Am I going nuts?

[dash]

Hi Folk,
My first year of collecting I bought roughly 40 hosta, last year 51 and this year I've already bought another 57. I'm having a hard time keeping up with planting them and I still have some I want....I must be going nuts But I hear I'm in good company.

[woodthrush]

Nope, not here anyway. You are normal here - lol
Pam

[Chris_W]

No, that's how we all start out Just don't be in a rush to be a name collector. There are way too many plants that are similar, identical, or really not worth growing and if you collect too many just for names then you can get into trouble. Research things a little when you buy, try to learn about parentage, and then make some informed decisions.

For now, I would recommend going around and taking it all in. See what you have - you might find that you are attracted to the same types over and over again - and see what the collection might be missing. If you are collecting really fast you might find that you've already duplicated a few, too. Once you see what you have, come up with a game plan - where will they go, how will you arrange them, do you have an ultimate goal in what you want the garden to become. Of course, try to start planting and arranging things. Really take some time to think about this now as it will help the collection grow better in time. Otherwise you will end up with a mess of things that are just stuck here and there in a rush to get them into the ground.

I have one major part of the garden that was planned out really well, is nicely balanced with hostas and perennials, and really makes a statement. And then I have the rest of it.... There are so many things just got stuck here and there that I'm not too happy about it. Large portions are filled with junk plants - things that had sports and odd leaves in them that I didn't want to throw away so I thought they might make good garden clumps. Nope, many of them look bad now. Then one side of the garden is ultra dry and that's where I put my giants, only to have them shrink to small plants. So there I need to move the really fast growers that are more drought tolerant and move the giants to a more moisture retentive spot. That might not even be in this garden...

Well, you get the idea. The really well thought out parts are beautiful and the areas where I just collected things looks like a mish-mash/hodge-podge of things.

I do the same thing with the plants that I sell - I walk around and take it in to see what other things I would like to add. Some years I find that I'm collecting nothing but blues, then yellows. Now I find that I barely have any plants with a lot of true white in them, but probably because they seem to grow so poorly in our alkaline soil.

After you get starting with the planting and arranging you will really be able to make better decisions about exactly what you want to add, and then the collecting can be a lot more fun. At least I think it does.

Have fun!

Chris

[ViolaAnn]

No, that's how we all start out Just don't be in a rush to be a name collector. There are way too many plants that are similar, identical, or really not worth growing and if you collect too many just for names then you can get into trouble. Research things a little when you buy, try to learn about parentage, and then make some informed decisions.

Good points. I've got hostas with both of my daughters' names and I'm not wild about them, but I'm STUCK with them in my garden. I've got other hostas that once mature just don't really appeal to me. I'm gradually dividing them up and selling divisions or giving them to plant sales. I'm up around 160 varieties now and I'm really beginning to notice those that look very much alike and I'm getting very fussy about what I add as new plants.

Ann

[dash]

Thanks for your comments and advise, Pam, Chris and Ann.
I can totally see where your coming from . I started with a wildflower garden ,overloaded it with hosta then stated mixing other shared plants in.Done a lot of moving this year and used plenty of bleach in between. Anyway I have my favorites Whirlwind,Pandora's Box, Blue Mouse Ears,Paul's Glory,Fire & Ice etc. Then there are some I really like Patriot,Minuteman,Thunderbolt,Montana. Then there are a lot of greens that aren't doing much for me,they get planted as deer bait I have been collecting and growing seed but not getting any variegation,as far as I can tell. Have to say I'm learning and really enjoying this forum..You folks are great

[eastwood2007]

Sounds normal to me!!!!

To get variegated seedlings, Dash, you usually have to use a streaked parent plant (pod parent). There are a few exceptions to this, but one in a million type exceptions.

Continue having fun!

[dash]

Thanks Charla,
Good to know. I haven't seen any streakers around here but Ill keep looking.

[ViolaAnn]

The vast majority of your seedlings will be plain Jane greenies, but ...
This is a 2nd year seedling of 'Last Dance'! You CAN get lucky.

[Chris_W]

Wow Ann, are you sure that was a seed that you started and not a bud? That looks absolutely identical to Last Dance, which wouldn't be a one in a million but more one in a quadrillion odds. How many seeds did you have to start to get that one?

I think the only way I would get that lucky would be to have a streaker in the garden.

[ViolaAnn]

Actually, Chris, it's reverse colouring of 'Last Dance'. Didn't start too many seeds and it was from the first year I had the plant.

