Most expensive for me was $45 for a huge pot of Alex Summers at the AHS auction a year ago. I got it home to plant it and discovered it was crown rotted. I separated the eyes I could salvage and hova lots of healthy Alex Summers starts to share now.

Disappointing has to be Bright LIghts. It didn;t survive the first winter.

Alexa

LOL...I plead the 5th!!

Stitch In Time...I'll let ya know...

Sally

It's a tossup. Paid $40 for Great Expectations and also for Lakeside Black Satin back when they were fairly new. Great Expectations kicked the bucket the third year, and Lakeside Black Satin never came up the second year.

I'd still like to have one of each in my garden, but I've given up on them. They are still too expensive to treat as annuals.

Lainey

I paid a scandalous amount for originator's stock of a plant which is not on the market yet but which I had, had, had to have.

A SERIOUSLY scandalous amount. And I took oath not to divide it, lest it eventually get far enough away from me that someone would try to TC it.

I'm happy with the plant, and the hybridizer gave me a lovely bonus, and something else I wanted very badly. But it was a sin to spend that much on a plant. I love it, but I feel a little guilty every time I look at it.

DH thinks it looks like JAH.* No, it isn't, and it's getting prettier every year. But still... it cost almost my entire spring AND fall plant budgets. Which aren't all that large, but still. Still.

*just another hosta

$30 for Independence Day many years ago...just had to have it for my patriotic bed. Have really enjoyed it,love the subtle shading. But I will never pay that much again....once is enough! My Knockout is a dud, down to 3 tiny leaves, no idea why. Guess one dud isn't too bad out of 270 hosta.
Marlene

$35 for Brother Stephen

most disappointing LakeSide Black Satin.

A Krossa Regal with red stems @ $35. What a dud that was, never returned the second year.
Most disappointing: Lakeside whatever. Had about 15 different ones, the only one that didn't die was Black Satin (one of 2) and it's about the same size as it was when planted almost 15 years ago, while surrounding Hostas have grown to immense size.

Can I go OT, please?

Marlene...
I am constructing a Patriotic Hosta garden and wonder which ones you are including in yours?
I have Liberty, Patriot, Minuteman, Patriot's Fire, Revolution, Old Glory, and found Loyalist yesterday(4 very large divisions for $6). Want to add Paul Revere, Midnight Ride?, Independence and Patriotic. Any others I should consider? I'm sure there are some I'm overlooking.
TIA
Rb

LOL Josh

Its a huge secret...if I tell you I'll have to kill you. LOL!!!

My husband knows how to read....I also can't say... But if you are reading this dear, it was $20. LOL!!! ;-)

I paid $35 for a huge pot of Sagae this spring. Just getting started with hostas, and loved the pics I have seen of it here on this forum. The only others I had were generic looking ones that were donated to me from friends.

Ok......what are 'chippies' ???

What restraint this forum has. I have atleast 50 hostas where I paid over $100 for. Of course some of them were bought before TC's became big, and not a single 1 is better than any of the oldies you can buy for less than $5.00. Seems the more you pay for them the more likely they'll just die.

$18.00 for Great Expectations, probably bought it in 2000. I am one of the lucky ones whose GE is doing very well. Not sure why...is it possible that there is 'good stock' and 'not so good stock' ?

The pic linked below is from 2005. I had to move it in 2006. It has more eyes, but the leaves are smaller this year. I believe the smaller leaves are due to somewhat of a drought last year, not because of the move.

Here is a link that might be useful: clicky

Reply for Razorback:You have a great start. I also have: Fourth of July, Fireworks, Salute, American Dream, Pilgrim, & Gold Cadet(weak plant, took years to grow).
A few daylilies:American Revolution,Little Patriot,Admiral's Braid. Heuchera: Amber Waves & Fireworks.
Marlene

Marlene....
Thanks for the reply, I will be on the lookout for the Hostas. I don't have enough direct sunlight for Daylilies. I have a large bed full of them, but rarely see a bloom now that the trees have become so large. I have tried the Heuchera you mentioned, plus about 25-30 other cultivars and they are short lived perennials here. The only successful cultivars for me, are selections of the eastern natives, americana & villosa. Someone suggested growing them in pots and I may try that.
Thanks again!
Rb

$25 for tokudama flavocircinalis. Husband thought I was nuts and couldn't understand paying $25 for a couple of little leaves. It is still alive and actually seems to be getting larger. Paid $15 for blue dimple which is really doing well and looks great. Bought both from a nursery in northern Wisconsin that has over 100, perhaps several hundred, different hostas but has prices that now seem high to me.
What does TC stand for?

$100 for Jurassic Park. It's one year - I'll report back in five more years. DH has no clue or I'd be compost.

