Most of us are simply hobby gardeners. As such, one of the first questions we might ask about a newly purchased plant is where should I put it in the garden. To know the answer to that question, we need to know what size the plant is likely to be when it gains maturity. However, it seems that in the world of hostas getting reliable size information is often not easy.
Today's cultivar, Devon Gold, is an example of this problem, even though the plant is quite small. The clump size information in the Hosta Library's database for Devon Gold is 6x5. However, the AHS registration information provided in Lemke's Data base gives the clump size as 17x9.5. That make the difference between the two sets of information a factor of almost three times. For the hobbyist who is trying to design a bed of miniature hostas, that is a big difference. In the case of other cultivars, the difference in available size information can amount to two to three feet. I am not being critical of Mike Lemke or the person who enters the information in the Hosta Library because they are simply recording the information as they are given it. However, somehow the powers that be in Hostadom need to improve on this aspect of things.
So there, I have said it again.
The Devon Gold in our Friendship Garden has had a substantial growth rate, going from 8x4 in 2006 to 13x4 this year. We have it growing in a spot that gets, at most, some dappled sun. That is good because the plant apparently will not perform very well in sunnier locations. As you can see from the photos, our Devon Gold so far has had a problem fending off insects.
Registry - http://www.hostaregistrar.org/detail.ph ... von%20Gold
MyHostas - http://myhostas.be/db/hostas/Devon+Gold
Hosta Library - http://www.hostalibrary.org/d/devongold.html
- devon Gold 6-25-07c 058.jpg (42.07 KiB) Viewed 1027 times