Long List, Can you pick your top 10 ?

[k9clipper]

I want to add a few more small or mini hostas to my garden because if I dig up any more grass my husband will kill me I am making a trip to Minnesota in July and want to go back to Funkie Gardens again, this is a list af their small hostas for 08.

Can you pick your top 10, so I wont be so overwhelmed at all the choices.

'Abby
alismifolia
'Baby Bunting'
'Blue Clown
'Cat & Mouse'
'Cat's Eyes'
'Chartreuse Wiggles'
'Cheatin' Heart'
'Cherish'
'Country Mouse'
'Cracker Crumbs'
'Daisy Doolittle'
'Dragon Tails'
'Faithful Heart'
'Fire Island'
'First Mate'
'Flemish Sky'
'Green Eyes'
'Green Mouse Ears'
'Hacksaw
'Heart and Soul'
'Heat Wave'
'Hi Ho Silver'
'High Society'
'Hush Puppie'
'Hyuga Urajiro'
'Imp'
'Ivory Coast'
'Kinbotan'
'Lakeside Cupcake'
'Lakeside Elfin Fire'
'Lakeside Fruit Loops'
'Lakeside Little Tuft'
'Limey Lisa'
'Mary Marie Ann'
'Pandora's Box'
'Peanut'
'Pewterware'
'Popcorn'
'Praying Hands'
'Rainbow's End'
'Red Hot Flash'
'Royal Tiara'
'Silver Load'
'Sleeping Beauty' Hosta
'Sunlight Child'
'Teaspoon'
'Teeny-weeny Bikini'
'Tick Tock'
'Tortifrons'
'White Dove'

[jobranch]

I just got Dragon Tails from Chris - it is a neat little hosta. I saw this one at a local nursery: Peedee Gold Flash. The pictures on the Hosta Library don't do it justice. It is a cool gold hosta with a green edge and red petioles. I bought it as a gift for my mom on Mother's Day. Wish I had purchased one for me. Was priced at $4.95.

[hagranger]

Among my favorites:
'Baby Bunting'
'Cat's Eyes'
'Chartreuse Wiggles' - Can be a 'slug attractor' ...
'Cheatin' Heart'
'Cherish'
'Cracker Crumbs'
'Dragon Tails'
'Green Eyes'
'Green Mouse Ears'
'Hacksaw
'Heart and Soul'
'Pandora's Box'
'Peanut'
'Pewterware'
'Praying Hands' - Just a cool hosta
'Teaspoon'
Tortifrons is hard to establish and once established doesn't like to be moved

Blue Cadet is a great small hosta and forms a nice tight round mound ....

Helen

[John]

'Chartreuse Wiggles'
'Cheatin' Heart'
'Fire Island'
'Hi Ho Silver'
'Mary Marie Ann'
'Pandora's Box'
'Royal Tiara'
'Sleeping Beauty'
'Teaspoon'

My Top Eight, all distinctive hostas. Be sure to check the link on top of this page to "shop the online catalogue" when you've made your own list!

[sugar]

you can check here the favourites of the forum

viewtopic.php?t=48416

[Queala]

Hello,
Here are my favorite ones from that list.

Cats Eye
Chartreuse Wiggles
Heart and Soul
Hi Ho Silver
Lakeside Elfin Fire
Pandora's Box

My favorite is Cats Eye. I have a 3 year old clump that is not even 2" across.

[LucyGoose]

Here is what I have or like!

Baby Bunting....really cute!
Cherish.......I LOVE THIS ONE!! Adorable!!
Cracker Crumbs
Heart and Soul
Lakeside Elfin Fire.....Adorable, but be ready to dig a few green eyes out.....but it's little and a great grower and I would not let that stop me from getting it.....
Popcorn
Praying Hands....I would not be without it!
Red Hot Flash....I know nothing about it....love the name!!


Good luck....I have picture's but will have to post later.....gotta go to work!!

[flowerchild59]

Some of my favorite minis and smalls are;
sea octopus,
ginko craig
harts tongue
hadspen heron
blue jay
wylde green cream
ice cream
feather boa
blue mouse ears

[renaldo75]

Well I didn't have much luck cutting the list down to just 10 so I'm giving you 2 lists with 10 on them.

