Awesome

Stunning. Love them all, especially the Striptease!

That montana A. is unreal!!!!!

nice!!!!

Knockouts! The Montana A is a screaming beauty! Mine died in its first winter, in the pot. I'm going to find another one asap! (:

Looks like some pretty old plants. Very nice! Phil

Montana looks great

tj,
You must have those gorgeous plants for 5-10 years and did not post any pictures here! Thanks for showing! I have some of the same hostas, but only half the size of yours or less. What do you give them? Probably a generous humus base, and then a little fertilizer every month and a lot of water. Also no sight of any pests!
Great gardening! Now you can divide them...
Bernd

TJ,

Can you show us the combinations of hosta with conifers and hosta with JM and ID them please. I'm interested in seeing the contrasts in color and texture between the different plants.

Thanks

Steve

Thanks for the kind words.

The montana I got from one of my brothers (my original Hosta enabler) back around 1990. Many hunks have been chipped off it. Mary4b if you get in the Milwaukee area I can give you a piece. Its crowding the pine to the right and I don't want to move either of them.

During much of the '90s our local county greenhouse held surplus plant sales and I got most from them for between $3.50 (at first) and $6.50 when they stopped about 8-10 years ago. Other stuff for that price included things like Brunnera 'Jack Frost' and Cimicifuga 'Hillside Black Beauty' and many others. Talk about "those were the days".

I make my own compost and an inch or two every other year is about all they get. They used to get compost/manure tea but I haven't brewed that in several years. Haven't needed to water this year yet but usually only water 3-5 times a season during dry spells. My compost amended clay (top dressing only) holds water well. Clay, though pooh-poohed, is actually nutrient rich but the nutrients are locked up. Compost supplies the microherd and (eventually) humus that makes those nutrients available.

Why no posts before? I'm mainly a conifer conehead and only in the past year or two started following the Hosta forum again.

Steve- 'June' seems to go with many conifers. Here's a couple of older pix I have on hand (some posted here before).

With Pinus densiflora 'Little Christopher'

...and with Tsuga canadensis 'Dawson'

I'll get more as things get bigger.

tj

Thanks, TJ. Not to turn this into the conifer forum, but I particularly like the pendulous nature of 'Dawson.' I assume it will take some shade. Do you know of an on line source for this one?

Steve

Nice hostas. I was admiring Montana A. at Land of the Giants hosta farm this past weekend. Makes me wish I had a bigger lot.

My Whirlwind is emerging ever so slowly - only my second year, and in full sun at that.

Thanks for sharing pics.

Very awesome and mature specimens! I love the 'Tsuga canadensis Dawson', and, Phil, I bet you have something
very similar growing in your woods. I know my parents did, not too far from you! I've always loved that growth habit.
I should have dug some up when we sold their house! I did get some fern that has survived well in our yard!

Steve- I got my 'Dawson' from Rich's Foxwillow Pines in Woodstock, Il. If you Google it look for both Dawson and Dawsonii.

To see some of the Tsuga in cultivation look here.

To those in the northeastern quarter of the US you need to be aware of Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (the brown areas of this map). Although if you can reach all of it with a hose they can be controlled with a blast of water every two weeks or so.

The most shade tolerant conifers I've found in order are yews, hemlocks, Balsam Fir and Chamaecyparis obtusa (to a degree).

Kim my offer of a montana to mary4b is good for you as well.

tj

Tsugajunkie, sorry for the slow response to your kind offer! I hadn't realized you are in Milwaukee. I come down fairly often. A visit to your beautiful garden would be a highlight. I love how you combine the tsugas with hostas, so it would be a thrill. And who could refuse a little chunk of MA? Thank you! What community of Milwaukee are you in?

The way they're thriving, you must have some nice soil.

I'm surprised at how many folks on the forum have conifers with hostas. I always thought conifers need full sun. Can't put hostas in that much sun where I live because it gets hotter than Hades here. I'm in zone 5, but it's because we get the Arctic air in the winter and the Gulf air in the summer. So we have the pleasure of both extremes.

Deanna

They enhance your gorgous conifers. Great plants!
Cher

Conifers provide shade for hostas.
The 4 large white pines in my backyard provide shade for most of my hostas. In my front yard I have growing Orange Marmalade behind Pinus sylvestris 'Glauca Nana' and Picea pungens 'Glauca Globosa', both on standards. A Juniperus chinensis 'Blue Point' I have limbed up to provide shade for hostas. My montana Aureomarginata and others get shaded by neighbor's overgrown Thuja 'Green Giants'. Hostas can also be planted in the shade of rhododendrons.
Bernd

A large part of the shade in my back yard comes from my 3 mature (60+ yrs old) Austrian Pines. My neighbor to the west also has several huge Norway Spruce and to the south there is 50-60 foot Black Walnut. The hemlocks are my primary understory conifer (hey, I'm a junkie) but Chamaecyparis obtusa and (surprisingly) Picea omorika handles both the shade and the walnut well.

As for the soil, as mentioned above, its clay. In some parts of the yard it could be used as chewing gum. Compost topdressing (25 years worth) is all that keeps it from reverting back to clay.

mary4b I sent you an email.

tj

Hey!!! I want in on the tour!! I live in Brookfield and I didnt realize there was anybody near me on this forum. Your pics are gorgeous and Id love to see them in person. Are you actually in Milwaukee?
Tammy

Tammy send me an email through Garden Web.

tj