Wow - great choices, Robert! Welcome to the forum - you'll find tons of great ideas, advice and fellow addic...err...enthusiasts! :D

Andrea

Thanks Andrea! Now.....how does one go about planning the pacement of these plants! I have my graph paper out but I am not sure I really know what i amdoing. Most of my choices are large so I gues I just go with whart color combos appeal to me? hmmm.....

Welcome ChicagoRob, today was my first post ever too! I planned mine out in a spreadsheet. This way I could keep track of them by size, color, and wehther they were sun tolerant or not. I tried to give the bigger ones more room and then I distributed them based on color. However, after two or three weeks, I dug them up and moved them. Then, after a couple of more weeks, I bought more, and then I dug some more up and moved them again.... and so it goes.

Wow! Great selection! I have some of them, but mine aren't showing up yet and I can't wait! (Well actually I have to wait but I am antsy.)And welcome to the club!!!!

As a suggestion, perhaps you should pot the hostas up in 1- or 2-gallon pots and place them in their pots where you are thinking of planting them (remember that the pots add height to the plants, so you might want to dig the pots in so the plant is at ground level). You'll notice qualities of each hosta - such as rate of growth, size of leaves, texture, color, etc., and see how they work (or don't work) together. If it works, great - if it doesn't, you can move it. Best yet, you can move plants between sun and shade to see how light exposure affects color and variegation.

As a general rule, taller plants should be placed at the rear of the garden bed, and shorter plants should be placed in the front of the bed. Plants that are grouped together look best in groups of odd numbers (1, 3, 5, 7, up to about 9, when the eye loses focus). When grouping plants, refer to the spacing recommendations, but don't feel you have to adhere rigidly to them - it's OK to place the plants closer than the recommended spacing, but probably not to spread them too far apart, or the eye regards them as separate plants instead of a group.

Don't plant hostas with different variegations, colors or patterns too close together. Green is considered a neutral color in landscaping, and is a good background color for a variegated hosta. In general, blue colors soothe, while yellow excites. Try placing a blue hosta near a yellow hosta to see if the colors complement each other or clash. A yellow hosta can brighten a blue hosta, but then again, a blue hosta can make a yellow hosta look dull. And what looks good in the sun may not work as well in the shade.

Culturally speaking, most blue hostas need more shade and many yellow (and fragrant) hostas require more sun. Some yellow hostas change colors depending on light exposure, or as the season progresses - some become more yellow (lutescent) and some become more green or chartreuse (viridescent). Some creamy variegation becomes white (albescent) as a result of exposure to light.

Go to the library and look at landscaping books to get some ideas. Then start moving plants around, mixing and matching them, experimenting with combinations, and by the time fall rolls around, you ought to have a pretty darn good idea of where you want to plant them permanently.

Here is a link that might be useful: Landscaping with Hostas

Welcome!

I think you should add Krossa Regal and Regal Splendor to your list! They're tall and majestic and I wouldn't be without them!

Oh, and El Niño too!

I have perfected my method of laying out new gardens.
After the area is ready, I place plants in their pots on the soil. Over the next few days, I tweak the plan, moving pots as I decide it necessary. Then I wait a few more days.
After that, my husband gets sick of the mess, and comes along and plants the whole garden for me.
See? Problem solved. Plus, if a plant was misplaced using this method, it's all his fault.
Actually, I do have two pieces of advice that work for me. Label each hosta with its mature size to help in placement. Remember, if you do make what you later consider a mistake, hostas are very easily moved and transplanted elsewhere. Enjoy the process. You've made some great choices.

Welcome Rob and Gesila. I see Rob is from Chicago, and Gesila is from�um, where is BMI? Anyways, welcome to both of you! :)

Nice list but I think it needs Halcyon. It was my first and probably my easiest and most vigorous. It was divided by a back hoe and after I picked the pieces from the dirt pile, I got 5 plants. It gets very blue:

I agree about Halcyon. I use it all over the garden.

Welcome, ChicagoRob and Gesila.

(Don_r, I think Gesila is in zone 5b in Michigan.)