[thy]

LOL dash, you sure are in good compagny here
But Chris is giving some very good advises and you better plant them in a row the first year(s) than doing my mistakes

I love the blue ones and have done all the years, but when I started to bye hostas for real, I got a few blue ones and a lot of the brightest ones ( the green/ yellow, the green /white and the yellow/green , ect.
3 years after, when the hostas started to mature, I had a lot of hostas fighting for my sore eyes, and the eyes had nowhere to rest and focus.. so i found some nice green and blue ones to fill out
Next thing it was a bit bored, I had no yellow ones
Then they needed to have the special tip, edges ruffles, bumbles, cuppings or...
When the beds were rally beautiful i sold the house

started with a new design and planted it... then I build a new terasse and had to have some steps in a corner... the design did not fit anymore at all and one day I have to redo it''So think and draw and do it all ower once again for´fore you plant to many beautiful hostas .... you will enjoy them even more with a good design

[kaylyred]

Amazing seedling, Ann!

And Dash, I'm going to echo what everyone else said--you're not nuts for falling in love with hostas. My garden grew by something like 25 plants this year, which is less than yours from the sound of it, but still kind of overwhelming when I consider how much I spent.

Chris made some really great suggestions. I actually did almost precisely what he recommended this year without realizing it. I made an MS Word file called Hosta Short List, and on it I placed the hostas I was drawn to, their colors, shapes and sizes. After a couple of weeks I reviewed it...and changed it. And then, based on comments from folks in the forums here and at Dave's Garden, I revised it again.

I did find that I was drawn to similar hostas. For instance, I was drawn to variegated hostas that were heavy on the gold coloration. Revising my Short List periodically made me realize that the ones I wanted were too biased in one direction or another. Too many variegated hostas on the list? Hmm, okay...time to perhaps look at a few blues and to start to appreciate the loveliness of a solid green. Time to look at shapes, not just colors. By doing this, and by researching the plants I was most interested in to find out what other hosta gardeners who owned them thought of them, I think I put together a nice collection of plants that I truly love this year. I have no regrets about a single plant I picked up.

[dash]

Beautiful seedling Ann. I'd show you mine but I dropped my camera and haven't replaced it yet. They don't hold a candle to that one though.

Thy.. sound like I'm doing the same thing you did. I recently picked up three with red petioles and then had to have two with ruffles.

kaylered.... I remember when you were putting your garden in. I stole one of your ideas and put my Tiara's together

[Chris_W]

Actually, Chris, it's reverse colouring of 'Last Dance'. Didn't start too many seeds and it was from the first year I had the plant.

Oops, you are right. I was thinking Dance with Me. Makes me wonder if your Last Dance had a couple streaky jets coming into the center or down the petioles. Sometimes that is all it takes for a seed to show variegation. Thanks for correcting me

[kaylyred]

kaylered.... I remember when you were putting your garden in. I stole one of your ideas and put my Tiara's together

They do look nice side-by-side. Two of mine are still babies, though.

I also put 'Maui Buttercups,' Tropical Storm,' and 'Rainforest Sunrise' (all siblings) together. I like how they look.

[ViolaAnn]

I've just acquired 'Vanilla Cream'. I already have its sports 'Ice Cream', Heart and Soul' and 'Wylde Green Cream'. Am considering putting them all together in a group. What do you think?

[DBoweMD]

I have the creams together too... and like you for a long time, was missing one to finish the set. That was Pistachio Cream, which is solid dark green, and I am pretty sure that it was a gift from Steg here when he visited me a couple years ago.... he knew I wanted it.

[jgh]

I've got the four together... they complement each other well, though mine are all tending to colonize rather than form neat clumps.

I don't have Pistachio Cream - but I've got some all-green sports from Heart and Soul which are probably pretty similar... they seem to be much more vigorous than the rest of the clan. This is the plant I chose to call H. Derriere for my container entry at the convention... nice rounded leaves...

As to the original question... less than 150 hostas in three years... naw, Dash, you're not crazy. It's OK to start out slowly until you have a better sense of what you like. Then you can really kick your collecting into gear. My biggest year was around 250 new ones... When you find yourself actually considering buying the house next door to expand your planting area - now that might be a little nuts...

[dash]

Well Jim,
You've given me a whole new perspective.

[ViolaAnn]

Does 'Heart and Soul' tend to sport easily? I think I have one all-green eye as well and I've had several that had very irregular variegation rather than a nice neat margin although I've never tried to separate them.