Pic of the Day--August Moon

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Hank Zumach
Posts: 3262
Joined: Oct 11, 2001 8:00 pm
Location: Stoddard, WI

Pic of the Day--August Moon

Post by Hank Zumach »

Hi All--Its always nice to be able to describe how well a plant has done in our garden and be able to list off the increasing size measurements. Today, the opposite is true, through no fault of the variety. But, since the main purpose of this series is to provide factual information about how plants have done in our garden, I want to include plants that I have had problems with as well as those that have been trouble free.

August Moon is a very good variety that has been available for many years and it has produced a large number of sports. Its gold foliage holds up well in sun (5-6 hours in our garden spot), it usually has a good growth rate, and has been free of slug problems although the area where it is planted is isolated and the area is probably free of slugs. I got the plant in 1994 and transferred it to its present spot in about 1999. The soil there is very poor but I planted August Moon in compost and the plant did very well for a couple of years. However, it began a state of decline for over about 5 years and then it developed a crown rot problem. Starting in 2001 it measured 51x23, 48x21, 42x17, 45x16, 34x17. Last year I dug it up and replenished the soil and also treated the rot. The plant started to rebound and got back up to 41x17. I'm optimistic that it will be back to its normal attractive self this summer. The photos are from 2002, when it was still doing well, and 2006 which shows the asymmetrical growth resulting from the rot.
Zilis lists it at 42x20.

Registry - http://www.hostaregistrar.org/detail.ph ... ust%20Moon
MyHostas - http://myhostas.be/db/hostas/August+Moon
Hosta Library - http://www.hostalibrary.org/a/augmoon.html
August Moon 6-26-06c.jpg
August Moon 6-26-06c.jpg (59.17 KiB) Viewed 2993 times
August Moon 6-24-02c.jpg
Hank
Better Gnomes & Gardens
zone 4B-5A
Latitude: 43° 48' 51" N
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renaldo75
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Joined: Jul 15, 2002 8:00 pm
Location: SW Iowa Z4b

Post by renaldo75 »

In the 2006 pic, it kinda looks like there are 2 plants planted side by side.

Here are a couple pics of my August Moon last year in mid-May. I've had mine since 2002 & it's been in this spot since the late summer of 2003. Last year the mound was 21" H x 39" W, largest leaf was 6.5" W x 8" L with 11 vein pairs. The pics are from mid-May so it's not completely unfurled yet. The measurements were taken in late August.
Another view of the same group of hostas & heucheras.
Another view of the same group of hostas & heucheras.
2006 - 5-15-06 008b.jpg (65.09 KiB) Viewed 2976 times
August Moon is in the rear center on the right of the keg; Warwick Edge is in the keg; September Sun is front center; White Wall Tire is lower right; Dark Star is just visible behind the purple heuchera.
August Moon is in the rear center on the right of the keg; Warwick Edge is in the keg; September Sun is front center; White Wall Tire is lower right; Dark Star is just visible behind the purple heuchera.
2006 - 5-15-06 007b.jpg (66.74 KiB) Viewed 2976 times
2006 - 5-15-06 082 August Moon.jpg
2006 - 5-15-06 082 August Moon.jpg (61.74 KiB) Viewed 2976 times
GO HAWKEYES!!!

Renaldo's Hosta List
Latitude: 40° 59' 17.6676"; Longitude: -94° 44' 28.014"
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jgh
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Joined: Oct 14, 2001 8:00 pm
Location: Plymouth, Minnesota zone 4

Post by jgh »

The term "classic" might be overused. If you see a 1960 Chevy Corvair, someone will undoubtedly refer to it as a "classic" car. In fact, it never was a good car... it's just old and wierd.

Some of us older folks are referred to as classics for much the same reason.

But August Moon is truly a classic (and classy) hosta. It was described in detail in the first AHS Bulletin, though never actually registered until 1996. Its parentage is unknown. People used to describe it as looking like a "gold Sieboldiana" but Zilis explains that it can't be a close relative because the flowers are so different.

August Moon is like a teenage boy's dream date... cheap and easy. It would be worthy all on its own. But, like many of us, it became important because of its children. The second two photos are of my "family grouping."

But the first photo... I bought AM a looonnnnggg time ago... so I've got lots of them. In fact, I have mass plantings that I am in the process of removing to make more room for specimens. In this photo you see a transition from Krossa Regal to August Moon to Golden Tiara to Lancifolia. I don't have to do much weeding in this area.

In the second photo you see part of my AM family grouping. Starting with August Moon in the lower right center and going to the lower right corner we have Abiqua Moonbeam. Proceeding clockwise we get the infamous Lunar Eclipse, Moonwaves, (Twinkle off to the left - a Fortunei) Lunar Magic, (Titanic off to the left), Velvet Moon (planted by the odd piece of found metal)... more in next shot

Third shot... starting with Abiqua Moonbeam in the middle and moving to the lower right corner we have Lunar Orbit. going clockwise, Lunar Eclipse and August Moon. Above AM and AbMoonbeam is September Sun. At the top, hard to see, are August Beauty and Indiana Knight. The subtly colored one on the upper right is my own Xela. I'll be chopping this one up this spring to send one part to the winner of the AHS auction ( :wink: thanks again!) and one additional piece to a surprise recipient. The only other division is in Danny's collection in Belgium.

I was please to see that one of this family made it into the first group of 15 Honorable Mentions for the Benedict Garden Performance awards. It is September Sun, a Solberg introduction. I can't tell the difference between Lunar Orbit (from Lydell) and SS, but so glad it got recognized.

That's not all of the AM sports, but enough to give you an idea of what AM started!
August Moon Family right rdcd.JPG
August Moon Family left rdcd.JPG
North mass plantings rdcd.JPG
Last edited by jgh on Mar 22, 2007 9:02 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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jgh
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Joined: Oct 14, 2001 8:00 pm
Location: Plymouth, Minnesota zone 4

Post by jgh »

one more shot, showing closerups of AM and two excellent sports.
Trio - leaves - Abiqua Moonbeam, August Moon, September Sun rdcd.JPG
Trio - leaves - Abiqua Moonbeam, August Moon, September Sun rdcd.JPG (54.68 KiB) Viewed 2935 times
Eleven
Posts: 223
Joined: Apr 02, 2010 9:59 am
USDA Zone: 6a
Location: Royal Oak, MI

Re: Pic of the Day--August Moon

Post by Eleven »

My August Moon that I received as one small eye in 2014. It's on the dry edge of a bed but seems to be increasing regularly.

Hosta August Moon 2014-0625
Image
~Shawna
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redcrx
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USDA Zone: 7
Location: Camden, New Jersey
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Re: Pic of the Day--August Moon

Post by redcrx »

August Moon is one of the oldest plants in my garden. It went into a raised bed back in 2008 when I changed my raw woods into a garden with paths between patches of azaleas, weigela, and hosta and other things - some Indian Pipes showed-up today - haven't seen them in a couple of years.
August Moon - July 15, 2018
August Moon - July 15, 2018
August Moon - July 15, 2018
August Moon - July 15, 2018
August Moon - July 15, 2018
August Moon - July 15, 2018
August Moon - July 15, 2018
August Moon - July 15, 2018
Just something else that shows up once in a while - I don't remember the spots.
Indian Pipes - July 15, 2018
Indian Pipes - July 15, 2018
Ed McHugh, Sicklerville NJ
ImageMockingbird feeding juvenile yellow raisons - never leave home without them.
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