Westy

TC- Tissue Culture, I understand them to be basically test tube babies. They take DNA from both parents and and mass produce in a lab. I have bought several, I noticed they were late to come up and seemed slower to grow, maybe that was just the plant.My only problem with TC is they want the same amount for the plant and shipping is not a deal either.But a deal is a deal

flowergazer .... try the search function on TC .. has nothing to do with DNA mixing ....

they take a single large bud.. sterilize it to within one inch of its life ... stick it jello [agar] treated with a bud releaser ... then when 100 microscopic buds sprout.. they cut them off and stick them in new jello that has rooting hormone in it.. and end up with millions [if they want] of tiny x plants ... they are EXACTLY the mother plant ...

however. because hosta are inherently unstable.. and the divisions [yes that is all it is on a microscopic level] sometimes sport ... you can get all types of sports ...

if you take almost any hosta in your yard.. and keep dividing it .. you will get sports ... which is another show ...

next time ask the question in a new post.. instead of burying it where a lot of peeps may not see it .. if you are interested.. others are too ...

ken

Ken,
I tried to say what I thought or understood it to be like I said in my reply.I did not hide or BURY my comment from anyone it wasn't that big of deal to me. I joined this forum to learn more about a passion I have for Hosta's and I have not one problem with being corrected.I thought this forum was very enthusiastic and pleasant, I guess I was wrong. Don't worry Ken I will keep my thoughts to myself, and just read the posts if I decide to even do that.Thanks for the Experience. Brenda

Hey Brenda...Don't be offended by Ken's response, that's just his cryptic way of offering advice. There are worse things than being corrected and one of those is being TOTALLY IGNORED!

Brenda, it's courteous to start a new thread when you bring up a subject that is very different from the original poster's question.
Anyone wanting to know something about TC would never discover the discussion on this thread. By bringing the subject up well into a thread you effectivly buried the information, and discussion.
Also wondering where you got the information about TC being a method of mixing DNA? That's called sexual reproduction, taking the ova from one plant and fertilizing it with the pollen of another.
Chips are better used as mulch for hosta than sitting on one's shoulder.
Linda C

I have always been interested in gardening and within the last year have become very excited about Hosta's a plant I never gave a second thought about. I gather information from everyone around me including web sites. When I stumbled across the garden web I just stayed in the background and read the threads trying to soak up all the information.I really consider this site a source of valuable information.I think it can be easy to forget that all of us are at different levels of experience not only with Hosta's but abbreviations and thread posting. Like I said correct me if I am wrong but typing the words is as hurtful as saying them.I feel pretty stupid. Thanks for your advice Georgia-Rose and Linda

flowergazer--I'm sorry you feel badly abut ken's comments. Having been around her for at least 4 summers now, I have come to realize
that ken's sometimes-cryptic comments can be misconstrued from time to time and from time to time, he can be *grumpy*, just a tad?????
I don't think he meant to be either in this instance, just *informative*! I'm sure he can speak for himself on this, if he chooses.

Please, don't take it personally. There are no absolute *Rules of Etiquette* (that I'm aware of) stated on this forum but I have also had to learn,
that we need to try and stay "on topic" to the thread, in order to be fair to those who search via the thread titles. I think he was trying to say,
that someone might really be interested in the discussion about "TC's" and would miss the opportunity to be in on this one, if they were unaware
of it being in the middle of the one on "Big Money"!

HOWEVER--it IS YOUR thread and I suppose you can do WHATEVER you like with it! :o)

Please, don't go away brusied because of this, just realize it happens to all of us, that we feel somewhat *slighted* from time to time
and downright *disapproved* of on others. However--the greater number of us are very tolerant of one another, so just forget it and
move on and hang with us more and post as often as you like!!! We like you just fine!!!

janice

BTW, Georgia-rose, I sure hope you don't feel you have been IGNORED in the past, either!!!! I don't think anyone
does that intentionally---well, actually....maybe some have, but I doubt it has been done in your case, intentionally! :o)

Donnie,
Chippies are chipmunks. Cute little rodents that live in forests here. We don't have them where I live so I might not think they were so cute if I had them in my garden. We went camping one time, and one of our kids left the van door open. They got in and chewed up a roll of paper towels for a nest maybe?? I spent $35.00 on William Lachman this spring. So far it hasn't died.
Mary

Three years ago I paid $80 for Victory...a very nice plant. The following year Victory was selling for $40. Last year it went back to $80 at some nursery here in Canada. I thought it was silly of me to pay such a high price for a beautiful hosta...true...but I have as nice and beautiful other hostas in my collection which I acquired for about 8 times less.

My most disappointing buy is Knockout...and I should also include Brim Cup...and Pizzazz....and Snowcap...and these 4 plants simply refuse to grow properly here in my zone...and in my yard.

