Not Pic of the Day 6-02-08 Orange Marmalade

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jgh
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Location: Plymouth, Minnesota zone 4

Not Pic of the Day 6-02-08 Orange Marmalade

Post by jgh »

When it was released (Solberg, 2002), Orange Marmalade was billed as having a unique orange tint not found in any other hosta. Anyone familiar with color changes in hostas had to be skeptical.

Two questions leapt to mind. How orange was orange? Lots of hostas change colors from green to yellow to white, going through kind of orangey tints. And why would I want an orange hosta, anyway?

It was also billed as a sport of Paul's Glory that emerges green and then colors up with a light center that is yellow and eventually becomes a parchment color. Curious, as that same description fits Paul's Glory, which was already commonly available and had already been Hosta Of The Year.

Let's just say I've become a believer. Unlike Paul's Glory, which seems to take forever to develop its good colors... though I love both plants, I seem to spend weeks and weeks checking my PG and Guacamole before their colors really develop... Orange Marmalade practically comes up bright and shiny and contrasty. In the early part of the season, it is the first hosta to catch the eye from my deck. At my sale this year, every person who looked out at the garden asked about OM - and bought one if they didn't already own it.

I can't really say the orange is all that special... and I'm not as fond of the parchment color later in the season... and if it is really supposed to grow to a 42" diameter, you couldn't prove it by me...

but there is no better hosta in my garden for that flash of bright color early in the season when we need it most after a long Minnesota winter. Leaves have good character, too.

Bob Solberg has been a smart marketer and has kept the prices up on his releases, but the wholesale prices on OM have come down into a reasonable range in the past year and it should continue to appear in nurseries at even more reasonable prices. I see Chris has it for $15... that's a considerable price drop as the 2004 Hosta Finder average was over $32.

Once more, my best advice to new hosta aficianados... don't go chasing the newest, best thing - because some of them is and some of them ain't. Wait until you know which ones will be the real keepers. Give them about 3 or 4 years to prove themselves. You will get better plants and you'll pay half the price of the early release prices.

Registry - http://hostaregistrar.org/detail.php?id ... %28PPAF%29
MyHostas - http://myhostas.be/db/hostas/Orange+Marmalade
Hosta Library - http://www.hostalibrary.org/o/orangemar.html

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Lessadragon
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Post by Lessadragon »

I really like your pics. I have to agree with you on this one. OM has been practically walking out of here on it's own this year. It is so bright and cheery. I make sure that I let my customers know that the centers will lighten up considerably through the season, but they don't seem to care. They just want that POW that the brightness brings right now. When I brought the first batch of tc's in several years ago, I couldn't see what the fuss was all about. Now, however, I am hooked!
Thanks for these NPOTD posts.

Lynn
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largosmom
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Post by largosmom »

Definitely a looker in my garden as well.

Laura
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renaldo75
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Post by renaldo75 »

Well thanks to jgh, I may have to break down & get this one finally... I never saw what the fuss was about either, but I'm starting to. :wink: And I don't think I ever saw Orange Marmalade in early spring when it does have the marginally orange color either.

I think part of my reluctance has been due to my Paul's Glory. It's maybe looked good in one or 2 years since I've had it. So my attitude was 'why get a sport of a hosta that doesn't really trip my trigger to begin with??' :???: But now that PG has been freed from the :evil: crab apple roots, it's finally starting to catch my attention. And once I get the larger blue sport removed, I'm pretty sure I'll like it even more. :wink:
GO HAWKEYES!!!

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Latitude: 40° 59' 17.6676"; Longitude: -94° 44' 28.014"
nanny_56
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Post by nanny_56 »

Oh Yeah...I wouldn't part with my Orange Marmalade!
Claudia
"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest" - John Muir
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playinmud
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Post by playinmud »

I bought this one because of the name (planted it next to 'Tea and Crumpets'), it has turned out to be one of the brightest spots in my hosta bed too.

And a thank you from me to you for these NPOTD posts, I love reading them!
~PIM~

°`°º¤ø,¸¸Kindness is the oil that takes the friction out of life¸¸,ø¤º°`°
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jgh
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Post by jgh »

Well, Donna... time to make room for a bigger planting

With Tea and Crumpets... Teaspoon... Cookie Crumbs, Cracker Crumbs... Lemon xxx (whole bunch of these)... what is that fragrant one - Sugar and Cream? Anyway... great combos... and old cast iron teapots are really pretty cheap planters...
party_music50
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Post by party_music50 »

Beautiful.

