Ultramarine

[bengal]

I took these pictures rather too quickly, so really didn't take the time to make sure I got good shots. I'm not sure they do this hosta justice. Is this a good one to buy? Beats me! But I can tell you that the nursery has sold out of it - when people saw this specimen in its pot, they had to have it. I think I'm going to search for a source for it.

Naturally, I couldn't leave the nursery without buying something. Two daylilies, both quite nice. And a hosta of course. I bought one called Cutting Edge. Is this one a good one to buy? Once again, how would I know? What I do know is that I think it's gorgeous!

Registry - http://www.hostaregistrar.org/detail.ph ... ltramarine
MyHostas - http://myhostas.be/db/hostas/Ultramarine
Hosta Library - http://www.hostalibrary.org/u/ultramarine.html

[Linda P]

Oh, yes! Cutting Edge is a good one. Mine is small yet, but is showing promise already. And Ultramarine....that's just a good grower, really makes a huge statement. It has a frosty look to it that I really like.
Linda P

[Chris_W]

Thanks for sharing this picture! I've been wanting to see a more mature Ultramarine for a long time.

This is the sister plant to Tidewater, apparently from the same cross done by Mark Zilis. Q & Z decided to mass produce Ultramarine, but not Tidewater, so the latter has been hard to find. But this is the first time I've seen an older Ultramarine. It looks like the leaves are more rounded and not as long as Tidewater. But it is a nice looking plant.

Cutting Edge is a great plant!

[bengal]

Chris, I'm planning to go back to the nursery, possibly next weekend. They have many mature hostas displayed beautifully in beds, planters, pots...

at a minimum, I'll try to get a better picture of Ultramarine. If there are others you (or anyone) would like to see as a mature, or at least older, plant, let me know.

This nursery (Teich and McColgan) is one I believe I mentioned last year. They do on-site sales only. Current inventory is about 250 different hostas. Many are sold only in pots, but they also have huge clumps out in their field. The long ranks of field-grown hostas is a very impressive sight!

[baja220]

Wow, I wanna go to that nursery!! I have Ultramarine and Cutting edge. Between the 2 I like Cutting edge the most but that could be cause the cutworms really like Ultramarine!

[MollyD]

bengal whereabouts are they located? I'm about 2.5 hrs from the Pa border near central NY.

MollyD

[newtohosta-no more]

Very nice looking hosta! I'll have to check and see if my Ultramarine made it through this last winter. I think it was overwintered in a pot. I sure do like the unique color and the frosty color.

[bengal]

Molly, the nursery is in Bucks County, PA, with the closest large town Doylestown (the county seat). I checked for you, and it appears that it will take you about 4.5 hours to get there. (And open only on weekends perhaps & during week by appointment (?))

Not sure it's worth it, not unless you'd like to drive back with some mature clumps. A random sampling of full size (field grown) hostas from T and M:

Blue Angel = $45.00
Bright Lights = $35.00
Fragrant Bouquet = $45.00
Krossa Regal = $45.00
Leola Fraim = $40.00

Not every variety is available as a full-sized plant; in fact, most of the offerings are in pots (4" and/or 6" and/or "medium"). Potted hostas are TC, from U.S. only -- Q and Z and another, forget the name.

As you might expect, the field-grown plants generally are older varieties:

Antioch, Aristocrat, Big Daddy, Blue Cadet, Blue Umbrellas, Candy Hearts, Diamond Tiara, Emerald Tiara, H. Fortunei (green; Albomarginata; Albopicta; Aureomarginata), Francee, Frances Williams, Gold Standard, Golden Tiara, Green Gold, Hadspen Blue, Hadspen Heron, Halycon, Honeybells, Hyacintha, Invincible, June, Lancifolia, Minuteman, Montana, Nigrescens, Patriot, Regal Splendor, Revolution, Robert Frost (hmmmm.... ), Royal Standard, Sagae ($60.00), September Sun, Serendipity, Shade Fanfare, Sieboldiana Elegans, So Sweet, Striptease ($50.00), Sugar And Cream, Sum And Substance (monster-sized things for $65.00), Twilight, Undulata Albomarginata and Mediovarigata, ventricosa Aureomarginata, Wide Brim, Wogan Gold, Yellow River ($48.00)

Daylilies almost all oldies. All lined out in the fields. Prices are higher than the average double-fan price, but you get an entire clump. Which may or may not be a good thing. I wanted MORRI, an older and rather odd one. Clumps had not been divided in a bazillion years. I asked for a small piece off a monster clump; my "small" piece, for $5.00, must have 10 fans on it!

Now, if you have a lot of space to fill and a really big van....!

[MollyD]

Thanks for the info Bengal! Might make a good weekend trip if we spent one night out that way. We have a pickup truck so I could move big plants in boxes. May be worth it next year for some of the older varieties I'd like but to be worthwhile I'd have to combine it with something else we'd be doing out that way. I'm not looking for daylilies! I can get all I want by mail order but I have somewhere close to 1000 if you count all the youngster I've hybridized! Not really looking for too many more except I collect Candies and Munsons.

Thanks!
Molly

[bengal]

but to be worthwhile I'd have to combine it with something else we'd be doing out that way.

Well, there is that ice cream place with the home-made ice cream; it's up the road just a ways.

[renaldo75]

That'd be enough for me.

[MollyD]

That would work for me! I love ice cream Maybe have it for dinner, then breakfast, lunch, get hostas, then ice cream for dinner and drive home with leftovers??

MollyD

[GrannyNanny]

Ultramarine throws seedlings that look very much like the parent plant, if any of you want to try growing seedlings. Phyllis

[largosmom]

Chris, Jody has Tidewater in her garden and it does, indeed, to my newbie eyes, have a family resemblance to Ultramarine. I don't think I posted this one on my "tour" thread up in the Garden Bench part of the forum.

[Tigger]

Teich & McColgan is the local place to go if you need big specimen plants. Daylilies, too. On our first trip there, we completely filled the trunk of my parents' old Cadillac. That's when we bought our Nigrescens.

[bengal]

Specimen plants is right! If I had room, I'd have bought until I couldn't fit any more in the car. As it is, I probably won't get any of the real big ones at this point. But I was quite tempted by their nigrescens. I'm going back, probably next weekend, so who knows what I'll bring home.

Next time you go, stop at Tabora Farms for the home-made ice cream!

[DryGulch]

I, too, have been wanting to see another mature Ultramarine. The only pic is the Q&Z pic of a single leaf. I have one I bought as tissue culture directly from Q&Z about 5 years ago. Growing in the ground in a fair amount of morning sun (until about 11 AM or noon), it is no way near as glaucous. Also, the leaf is more rounded.

I have to wonder if growing/overgrowing it in a pot hasn't contributed to the way it looks.

I would say at 5 years, mine is certainly mature and flowers each year.

[MollyD]

I probably won't get there but I did get to a local grower today and got a nice big clump of Shade Fanfare for $10.! Aldo got clumps of Diamond Tiara and Grand Tiara at the same price. I'm waiting for their markers to dry so I can get them in the ground.

MollyD

[jobranch]

I looked at Cutting Edge on Hosta Library and just about any upright hosta is desirable to me, plus it ripples very well. But, that Ultramarine is awesome.