What information should I put on a hosta bed card?

[Chris_W]

Hi everyone,

I'm putting together bed cards for our hosta growing area (I have over 100 stakes for 5 x 7 cards) and would like to know what kind of information you would want to see for a row of hostas while you are shopping? This is an example of a couple I did last year, but I think they need some work. What information would you consider most important, somewhat important, or not needed. Here are cards for Alex Summers and Guardian Angel.

First off, how important do you think the picture is?

What bullet points would you want to know about each plant?

Is the overall size important? Or does just "mini, small, medium, large, very large" work?

What other information would you want to know?

Thanks for your help. I'm going to get started on these today

[isadora]

The picture is the first thing I look at. If it isn't there, I might give that plant a pass unless I already have it on my list. I know the plant is there, right in front of me, but I want to know what it is going to look like when it"s mature, and that might be very different from the plant I'm looking at. Same thing in a catalog, if I can't find a picture I probably won't order that plant.

Size is next, min, small, etc might be enough (don't forget GIANT!) unless a hosta is really tiny or really big, then I would like to know the grown size. Also sometimes the mediums are variable, sometimes it might help to know if it is a small or large medium

Is it a slow or fast grower maybe? I like your signs, not much of anything I can see that I think needs changing. I wish all garden centers would be as good!


Sandy

[Chris_W]

Thank you for the feedback Sandy. That really helps

Here is an updated one.

In case you were wondering why I have them side by side its just that I have plastic laser cards that come two on a page and feed into my color laser printer then get separated. We tested the first ones two years ago and unfortunately the first batch faded quickly in the sun. I got new UV resistant laser toner last summer and they lasted much better so I'm going to mass produce them now (the cards are not cheap, so I didn't want to waste them). I'm also going to cover them with a UV spray sealant to help them even more.

If you can think of anything else or think I can still improve these let me know. This won't be a quick project so I can always change them as I go. I was going to include prices at one time, but that just changes too much. We added a box with price lists in them so you can pick that up when you start walking down the path.

Thanks again!

Chris

[kaylyred]

Hi Chris! I'll answer off the top of my head...

First off, how important do you think the picture is?

I would want to, if possible, see a photo of a mature clump. I do think the photo is important either way, though, because people often buy early in the season when the hostas they're looking at while shopping aren't fully representative of what they'll look like later in the season after fully unfurling, second flush of leaves, etc.

What bullet points would you want to know about each plant?

Mature size, growth rate, shape (upright, mounding, etc.), any special features (colored petioles, sun tolerant, etc.) that make the hosta stand out.

Is the overall size important? Or does just "mini, small, medium, large, very large" work?

For me, mini, small, etc. would be enough information.

What other information would you want to know?

I always read the comments you include with each hosta here on the website, and I find that information very helpful when I'm making a decision. What you, as a grower, think of the plant means a lot to me because I trust your judgment. For instance, if you say that a plant is a "slow grower" but tell me it's worth the wait, I'm more inclined to give it a second look.

[Chris_W]

Thank you Karen. Hopefully I addressed these things in the updated cards I posted above

[Schattenfreude]

Chris,

I've noticed on your site that you always list the width first, before the height. This often confuses me since I'm used to seeing a plant's height listed first, before the width. Why do you list the plant's width first, if I may ask?

Some folks might appreciate reading about good companion plants to certain hostas. I always enjoy reading what plants are related or from the same family.

Kevin

[Chris_W]

Hi Kevin,

The standard way to write out dimensions is always width first, then height. Sorry, I was an engineer before I was a hosta grower, so I didn't know we were supposed to do it the wrong way The way to recognize it with hostas is that 99.99% of the time they are wider than they are tall, so the larger dimension can be always taken as the width.

I get asked this a lot more than I ever expected In the future I'll try to spell it out better.

About the bedcards, I'm limited a bit by space so won't be able to add too much more, but thanks a lot for the feedback. I appreciate it

[thy]

You have got some very good answers here.

