it is a potential terminal .. because the white center is a net negative on a tiny plant ... white tissue does not convert sunshine into energy .. so at best ... its running at 50% efficiency to start with ...

as such.. it needs as much sun.. as its tiny root system can handle..

good luck with that.. i have killed about 8 of them ... actually.. suicide.. not murder ..

ken

I had mine for about four years, I guess. I always kept it in a pot in dappled sun and then moved it to the ground before Fall (it tended to start to go dormant for the season before all the others). Last year it looked great, but this year it came teeny tiny, so I think it's on it's way out. It's not worth replacing to me...I don't like fussy hosta.

mine sucked. all four of them. i call it pandora's crock. lol

My Pandora's Box has been up and down a bit over 6 years - didn't come back well so moved it to a pot and more light and water last year.

Top pic is Aug 2010 and bottom is a week ago. Interested to see how it comes back next year.

Fire and Ice - have one that has been 5 eyes the past 4 years, but hey it keeps coming back and doesn't look like it's struggling. Added a second in more light went from 7 to 9 and this year 7 eyes again, so I have no comfort that it is settled in and happy yet.

Paul

Mine has survived for about five years in a shaded bed under the canopy of a mixed hardwood, predominantly maple forest. Every year, about this time, I find it fighting stalwartly against heavy weed competition, which I will get under control soon, if it ever stops raining. It's a cute little miniature and does quite well for me. It will never be large, or luxuriant, or even form the neat little carpet I had originally envisioned, but I do like it. It increases in growth a teeny bit every year.

Hi all. Long time with no posting. Sorry!
I bought 3 scruffy, puny little P.B.'s in Oct. '06 for $3.99 each and planted them under a century old apple tree in bright, dappled shade. Here is how they look today. 22 eyes each when the started to unfurl a week or two ago. Note the one on the right has more green and is bigger, in reference to Ken's comment. I'm picking up the reverse sport "Cameo" next week and thinking of putting it in the middle. Wayne

Wow, those look fantastic. Do you not have slugs? That's another reason I won't be replacing mine- my slug population is high and they particularly love the white, thin leaved ones.

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Wayne, your PBs look amazing. What kind of soil, light conditions do they have? I see you are also in Ontario so climate would be most similar to mine.

I don't particularly like fussy hostas myself but sometimes you just gotta have one.

I've killed 2 of them. I can take a hint. No more PB for me!

I have to also say, I'm not sure your pic is of PB. The leaf shape doesn't seem right. I'm no expert, but it was my initial thought before I even read your posting.

Melissa...you're right! That looks like one of the 'mouse' family hostas - the flower scapes scream "MOUSE".

Wayne's plants are a dead ringer for my Pandora's Box, which I acquired from Shady Oaks in 2002. And the photos also line up with some of those shown on the Hosta Library site. Perhaps the older versions of the plant had a shorter, rounder leaf shape?

I'm glad that my plant (assuming it IS PB) never got the memo that it is supposed to be fussy. I acquired it very early in my gardening obsession, at which time I was just beginning to learn that there were other varieties of hosta than "green" and "green with white". I dug a hole and plopped it in, with no attention whatsoever other than occasional watering with the rest of the gardens. And it has thrived quite nicely for me. Evidently, it is pretty happy with its site, which gets morning light (not direct sunshine due to slope) and then light shade rest of day. It has not been a slug magnet for me.

my hosta book calls this one a plant for the experts; i persoanlly want one but they are pricey around here. i also have my eye on a cameo-love that one too.