10 I Don't Have That I'd Take in a Heartbeat
'Cherish'
'Dragon Tails'
'Fire Island'
'Flemish Sky'
'Green Mouse Ears'
'Hacksaw
'Lakeside Elfin Fire'
'Rainbow's End'
'Royal Tiara'
'Sunlight Child'


10 I Do Have That You Can't Go Wrong With
'Abby'
'Baby Bunting'
'Chartreuse Wiggles'
'Cheatin' Heart'
'Heart and Soul'
'Mary Marie Ann'
'Pandora's Box'
'Popcorn'
'Praying Hands'
'Teaspoon'

I hope this helps. I think there were more on the 2nd list that I'd already removed before I ended up with my 2 lists.

In looking at the lists others have given, I should note that I almost did a 3rd list with ones that I've had no luck with. But I decided against it. And that was probly wise since several that have been mentioned as ones to buy are on my Never Buy Again list.

Also - Red Hot Flash is on your nursery grower's list. It is the new version of Peedee Gold Flash that I think may be tetraploid & have a slightly wider margin. I'm not sure since I've never actually seen one. I can tell you from my experience that PGF has not been a very good grower for me. Maybe it's the spot it's in, but others right next to it have done fantastic sooo... This is the 1st year it's looked nice & 'vigorous' since I got it in 2003.

[jgh]

My first response was similar to Reldon's... in the rush to produce many minis, I think many have been chosen for looks and tiny leaves without a lot of growing experience to see if they actually do well in a garden setting.

As much as I enjoy minis in special raised beds, overall I end up picking smalls most of the time for real gardening. For me they are much more vigorous growers as a group than the true minis, and really make more of a statement.

So I won't name "losers" on the list as it may be my failings that put them on that list - and especially because some of my "losers" are on several of our friends "winners" lists... naming no names (Cat's Eyes... unreliable little bugger mutter mutter mutter) but a few that I've found to be easy to grow and to have really nice visual appeal...

Cracker Crumbs (Cookie Crumbs doesn't "do" for me, but this one "does")
Faithful Heart (and other ...hearts)
Hi Ho Silver (underused... smaller, pointier sport of Ginko Craig that doesn't require the dividing GC does... spreads by short rhizomes)
Praying Hands (unique... and my nominee for HOTY 2011)
Sunlight Child (liked the heritage of its name, was surprised by it's vigor)
Tick Tock - I think this will be one of the very best newer ones

and a couple you didn't mention...
I haven't grown it long enough to find out if it is one of those that gets worse rather than better, but I think Silver Threads and Golden Needles is one of the most striking new small hostas - ever!

And Yin is very nice. DO Not get suckered into the obvious - planting Yin and Yang together. Yang is a loser... but Yin does well for me and is quite attractive. Actually, that kind of fits better with the whole Yin-Yang concept, doesn't it? Growth, decay... wane, wax... ebb, flow...

And you didn't mention the absolute best, most attractive and easy and vigorous mini of them all (not too opinionated am I!) Kifukurin Ko Mame. I've grown it for years. Stick it in a hot rock garden, it grows. Pop it in a bonsai pot all summer, then stick the poor little dehydrated baby back in the garden someplace for the winter - there's another nice clump of KKM.

[jgh]

Just looked at Reldon's list and realized I left Teaspoon off the easy-reliable-interesting-attractive list. I have a Tea and Crumpets growing in a cast iron teapot, surrounded in the garden by Teaspoon, Cracker Crumbs, and (a much smaller, less vigorous) Cookie Crumbs. Never got Bread Crumbs, the third in that series, so don't know how it would do as part of this tea party...

And Reldon's comment about Abby really fits for me. I have lots of Abby's around... mostly because it was one of my first tc purchases... a dozen of them... and as they grew up I divided and sold them, but they don't sell very well. Not dramatic enough to catch people's eye in spite of very low cost...