Only a few comments:
If I could see a mature hosta in your show garden, I would not need the pic.
One of the first thing i look for is the originator. Some names say GO, a few say wait and see
Bloom time will be nice too- how fast/slow is it
Fragrance is important for a lot of people
But then, I'm a nut
For the nieghbouring people who want 2 big blue hostas for 2 pots... size, color and grow rate

[Chris_W]

Hmm, I was wondering about putting the originator on there. I might have room if I make it smaller, like on my web pages. If they are fragrant or the blooms are significant (unique, dense, or late flowering for example) I'll mention that

[ogrefcf]

I thought the second one nailed it. For me I want to see a picture, know the size with measurements, growth rate and a little about it. Fragrance and originator aren't to big a deal for me and I would guess most people new into hostas. Good to know yes, but needed on the tag I don't think so. I know it's hard to fit, but I love pictures of mature plants. I always look for mature plants online before I buy a hosta. Again, I think you got it with the second picture.

[Chris_W]

Here is what they look like now. I found that I could raise the text a little higher and it still fits on the card, allowing me to put in the hybridizers name and the registration year.

20 done so far, but I'll keep plugging away at them.

[paul_in_mn]

Chris, they look good.

[ViolaAnn]

They look really good to me. A picture of the mature plant is particularly important if it looks a lot different when mature (as many do). And you've already addressed growth rate which was the other thing I like to know.

Ann

[jerryshenk]

My wife and I are just starting on a hosta garden. I know that for us, the picture is important. We've even tried to find multiple pictures of most of our plants. We then try to vary the plantings so that we have contrast between plants...trying to highlight the differences between plants.

The dimensions are also important - we're trying to space ours correctly based on anticipated size in a couple years - things might be a little too widely separated this year but next year or the following we don't want to have things suddenly get crowded. Also, we don't went to place a "large" too close to the driveway and have it get run over all the time. I think noting that something like 36w x 20h might help the confusion about which dimension is hight and which is width. It is also helpful to know the anticipated speed of growth.

I think some comment about how sun tolerant a plant is would be helpful. Our garden is on a north-facing bank so the top gets more early afternoon sun and the one end doesn't get any.

The timing of flowering is also of interest...probably a bit down on the list but I'm trying to be at least aware of when the flower...not making any decisions based on that but

[Linda P]

They look good, Chris! I think you've got it just right. I like knowing the originator if possible, and having a pic of the mature plant right in front
of me while making a decision would have been so incredibly helpful back in my first days of hosta collecting.

Linda P

[isadora]

Another two cents worth after reading other comments. I don't think anyone but collectors are really interested in the originator, in a nursery you get a lot more general public than you do serious collectors. (Nineteen years working in a garden center). It's different in a catalog tho where you are looking for specific info of that kind.Ut

And I for one want to know the width on a hosta first. With other plants height might be more important but hostas are different as they take up space.

You can get too much info on a card and the print gets too small to easily read. Plus people have a short attention span and get easily confused by too much info they don't understand
If they are not collectors and just looking for pretty plants.

I like the idea of price lists seperately.

I know this wasn't part of your question but one thing I hate to see is when a price is written or placed on the information side of the plant tag, right over the info and you can't read it.

Looking good, Chris!

[JoshS]

Chris, I'm curious where you get the plastic cards? I run pot sticks through my laser printer, but I just print bench cards on card stock and laminate them. Seems to work well, but some colors do fade.

[kHT]

Chris, I think only serious collectors would like all the information that you have on your card. To me this is an excellent idea to all it all doc. as you have it
on the last card, it would save from having to look it all up.

[Tigger]

Chris,

Bravo for striving to do such a thorough job! Excellent product descriptions.

My question: are you intending to do something similar for other perennials? If so, you might want to include a "water needs" code and perhaps a broader "light needs" code. Water needs for hostas are pretty much the same (perhaps higher for plantaginea-derived cultivars), but that's pretty different from sedums (on one end) or Japanese iris (on the other). For light needs, I've always envisioned a clock/disk that is yellow for the number of hours of sun needed; i.e. a full yellow disk = 12 hours = absolutely full sun (salvia) and a full black disk = no direct sun (ferns). 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 disks should suffice. Space-efficient to show a range of sun tolerance by using two disks.

David

[Chris_W]

Hi Josh,

I found them at http://www.popsignage.com - then click on the category for blank sign material. The plastic is lasting a lot longer than most pot tags

Thanks again for all the input. And I would say that most of our hosta shoppers are collectors. We are definitely a specialty nursery and not really a garden center

We have different bed cards for the perennials and I use the ones that Walters Gardens has alread put together like Josh I print those on card stock and laminate them. I just make sure the info is correct and change it as needed as there are sometimes mistakes on them. We started this project two summers ago and I just never had time to keep up with it until now, but bed cards always help to sell for you!