Great Expectations..........?

[Shenandoah]

OK......So, I want to try Great Expectation. I have read about the difficulties is growing this plant, however, I just cannot resist this beauty. I need good, sound advice on how to provide the best culture for growing GE and what advice besides "don't grow it" people can offer up. Thanks so mucho!

Roberto

[Chris_W]

Don't grow it... Oh wait, you didn't want to hear that. How about this - I have some UV resistant laser paper and UV resistant ink. I'll print a picture and you can place it in the garden where you want Great Expectations.

Seriously though, I would at least wait and see how other plants perform in the garden before trying a tough one like Great Expectations. I've never been able to grow it successfully in any garden, and even its improved plants Dream Weaver, Thunderbolt, and Dream Queen grow slowly here, but at least they grow.

[Shenandoah]

Chris,

So with this UV resistant paper......do I need that in morning sun?

[redcrx]

They are all slow growers here. Dream Weaver is the best for me but still slow.

[Tigger]

Ample water and drainage are key. Although the drainage thing is hard to figure out. Some say put it in a pot, using a free-draining (even gravelly) potting mixture, and then put that pot in the ground. I've done that with one of ours, and it grows o.k.

But the other one we grow, which is (by most accounts) a spectacular specimen, is planted on the edge of the driveway. Sure, it gets plenty of water there, and maybe the gravel base under the driveway contributes to the drainage thing, but I just try not to think too hard about it. Some hostas near it do great and others only do o.k.

This pic is from 4 years ago (posted here), and it still looks this good or better. You may want to check the whole post from back then: http://www.perennialnursery.com/forums/ ... 06&start=0



David

[Linda P]

Roberto,
I have two Great Expectations plants, both planted in 2001, in the same general area of the garden. One, however, gets several hours of morning sun, and then an hour or so around mid-day. The other gets no sun. The one that gets more sun is huge..the other one has slowly grown to perhaps 6 or 7 eyes. The other difference is that I pay closer attention to water for the larger one. I have rich soil with excellent drainage. I don't take any credit at all for having a good-sized GE, and I know that it could just one day disappear.
So, if you must grow it, find the largest one you can to start out, give it some morning sun, give it the best drainage you can, make sure you water it well in dry spells, hold your breath, cross your fingers, make a wish...and keep that laser print on standby in case it dies.

Here's a pic of the biggest one from 2008..it was about the same size, perhaps just slightly larger, last year.

P1010064.JPG GrEx June 08.JPG (66.87 KiB) Viewed 2346 times

Linda P

[isadora]

I have had one GE for about 5 years. It is in pretty good shade (maybe I should move it?!) and has been growing veeerrrryy slowly. It is still a pretty small plant, compared to what it should be. Very pretty, tho. Hmm. Maybe I will move it to a sunnier bed this year.

A hosta grower once told me when I complained about it that the secret seems to be growing it crowded in a pot for two or three years, then plant it in the ground. Crowding seems to trigger new growth with this one, he said.

Worth trying, maybe.

I also have Great Arrival. It's a reversed sport of GE and that plant is huge. It does grow in more sun.........Well.

http://twitpic.com/4qizqy

[viktoria]

Thought I posted this already but it appears to have gone into the wild blue yonder.

Both GE and DW grow well here, the first with some morning sun and the latter with more afternoon sun. This spring I had the trees shading both removed so they will be in full sun. Yikes...maybe a quick planting of castor beans for temporary shade is in order?

Viktoria

[ThisIsMelissa]

I have 2 of them. They're about 20 feet apart, but one gets more sun (morning) and as you might guess, it looks a lot better than the other. They were both planted in 2007.

Oddly enough, the one that is doing better is planted between 2 trees: A Silver Maple and an elm, right at the base of their trunks!

[thy]

Please start with a look at my location

GX is a sunning hosta here and not only in my garden, no fuss, no problems, but slow.

Got one and planted it in half day sun 2001, then learned about the problems and got one more ( one eyed too) and planted it in a pot in my all day sun.. it didn't do anything at all for 3 years and then a friend got it, it died the next year. the other one was still slow but having a new eye every second year. Planted in heavy clay.
Then Hank Zumarch wrote about it and I moved it to a pot.... cheap potting soil with some clay nuts and alfalfa and out in the all day sun it went... It loved it and today and for the last 4 years it have been a big beauty, no problems at all. So go find one, - think my sun is like your morning and afternoon sun,give it a good drink and wait

[Willowy]

Go for it. I believe this is the most attractive hosta on the market. I am on my third plant and have come to the conclusion that I should just treat it as an annual.

[dhaven]

Great Expectations is probably my favorite hosta, and it does have fairly specific requirements. I have 3 mature GE, the largest measures around 26 inches tall by almost 6 feet wide. The others are in more crowded areas and are a bit taller, but not as wide. I also have a half dozen immature GE, and all of mine are out of tissue culture. The three mature plants came from Shady Oaks at least 15 years ago, and when they arrived, each had one leaf about the size of my thumbnail and one small root.