You said your OM goes to parchment later in the season... how much sun does it get? (and since you mentioned Guacamole, mine had WONDERFUL color when I bought it, but it's so drab in my garden. Which way do I need to move it to turn up the contrast?! lol!)
~~~ Audrey ~~~
“If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good”
Dr. Seuss :)
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jgh
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Post by jgh »

You can't do much to speed up Guacamole... it will change even if it doesn't get much sun and will look nice... will get brighter still with more light... but it just doesn't color up until it is ready. Stained Glass, sport of Guac, does emerge and color up much earlier... but for me it has never been even close in vigor and total size. So I love Guac and look forward to seeing its nice color contrast - later!

I think OM will get light centered anyplace - but mine gets a couple hours of midday sun and a lot of bright light due to my cutting down a large tree followed by a huge piece of oak tree deciding to break off...
party_music50
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Post by party_music50 »

Sorry, jgh, I should have been more clear. When you say "wait", you mean for the season... not in years, right? My Guacamole doesn't color up at all for the season. When I bought it (4 or 5 years ago) it had beautiful/distinctive color. I planted it on the east side of a large deciduous tree, near the drip-line, so it gets some morning sun and then dappled sun/shade throughout the day, depending upon the time of year. It looks so plain (almost monotone), but I know that it HAD the potential to be beautiful...

Maybe it needs mid-day sun like your Orange Marmalade. :)
~~~ Audrey ~~~
“If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good”
Dr. Seuss :)
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jgh
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Post by jgh »

Sorry about your Guacamole... that isn't normal behavior. On the other hand, it is one of those known for lots of sporting... I'm sure you already know this, but for those new to hostas who haven't followed my Focus On The (Hosta) Family rants...

Fragrant Bouquet sported to Guacamole. When they tc'd Guac they got lots of all green sports and lots of all yellow sports and named them Fried Green Tomatoes and Fried Bananas. Normally one would just cull such unwanted variations, but these are actually good plants, easy to grow, sun tolerant, and having the good fragrant flowers of their parent and grandparent. Guac also sported to Stained Glass, a variety that colors up early and shines - but isn't as vigorous and stays smaller in my gardens. I think Tortilla Chip, all yellow, came from SG... and it is a very slow grower for me. There is Avocado which, I think, came from Guac... with a narrower center. And there is Cathedral Windows which, if memory serves, is a narrow-centered sport from SG. Four generations of sports at least...

So I wonder if you've got a clump that went to Fried Green Tomatoes, or something in between G and FGT, with very subtle color variegation. If it stays subtle all season, maybe you've got something unusual enough to try out a couple of places with different light. If it stays subtle with brighter light conditions, you might want to name it.

Though it might be a "novelty plant," there are some benefits to novelty. There are those who love subtle colors and those who love having rare plants and those who love having all the plants in a particular family. Someone in one or more of those categories might be willing to bid on H. 'Cilantro' or H. 'Cumin' or H. 'Lime Juice' or whatever Guacamole-related name you might give it. Meaning it could be a great plant for trades, or secret trades, or especially, for donating to a fundraiser hosta auction.

I registered a subtle variegation sport from August Moon as H. 'Xela' The center is darker than the margin, but not dramatically like it is in Abiqua Moonbeam. I've never sold a division. There are only two other Xela plants in the world - one I took to Danny in Belgium and one I put on the AHS auction last year and our own Roxanne generously bid on it. So - if you do have a subtle (better word than drab, no?!) variegation, it might have a niche...
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Patrushka
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Post by Patrushka »

Jim, your Orange Marmalade is gorgeous! :cool: I love your NPOTDs. :D As you can see, I'm still catching up.
Pat
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newtohosta-no more
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Post by newtohosta-no more »

Jim...your gorgeous pics of OM would convince anyone to buy it, even without your wonderful narrative. :D
~JOAN~
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LucyGoose
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Post by LucyGoose »

Wow, now I want one......I would dig up my Guac for a place for this one, too..... :cool: .....My Guac's (I have 2) do nothing for me like when I first got them.....I will be getting rid of lots this coming spring I think....Ones that are just so so......like plain green ones..... :lol: Just had to say that..... :lol:

Jim, I love your posts!!!!!!!!
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thy
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Post by thy »

`My OM get all the sun I can give it here and do not get the (ugly... in my mind) parchment color

So from my trying to transfere Hanks hours of sun to my nordic area... I would give it a lot of sun, but not midday sun in US
Against stupidity the gods themselves struggle in vain.
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