Standing the ten foot rule -- or not

[thy]

Went to my hosta friends to pick up 40 + hostas - please NO comments...

When talking the told me they did not like the ones I have picked for real... all exept one. h. Curly Fries

So what is the differences...
They have 4 times the space I have .. a beautiful Japanese styled garden, a mini area, a rhodondendon with hosta area, Me i mix ass much as I like- tree peonies, lilies, roses and. then having an area with out roses or...

Most of their hostas have to fit the ten foot rule- - all 1200 not possible, but they are in for hostas that look as a solitary hosta to mee.

Me on the other hand have an other rule...
Place a ten foot hosta and then when I get closer I see the beauty of the surronding hostas - shiny leafs, rippled, wavy, serrataded, cupped or domed - or round, heart, elongeated leaves, - flat or vase shaped
And i love the small surprises

Where are you ?

Ten foot versus the small differences ?

[kaylyred]

I tend to surround myself with what I love, and I rarely follow any rules, 10 foot or otherwise. That's just me.

That said, I do look for some hostas that I think will have an impact. My garden is young and small, but I knew when I bought my huge 'Sagae' at auction last year that it would make people say, "Wow! Now that's a plant!" And, for the most part, they do. And maybe that will lead to a conversation about the other hostas in my garden--I'd welcome that! But I really don't expect anyone--anyone not a hosta fanatic like me, at least--to look and notice that 'Designer Genes' has bright yellow leaves and great red petioles, or that 'Red Dragon' has gorgeous dark green leaves and red petioles, or that 'Wolverine' has an unusual shape, or that 'Maui Buttercups,' 'Rainforest Sunrise' and 'Tropical Storm' look wonderful together with their similar shape and growth habits and different coloring.

The important thing to me is that I notice and appreciate these things. And I have no problem pointing them out to people who aren't hostaholics like me but who seem interested in knowing more (and even a few people who seem like they couldn't care less). In the end, though, I've never really gardened to please anyone but myself.

[jgh]

"Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!"

[Linda P]

"Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!"

I'm with you on this one, Pia. I have any number of hostas that 'look alike' to other people, but I notice and appreciate the differences.
Some of my older ones, the ones that have been around since the last century may have some look-alike qualities, but
they will stay because they've been here longest and have tenure. I may, at some point, have to prune my 8 or so Royal Standards down
to one or two to make way for newer ones, but on the other hand, maybe not. I love seeing them in bloom all over my garden in August.
My garden is for me...if I like the way it looks, that's all that matters. Some days I hate the way it looks, and that's okay, too, because
I'll drag my focus off of what is wrong with it, and go look at what's right.
Many of my friends and family members appreciate the garden, but think that all the hostas look pretty much alike.
My son said one day, "So, Mom, what is with all these hostas. Aren't they all pretty much alike...I mean, once you've seen one you know
what a hosta looks like". My reply? 'So, Son, what is with all those game cards you collect. They all look the same, and once you've seen
one you know what they look like, so why would you want any more of them?" His reply: "Point taken."
Karen, that is a good point you make about putting in one big splashy one, and then drawing the eye to the more modest ones. There's
always a need for a supporting cast!

Linda P

[Chris_W]

I pick hostas with a combination of rules. Yes, I really get into the finer details of each plant, but I also want to know its pedigree/background, who created it, has it ever been grown in garden dirt or in multiple gardens (vs. being only out of TC or only ever grown in a pot), and is it much different from other plants I already grow. Price will have some to do with it too. I've been burned too many times on expensive ones so I don't like to take a chance until I'm really certain of the plant.

Personally I don't think I pick them with the 10 foot rule in mind, though that is part of it. For example, how many different solid colored plants do I really need? It better have a unique shape or nice flowers to go with it for me to consider it

The other day I was telling a friend how I was fascinated with Hosta 'Spinach Souffle' - it is supposedly a tetraploid Garden Treasure, which is a green centered sport of the solid yellow Treasure, so Spinach Souffle is naturally a little smaller and slower growing than its diploid counterpart. BUT, when you get a solid yellow sport out of it, that solid yellow plant actually grows bigger and faster than Spinach Souffle. That tells me that the yellow portion is likely a diploid and the center is probably a tetraploid, so in reality Spinach Souffle is not a true tetraploid but a ploidy chimera that is probably only tetraploid in the L3 layer, which is unusual as most ploidy chimeras are tetraploid in the L1 layer. Their reply... "Huh..." with a glazed over look on their face...