Through trial and error, I discovered that there are three key requirements for growing this variety. As has been mentioned by others, GE likes sun. In fact, it likes lots of sun, and I would not recommend putting it in a spot that does not get at least 1/2 sun. Direct sun if fine, moderately dappled or high canopy shade seems to be idea. GE will, if kept deeply watered, grow in full sun. That's right, full sun. For the last 10 years I worked with a local hosta seller, and after her sales, planted out all the extra plants. I always put the GE in the sunniest location available, preferably full sun, and they all thrived and grew at something approaching a normal hosta rate. All of my mature GE are in light to moderately dappled sun all day long. My young plants have been tucked into the garden where ever I could find room, but this year I have doubled the size of my gardens and added an 8 foot tall deer fence, so all the young GE are going to be transplanted into the sunniest areas.

Secondly, again as mentioned by others, GE likes water. Lots and lots of water, and it should be watered deeply and less frequently rather than often and lightly. I put a sprinkler on a section of my hostas and let it run for 1-4 hours, depending on just how dry it is. I do have soil that drains well, so if you have heavy soil, water for 1/2 hour, let the water soak in, then try another 1/2 hour. Watering deeply encourages deep root growth, which makes plants more drought resistant. Shallow, frequent watering promotes very shallow roots, which are more easily affected by dry conditions, and generally lead to a less robust plant. Mulch will also aid in moisture retention, but I don't use in on my mature plants, because the hosta leaves completely shade the beds. I do lightly mulch newly planted hostas.

Third, and the most important requirement, is that GE is one of the very few hostas that is very picky about planting depth. Many hostas will tolerate a range of planting depths, although planting too deeply will lead to slower growth. Most people plant GE deeply, because it's going to be a large plant, and this seems to be the cause of most of the GEs dwindling and fading away over a couple of years. I initially planted my GEs deeply, but they obviously weren't happy, so after 2 years I ripped them out, moved them to their current locations, planted them very shallowly, and they have been doing very well ever since. All my subsequent GEs have been planted very shallowly, and I have never lost one, either at home, or among the hundreds I have worked with at the sales. And when I say shallowly, I mean with the crown right on the surface, barely covered with a thin layer of dirt. Everyone who purchased GE at the sales over the years was told of these three requirements, with an emphasis on the planting shallowly, and in 10 years, selling an average of 40-50 GE a year, we never once had to replace a plant--and we had a no questions asked replacement or money back guarantee and a primarily local clientele.

These same three requirements are also applicable to the entire GE family--Dream Weaver, Dream Queen, etc, and Elegans, the parent plant of GE, is the same way--a super slow grower if set deeply and grown in shade, a much nicer plant if given some sun and set shallowly. If planted properly, all of these will be large, beautiful plants. If set too deeply, they will uniformly fail to thrive and eventually dwindle and disappear. Keep in mind that even with ideal conditions, none of these varieties are going to be fast growers, because Elegans, the plant they are derived from is not a fast grower. But given the right conditions, they will all grow at a perfectly acceptable rate, and GE in particular looks wonderful even as a juvenile plant. At maturity, it will be spectacular.

[flowerchild59]

Ugh. Pass on it. Buy one of the dream weavers or the such as they grow, albeit, slowly, but MUCH better than GE.

[hostadom]

Buy it!!
Try to find a large one, plant it where it will get lots of sun, water well, enjoy.
I bought a large on in 2009 and planted it where it got a couple of hours of late afternoon sun and never really looked happy. The next year I moved it to several hours of morning/early afternoon sun and it looked great! Eye count has increased this year but they haven't unfurled yet. It's slow but definitely worth a try.

[newtohosta-no more]

Had one. Loved it and then it died one year. Too little water was probably the cause. It was planted near a maple tree and that summer was a long dry one. I haven't replaced it yet and don't know if I will. Picky plants aren't for me. They have to be able to thrive with neglect.

[scootersbear]

If you insist wasting money on it just send a check to me and I'll put it to good use by buying a hosta that will grow. For those who can grow it it's an exception not the rule granted I can't say I'm not a little jealous. Don't waste your time and money, I can't tell you how many that have died on me trying different methods just to get one to grow. Of course your gonna try it and when it dies don't buy another. Good luck.

[Mark_IL]

I say go for it! I believe dhaven's advice is the best. Ample water and sunlight as well as shallow planting (and patience) will reward you. My GE took four years to get past one eye. Last year it had 10 eyes and leaves the size of dinner plates. It is the second hosta everyone asks about (after my huge clump of Regal Splendor). Mine gets early and late day sun and has done better since I thinned and limbed up the tree that shades it.

Mark