Hi Jakki,
So far I am Very impressed. I think Northern gardeners won't have a problem w/the green. Also first I have heard of the green; could be variable pics, and circumstances.
I had actually declined the plant until I seen it in person. The combonation is stunning, substance is far more than expected. What impressed me the most is its resistance to melting out in the sun. It would seem the stems will show in the garden, but with all red stems they are better at eye level.
The plant is really too new to evaluate. I can give you more later in the summer if you would like.

Like many hostas, Designer Genes starts out the season as a yellow green and will turn a shade darker green by the end of the season. The petioles show up most when the plant comes up, but later, when you don't see as much of the petioles, you have the flower stems to look at.

Pictures taken at different times of the day or with different cameras can change the color of a hosta, but here is the same hosta, taken with the same camera in May (my picture of Designer Genes in the Hosta Library was taken in
the beginning of May). As you can see, it does green up a little. That said, I think it's a nice hosta!

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Here is a link that might be useful:

Opps! I meant to say the picture at the HL was taken at the end of July.

Designer Genes is a gift given by AHS to those that attended the Philly convention in June 2006. It comes out a bright yellow that changes to apple green later in the season. The red petioles are very visible as they extend right into the leaves.

Papou

IMHO any red petioles hostas are better viewed in containers.

Papou

Wow, Papou! Your red comes up further than mine. Very nice! I will have to check mine out this spring.

Hi Dorothy,
I'm glad to hear from you my good friend. Designer Genes and One Man's Treasure are two red petioles hostas that I am following closely...to see if the red will extend further into the leaf with time. So far, One Man's Treasure has extended about 1.5 inches into the leaf...right along the center rib.

Papou

this thing is worse than following the heritage of a horse ... jeez o peetes ...

hosta peeps love to play games with names ...

at the library.. hugo's database says DG is a miss suzy seedling ..

miss suzy at hugo's says it is a .. well it doesnt say .... but its progeny is mister red genes ...

MRG says its a miss suzy seedling .... and then states the following at the link below ...:

'Mister Red Genes' is a high drama plant with unusual grey waxy leaves held upright/fountain like on bright reddish (almost reddish orange) petioles.
Numerous bold purplish red scapes emerge concurrently for its pre-bloom show.
A gift to Rick Goodenough from Arthur Wrede several years ago out of Art's fabulous red breeding program. It is a 'Miss Suzy' seedling which stands on its own in the garden. According to Art Wrede, 'Miss Suzy' is the best producer in his red program. As a proven breeder, 'Mister Red Genes' also passes strong red color along to its seedlings.

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the key being the last sentence .... in that it has designer genes because it passes the color along to its progeny ... as does its mommy.. miss suzy .. who really isnt a miss anymore if she has all these kids ...

the point being.. [if i really had one] .. designer genes.. has all the genes you need .. to start your own breeding program to make even redder plants .. if that really is a worthy goal ... personally .. i dont really understand the need for a red hosta ... nor does it appeal to me, beyond its freakishness ....

and so ends.. another useless chapter in hosta folklore.. lol

ken

ps: check out the pics of all of them at the library ....

Here is a link that might be useful: i love hugo .. whoever he is ...

What's really missing is praise for Arthur Wrede's consistent efforts to get fantastic reds - I believe he is still finding more crosses which will go further.

Anyone have a photo of Arthur?

He is the real reason behiond Miss Suzy and the progeny.

He gave me a brief tour of his breeding efforts last August - I thought he was talking to his children and grandchildren and great grandchildren.....

Bruce

Thank you so much for all your answers - I always learn more than I bargain for! I think I will put my Designer Genes in a pot and perhaps I'll even try seedlings one day - though I don't think I'm ready to do the "red hosta" breeding thing...at least not till my little .25 of an acre is completely full of hostas and I don't have room to squeeze another one in!
Seriously - thank you.
Jakki

I planted 'Designer Genes' seed about 6 weeks ago. Didn't have alot of them, but now I wonder what I will get? ;-))

I have planted OP Designer Genes seeds, but never got any that had a major amount of red. I did get one seedling that I really like. It must have had a blue pollen parent because it has some wax to the leaves and the leaves are a light, almost mint green, with a pinkish cast to the petioles. Were yours OP, Roxanne?

Yes, they were. I happened to be out collecting seeds last fall and saw pods on Designer Genes and Cold Heart, so I thought what the heck, and saved them. This batch just germinated a week or so back, so it's too soon to see if I "have" anything yet! ;-))