If you don't have a 'Liberty', I would add that one. 'Liberty' is one of my most favorite Hostas.

Here is a link that might be useful: 'Liberty' photos in my garden

Hi, Prairiemoon....

I've bought some daylilies from Hallson Gardens in addition to hostas, but no Asiatics. I was very satisfied with their daylilies, and would purchase any type of plant from H.G. with great confidence.

'Liberty' is a great choice for a focal-point type hosta. I would also suggest 'Atlantis' or 'Frosted Jade'. Both get very large, tall and beautiful.

Cheers,
Don B.

Oops! I forgot to add, that my bed is narrow and about a 14-16" diameter hosta would probably be the limit. So, not a mini, but a small hosta, that is tall and maybe upright? I love Liberty, and will check out the two you mentioned Don, but I might need to put those two on the list for another area of the garden.

Thanksâ¦.

Not sure how wide 'Candy Dish' gets, Prairiemoon, but it is certainly a small, beautiful, shiny attention getter for the garden.

Don B.

Cherry Tomato is the most commented on hosta in my garden (out of a collection of about 75). It's a good grower and hasn't been bothered by slugs.

Jays

Thanks Don, I'll check those out!

Jays, I was hoping someone had good experience with it.

:-)

'Praying Hands' might be a good, upright, distinct focal point.

Joshs, I did notice that 'Praying Hands' hosta as I was looking around yesterday. It does have a unique form and catches your eye. Thanks for that idea too. I just checked it out on Hallson's website and someone left a nice photo of the whole plant on the site. Looks better than the company's photo.

Well, choosing hostas has become a little more difficult to do than I thought it was going to be. I am going back and forth. I only need about 3 or 4 and there are SO many to choose from. I spent a couple of hours yesterday looking on this forum at the Alphabet threads and doing searches for what I was looking for. Lots of great photos of individual hostas and the great combinations that everyone puts together in their garden. I looked at the thread on Companions and made a list and saw a few ideas of plants I hadn't thought of too.

I thought I wanted the 'Mouse' series, but I read a thread yesterday that I think it was Josephine? who posted her gorgeous photo of Blue Mouse Ears, and the fact that it took five years of waiting for it to get to that point. And as far as I can see a lot of the minis are so small that some of you have potted them up. I don't think those minis are for me. And I discovered yesterday, that the Cherry Tomato is a mini too. Considering how long it has taken for some of the hostas in my own garden to grow to an enjoyable size, I'm thinking I might just allow the size criteria not to be an issue and just get what I like and either divide it or move it if it gets too large.

So, I'm looking on the Hallson site, since they seem to have such a great reputation, and I only want to make one order from one company this year. I read a lot about 'Liberty' yesterday and saw many photos of forum member's gardens with Liberty in them, and I like it a lot, so I'm going to get that one.

Then I want an upright one, like the 'Praying Hands' but if I could find one in a small to medium size in a yellow color that didn't fade, that would be perfect. Maybe a variegated one with gold/yellow as the predominant color. Maybe fragrant to boot. (g)

I have Guacamole that is fragrant and I love that, so I'm planning on getting another fragrant hosta. I have 'Fire Island' which is a great yellow with red stems, but it does fade to chartreuse over the summer.

I saw 'Pineapple Upside Down' Hosta, and 'Rainforest Sunrise' photos yesterday and wondered how they do with slugs and if they stay yellow all season? Looking for another choice in that color range too. Maybe something more like the 'Praying Hands' form. Otherwise, I may just have to buy 'Praying Hands' and a yellow hosta.

Then I really like 'Astral Bliss' but Hallson doesn't have it, Naylor Creek does. And paul's 'Blue Hawaii' is a very pretty blue hosta.

And I have to stop thereâ¦lol. I'm looking to have the smallest collection of hostas, not the largest. ;-)

Pineapple Upsidedown Cake is thin leaved, and I've only *just* managed to find a good spot for mine where it doesn't bleach white.

Rainforest Sunrise is a great hosta with thick leaves and does great with some sun; without any, I'm not sure how yellow it will stay.

Rainbow's End is a gorgeous small hosta with bright yellow and green coloring; I also got its relative Pot of Gold from Hallson's last year and love the bright color.

Thanks Eleven, I'm going to check out RE and PofG. I wonder, is growing in sun a necessity with all yellow hostas? Thanks for sharing your experiences with PUC and RSâ¦helps trying to decide which fits what I want.

I also forget to say, my favorite hosta is 'June' and I love it because it has been vigorous, and pest free from day one. And looks great all season right up until fall. So, that is also a consideration.

PrairieMoon, I ordered 4 of Hallson's Asiatic lily bulbs for my zone 9a. They bloomed beautifully last summer, HUGE blooms, tall stems. I got the white ones. They bloomed in July.

Like Don says, I purchase anything Hallson sells with confidence. (I just put in a 2014 order for 16 different hosta for probably April delivery....if their ground is thawed by then!) Some I have from other nurseries but I'm adding, as is my policy, from another source.

Praying Hands has a small sport which I got from Naylor Creek last year, Hands Up. Talk about TWISTED!
The picture below shows it with more nice ones, all from Naylor Creek, which tend to be in the medium to small range.

Enjoy the process of hunting for the "perfect hosta."

Moccasinlanding, sorry to take so long to respond, have been offline. Thanks so much for the photos of the lilies you bought from HallsonâÂÂs! Glad someone has had a good experience ordering bulbs from them. I take it you donâÂÂt have trouble with the Red Lily Leaf Beetle there in Alabama? A lily pest that drives us crazy in New England.

And thanks for the photo of âÂÂHands Upâ It really is very twisted, but smaller than I am looking for I think. Yes, I am enjoying looking for the âÂÂperfectâ hosta. I think IâÂÂm just going to order what appeals to me the most and see how those do and if I still need more than that, order next year again. I guess that is how it starts. ;-)

If you like Candy Dish, with its shiny green ruffly edges, and would like to have another similar-but-different hosta to balance it in your bed, then take a look at Irish Luck. I have both of these since 2012, so the pictures show them in their second year 2013.

PrairieMoon2, I think you may have made a good decision when you said "I'm thinking I might just allow the size criteria not to be an issue and just get what I like and either divide it or move it if it gets too large." You can do the best you can when picking out sizes, but you know that some grow fast and some grow slow and sometimes you can have difficulty growing a particular hosta in your garden. So it may be wise to pick out hosta you like (but not the very large or giant size) and see what happens.

Yellows do require a bit more sun generally. But I can tell you that my experience with Rainforest Sunrise has been very positive. It is the size you want (small) and it keeps its color well. Mine does not get a lot of sun (max. 2 hours). But it is not an upright hosta. Below is a photo in August.

I agree with the others---you definitely should have Liberty! It will take a few years to show off though.

I actually did see that 'Irish Luck' in my travels and love the name just for starters. Both those hostas are interesting looking with the edging on the leaves and the shininess. I have so much plain green plantings in my yard, I'm normally drawn to colors or variegation in foliage plants. Although I see that many hosta combinations I admire have a dark solid green that makes everything else work. Thanks for the comparison photo. 'Candy Dish' looks larger and fuller than 'Irish Luck' by a little. I thought IL was larger than CD.