Rob, in the middle of Winter I too, have graph paper on hand to plan new gardens or expansion of existing gardens. I draw circles where Hostas and companion plants will go, taking care to give them all space for their mature sizes. I try to mix them in such a way that they will all contrast each other, and add enough plain green Hostas to help show off the variegated ones.

Bejoy's advise about planting taller plants in the background and shorter ones in the front is the rule I generally follow most of the time. However, if you have an area where you will be able to view a garden from all angles, you might want to mix tall with short, or add talls in the middle with short varieties surrounding.

I see you have Empress Wu on you list. I just ordered that one and have saved a large circle, as it will mature to 5-6'wide...not right away, but in a few years. (Might have to add some potted Impatiens around the plant while waiting for it to grow to maturity.)

I would add Paradigm (2007 Hosta of the Year) to your list.

Have fun planting!

Julie

Welcome! I'm fairly new here, myself. :)

Great list you have going there. I definitely agree that 'Regal Splendor' should be on any hosta lover's list. (Then again, with both 'Sagae' and 'Liberty' in your garden you don't really NEED it, because the coloring and shape are somewhat similar.)

Have fun building that new hosta garden! That's where I was at last year, and will be again as I expand this year. Fun times. :)

With the many beautiful Hostas you have, you basically have a collector's garden. As such, you should keep records. If you didn't make a sketch when you were planning the garden, it's worthwhile to make one after it's all planted, for three reasons:
>First, you will find it very helpful when you add to your collection.
>Second, if you sell your house, or you pass it on to your kids, there is a permanent record of the plants in it, so they don't have to guess. Having a drawing of your garden is major selling point if you do sell. I'm making a drawing of my Mom's garden while she's still around to tell me what's what.
>Third, if you lose a tag, you can refer to your drawing to identify your plants. And, on that last point, a trick they use in many botanical gardens is to bury a tag under the plant (in addition to the above-ground tag). That way, if the tags get lost or the house floods and you lose your records, you can still identify the plants by digging them up and looking at the tag.

I totally agree with bejoy... but I'd like to add something.
INVEST IN GOOD TAGS and a label maker NOW!
The plastic tags are lucky to last a single season.
The aluminum ones start to look ratty within 3-4 years (even in shade).
Paul found a good steel tag company last year and they look like they'll go the distance. They're sturdy and very well constructed.
Label maker. Brother p-touch seems to be what's used most. They offer a uv-resistant clear label that looks great on a metal plate.

I say this to you now, early in your collecting career, since it's an investment in the future of your garden. People WILL ask "what variety is that?" If you keep your list short like this one, you won't have to remember, but after about 75-100 varieties, most people need the help of a label. And, if you order your tags and start making labels now, it's something you can actually do while waiting for the ground to be workable!

I pot up everything I get that is bare root, label as to name and to mature size. I group my pots by mature size when I am ready to put in a new bed. I place the pots in the bed starting with my giants first and work my way down through the sizes. I like putting a dwarf hosta next to a giant because of the extreme contrast in size. Try not to put blues next to blues, golds next to golds, etc. unless you are doing a grouping of relatives.

Always keep in mind the mature size and you will have to do less moving of them down the road. Take lots of pictures througout the entire process. As was already said, you can plant annuals to fill in the gaps or you can use the space for hostas or annuals in pots, garden art, fountains, etc.

Hi Robert, welcome to the forum! A hosta that I love is Paul's Glory. Similar is Paradigm. They were both Hosta of the year. It looks like you are in the Chicago area, If you want garden center to browse, Hornbakers in Princeton, IL is a great place to shop. A little pricey, but good size plants that are guaranteed. It is my favorite place to go! Mary

Welcome Bob,
I'm in the burbs and since your starting you collection you may be looking for bargains. One of the best places in the south Burbs area is Sunrise Greenhouse. One hop and a skip on the expressway. Check out their site and their prices. All are now large and flushed out. You will not find a better bargain in all plant material. Here's their link.
http://www.woldhuisfarms.com/index.html
or just search Sunrise Greenhouse in Grant Park IL or Woldhuis Farms. I know there are shoppers on this forum let him know the bargains that can be had! Also talk to Jean the Hosta Queen. :) Happy Planting.