Papou

I'm with jspece :-)

Fine, I'll confess. LOL

$125.00 for Streaky Blue Mouse Ears.

Worth every penny. If it wouldn't crush it, I would squeeze it every day!!! lol

$200 - and no the plant does not TC so it won't ever be readily available.

It's my most prized hosta.

Teresa

Love this thread.
I slapped down the $49.99 for Stitch in Time.
Time will tell...but she sure is pretty.

Never paid over $18 for any of my others. Got a great nursery who won't over price plants. Paid $10 years ago for Tattoo and it is a winner.

well this is my first yr collecting so I haven't got anything tooo pricey. I did pay 20 bucs for lemon meringue . so I got high hopes for it in the coming yrs.

I paid over $100 for Sally and Bob, which appears to finally be throwing up two scapes this year. Other than that, it's a beautiful, thick and cupped hosta. Also over $100 for Fame Game, now in its first season for me.

Disappointing? Well, I've killed Jack of Diamonds twice from the originator, and it was expensive at the time. And Triumph, which was fairly expensive and looked terrible when I got it and died about a year later.

I've not paid anything even remotely close to that price for any other hosta. When I saw it, I yelled "I HAVE TO HAVE IT!!!!"...I think that was a sign. LOL!!

The most I've ever paid is $50 for a Fire & Brimstone from Bob Solberg this year. Very large 2-eyed plant. Time will tell if it is worth it. Greatest disappointments were Brenda's Beauty and Just So...who both didn't come up this spring.

Char

Well it looks llike I'm the cheapskate here, lol.
The most I have paid for a hosta was $19.00 for Heat Wave.

I kind of had an unstated limit on what I would spend on a hosta and that was $20.00.

So far I have not been disappointed with any of my 40+ varities. Even the ones over wintered in pots came back great for me this year.
HOWEVER, the squirrels killed two for me this spring. My newly purchased Ice Age Trail and my second year Morning Light. THAT is why I would be hesitant to spend big money on a plant.

Janet

tattoo,,,$30

teachers pet,,,$40

almost bought stitch in time this year for $50,,,but got strong...had to after buying 'teachers pet'...lol...

dern chippies (chipmunks) here too this year...grrrr,,,they sure can kick the dirt up,,,i like our squirrels much better,,,

tc,,,,isn't that where you throw a hosta in a blender and then plant it???....jk...LOL,,,

jill

I don't want to hurt any hybridizer's reputation. Is 75 too much? This particular plant was beautiful the first year but came back as a huge disappointment. Just 2 yrs ago I wouldn't pay more than 20. Now that my yard is filled and I am buying fewer, plunking down bigger bucks is easier to do. I too bought Stitch in Time this year and am loving it! M-A

I paid $27 for Split Milk about 5 years ago. I thought this was a bunch but after reading what others have paid, I guess I got a bargain. I would never pay the huge amounts.. I love Hostas and love sharing them, too. My daughter built a new home back in a woods and almost all her Hostas have come from me. They are beautiful. We often buy ones that we can share.. Tons of fun..

M-A, I understand what you're saying. I used to be in the "if I don't have it, I need it" mode and now I would rather be very selective and get one plant that I *really* like since space is creeping away from me. LOL

Andrea - I don't think you should get any more until you get the 95 you have in pots in the ground! And there are two more winging their way to you from Minnesota! And what about that 300 eye hosta in the wheel barrow you got from Lora? lol

95 in pots?!? 300 eye hosta?!? Wow, Andrea we need to see pics of these! LOL!

Andrea WHAT...95 Pots. OMG
My back is braking thinking about haul of the 300 eyed hosta from Lora.

Now are those 95 intended for the ground or are you just leaving them in pots for display.

And were did you hide them on the photo shoot. Has it come out yet.

Oh My you are strong girl...300 eyes! Eye Eye Eye! lol

LMAO...teresa, you are so bad. I do NOT have 95 in pots...only 94! ;D

I do have a decent amount (nowhere near that many) waiting, but we are mid-construction so I have to hold off until that is complete.

Now that monster from Lora...hellooooooooo...it takes TWO of us to lift it when it isn't even in a POT!!!!! It's a sieboldiana.

The article is out but my stupid scanner isn't working!!! Teresa, do you have a scanner at work?

I can't wait to see this! LOL!

I have a scanner but I don't have the mag at work with me today!

Andrea,
So, after this week, you'll have an easy 100 in pots then, now won't cha?

LOL...nooooooooo

Let's not start that rumor or Josh (my alleged hosta stripper hubby) will think I've gone mad shopping!!!! LOL

lol - But Andi, you'll have mail. More hosta! Gotta put them somewhere!