But Abby is one of many sports from Gold Drop... as a group they grow pretty well and offer lots of variations... if you want to plant a family group of small hostas - a wonderful introduction to families for visitors to the garden, taking much less space than my "August Moon" family planting... the Gold Drop family is great. I also use the Cheatin' Heart, Faithful Heart, et al family for the same purpose in a different part of my garden.

[yardmom]

Of the smallest, Baby Bunting, Cracker Crumbs, Limey Lisa, Pandora's Box, Cherish and Faithful Heart are must haves!
Of the true smalls, I really like Flemish Sky, Rainbows End, Teaspoon, High Society (new this year) First Mate and Chartreuse Wiggles.

[renaldo75]

My buyitinaheartbeat list is now down to 9 since I found a very nice multi-eyed Lakeside Elfin Fire yesterday. And it has 3 scapes already. Now if I only had something besides dandelions to cross it with...

As long as Jim's not naming names. I would have to concur with 2 of his 3 mini assessments. The Cat's Eye I had came from Hallson's back in '03 was a great-looking vigorous mini & did well the 1st & 2nd years, but by the 3rd it was less than 1/2 the original size, and by the 4th year it was no more. So be forewarned. It seems to do well in some situations, but not everywhere. And I got both Cookie & Cracker Crumbs in 2004. One was MIA the next spring & the other might as well have been. I potted up the tiny little thing that was left, but it didn't ever sprout. I won't buy either again.

I had one Abby last year that looked like it was doing some interesting things in its margin so I divided it & potted the divisions up, and then never got anything done with them. I think all but one of those survived & they look pretty vigorous this spring. One of those oldie but goodies.

[Primroselane]

Bobbie Sue








P S My Hostas are not all up yet, we are having a late spring with no rain. But I can tell you that Bobbie Sue has got to be one of the best, it comes up year after year looking the same and puts on such a display, I have three of them and they all are keeping up with each other.

[whip1]

I'm not much into the small hosta's, but three that have caught my eye are LS elfin fire, fire island, and praying hands.

[dmi188]

'Lakeside Elfin Fire'
'Teeny-weeny Bikini'
'Cat & Mouse'
'Cherish'
'Green Eyes'
How about top 5?

[addieotto]

My two cents - - - - -

1) Hush Puppie ROCKS! Held it's color for me all season, made a lush thick mound and grew like a weed. Looking even better this year. Find it. Buy it.

2) Teaspoon leaves can cut bread! Serrated edge is way cool. Grows well for me. Looks great all season. This year it was all dug up by squirrels yet still hanging in there.

3) Praying hands is an easy pleaser. You don't have to say a prayer to get it to survive and although slow, unique. Only problem is to get it to blend into the rest of the garden. It's sort of the odd man out.

4) I would add Lemon Lime although not on your shopping list. Gangbuster grower for me.

5) Really like Green Eyes but gets lost here. I am thinking of redoing a whole new rock garden sort of area just to find a way to show off Green Eyes and a few other minis.

6) I like my Tortifrons but it's supposed to be pretty difficult for some people and ... to put it kindly ... it's not really a looker. I can't picture it mixed in with larger hosta. Thinking it would look like a weed and get pulled by accident!

7) Hyuga Urajiro is adorable and should be able to stand out in a crowd. I don't know how good of a grower it is because I haven't had it for very long but I love the leaves.

8) Baby Bunting is a winner. Can't go wrong. Spread it around here and there!

9) Cracker Crumbs. Cute but don't have it anymore. Squirrels kicked it out of the mini garden. Want it back.

10) Country Mouse. That's also high on my list so get a second one while you're there and put it in the mail to me

Yay, I made it to 10!!!

[maidofshade]

These are my favorites out of the minis

Baby Bunting
Pandora's Box
Cracker Crumbs
Lakeside Elfin Fire
Teaspoon
Limey Lisa
Praying Hands
Twist of Lime
The most vigorous growers I have are
Lemon Lime
Tick Tock--I love this one

Also very cute are
Plug Nickel
and Hope although this one is not a fast grower for me.
I had teeny weeny bikini but it must have got left at the pool cause it disappeared too tiny for me but it was cute...

You can always find room for the little ones and they are just so darn cute