my POTD. Frustrating.

[thehostagourmet]

Thanks, Hank. What is the current maximum size for a photo in KB?

[Hank Zumach]

Last time I knew, it was 80. that's what I compress mine to.

[redcrx]

Registry - http://www.hostaregistrar.org/detail.ph ... hes%20Brew

MyHostas - http://www.myhostas.be/db/hostas/Witches+Brew

Hosta Library - http://www.hostalibrary.org/wx/witches.html