Yes, I can get into the finer details of plants, and maybe a little too much

[ThisIsMelissa]

I pick hostas with a combination of rules. Yes, I really get into the finer details of each plant, but I also want to know its pedigree/background, who created it, has it ever been grown in garden dirt or in multiple gardens (vs. being only out of TC or only ever grown in a pot), and is it much different from other plants I already grow. Price will have some to do with it too. I've been burned too many times on expensive ones so I don't like to take a chance until I'm really certain of the plant.

Personally I don't think I pick them with the 10 foot rule in mind, though that is part of it. For example, how many different solid colored plants do I really need? It better have a unique shape or nice flowers to go with it for me to consider it

The other day I was telling a friend how I was fascinated with Hosta 'Spinach Souffle' - it is supposedly a tetraploid Garden Treasure, which is a green centered sport of the solid yellow Treasure, so Spinach Souffle is naturally a little smaller and slower growing than its diploid counterpart. BUT, when you get a solid yellow sport out of it, that solid yellow plant actually grows bigger and faster than Spinach Souffle. That tells me that the yellow portion is likely a diploid and the center is probably a tetraploid, so in reality Spinach Souffle is not a true tetraploid but a ploidy chimera that is probably only tetraploid in the L3 layer, which is unusual as most ploidy chimeras are tetraploid in the L1 layer. Their reply... "Huh..." with a glazed over look on their face...

Yes, I can get into the finer details of plants, and maybe a little too much

HUH?

LOL.... I kinda followed that, but man Chris, you're fascinated by the complicated stuff. I like 'em cuz they're purdy!

[rosemarie]

Somehwere I posted that people that don't appreciate Hostas say they all look alike, or what's the big deal! I tell the fishermen that fish all look alike to me
To each his own!!!!

[flowerchild59]

Chris, you are too funny.
You know I am a nurse, I have a scientific mind, but my bloomin' eyes glazed over when I tried to understand that chromosone stuff in the latest hosta magazine.
My rule of thumb is there ain't no rules when it comes to my purdy hostas. If I like them, I like em for their color and textures. I admire the ones that are bumply and different. I love the tiaras that grace my royalty bed too.........are they cheap and easy on the wallet????? Yep, but I love them just the same as my atom smasher OS that I paid a lot more for.
Well, maybe not the same

[ViolaAnn]

I tend to surround myself with what I love, and I rarely follow any rules, 10 foot or otherwise.

Sounds like a good rule to me. But I have a few which I hope will really stand out - 'Liberty', 'Regal Splendor', etc.

[largosmom]

I like what I like...can't always explain it. And Chris...those ploidy chimeras...ya, I'd buy a (not too expensive) hosta for that reason too! (Wouldn't understand it all, but it's just fascinating how one family of plants can look soo different!)

Says one hosta to another..."I thought I'd change my genes today...how do these new ones look to you?"

Laura

[kaylyred]

My son said one day, "So, Mom, what is with all these hostas. Aren't they all pretty much alike...I mean, once you've seen one you know
what a hosta looks like". My reply? 'So, Son, what is with all those game cards you collect. They all look the same, and once you've seen
one you know what they look like, so why would you want any more of them?" His reply: "Point taken."

As my (teenage) son would say, "He got owned!"

The other day I was telling a friend how I was fascinated with Hosta 'Spinach Souffle' - it is supposedly a tetraploid Garden Treasure, which is a green centered sport of the solid yellow Treasure, so Spinach Souffle is naturally a little smaller and slower growing than its diploid counterpart. BUT, when you get a solid yellow sport out of it, that solid yellow plant actually grows bigger and faster than Spinach Souffle. That tells me that the yellow portion is likely a diploid and the center is probably a tetraploid, so in reality Spinach Souffle is not a true tetraploid but a ploidy chimera that is probably only tetraploid in the L3 layer, which is unusual as most ploidy chimeras are tetraploid in the L1 layer. Their reply... "Huh..." with a glazed over look on their face...

I may have to remember that schpiel just so I can baffle my friends and family with terms that I myself barely understand like "ploidy chimera."

[rosemarie]

It felt good to laugh so early in the morning. I didn't understand it either but it made me laugh.

[thy]

Chris
Do he still call you "Friend " ?

L1 and L3 layer

[isadora]

I like to plant a few, like Liberty, Montana Aureamarginata, Sun Power, Sagae, which are more like twenty-footers that draw the eye and seduce the visitor deep into the garden, where they see the ten-footers, and then closer yet so they notice the smaller, more subtle plants and their companions.