Look at this thread for some help. My paradigm is decide the end before you get the plants.

Remember a couple of things about us, we are not here to stop you from drinking we will enable and give you liquor. Then when you are good and drunk, we'll pat you on the head and say; "look at her, so cute, she is so drunk she can't stand up under the weight of the work to maintain all those plants". Remember after we enable and encourage you to get just one more and the new one, none of us will be there to water them, move them, kill the slugs, treat for southern blight, STOP hear these words from and "Old Hostaholic". Never mind, no one ever listens, order another round for the group, no they won't be your buddies when you are down and out in your back or shoulder or ankle, or knee(s) and desperate they'll be at another table talking about the next latest and greatest. They can talk all nite about why Great Expectations doesn't grow. So, you walk over to join and they turn up their noses saying "she" has HVX, I would never go back to her garden for fear I will bring it home on my shoes. And, don't even get me started on nematodes.

I was on the phone with a hosta friend this morning and he bemoaned the fact that he didn't give the plants enough room.

As best you can decide what you want the finished product to be. So, you have enough room what do you want it to look like?

There are some ways to make care easier, Ken used an elaborate irrigation system, I try to set up constant water reservoirs to do my watering, well not as much as I say I do. Search Ken on irrigation, esther_opal on bogs. Both irrigation and bogs are easier than one would imagine, doesn't have to be like Ken of esther might do it.

Prepare for tree root competition ahead instead of waiting until you have to dig them up and move them, see threads on "Spin Out" or planting bags.

Preparation is worth a 100 "oh craps", I wish I had listened too......

Here is a link that might be useful: which ones do you need

BTW, you have to have H.'Rhino Hide', simply the best hosta this old hostaholic has ever seen and the photo doesn't do it justice. So thick I think I could cut off a petiole and make baseball bats, the "Wild Dog Slugger".

And, you "need" these. Purchased at hosta college, stored indoors until the 3rd week of April then potted and placed outdoors. This photo is June 14, 10 weeks later. And this one that went through the same process last year. And my clone of Great Expectations that does grow.

Do I have you hooked, the committee on enabling is waiting for a report.

Here is one more you may need?
Paul's Glory or Touch of Class

Enablers! Enablers! You should all be ashamed! How can I kick this habit if you all throw these little tidbits at me!Shame on you!

How about this?

Katy122 - I am what I would call a "collector" since I never have started hosta from seed, don't really know what a Fortunei type is or any other type for that matter, haven't really cared about pollen, don't subscribe to the Hosta Journal, etc. When I do become interested in these things, then I will be a "hostaholic." I have about 65 hosta.

It was right about when I hit 65 hosta that I became interested in "these things" (hosta seed and pollen, the Journal, local hosta society, etc). Watch out. Access to the web provides access to the worst kind of enablers...the dedicated ones. And they are out there in mass.

A word of advice, start cataloging now, before it gets out of control. Plus, playing with your list and planning your spring purchase helps feed your habit in the winter....

you are doing the right thing. take your time. plan it out. pick the right ones for you don't just buy anything and not know where you are going to put them (like i do). it is not a race there is no need to hurry.

its time to find the local hosta club.... because its garden tour time ....

i highly recommend that all of you go on garden tours, if reasonably local ....

SEE THE PLANTS... then decide what belongs in the 10 or 20 or 30 foot club... and make sure you buy those...

pre computer days... i have to say ... i have 100's that look alike ...

actually seeing them in gardens... can really help you hone your list... to the best options for your purpose...

where are you katy sue ????

ken

Ken is right about seeing hosta first hand. While I am pleased with all of my on-line hosta purchases, sometimes they don't look just like the pictures, especially photos on the Hosta Library.

If you don't want to drink, don't go to the bar. I was beggin for an intervention last year. Now, I am just "real" with the fact that I'm an addict and from the months of May thru October, Hosta-ing and hosta-crawls are just my life. I can handle only one obsession in my life at a time.

In the non-gardening months (November thru early May in MN), I'm a scrapbooker (a scrap-a-holic).... even had to start selling Creative Memories to feed that habit. In the next few years, I may have to start selling hosta to feed this habit.

I will happily lament WITH you or TO you when you run out of space... and you've just brought home a hosta that will ultimately need 6 feet or more of space. I will tell you of sales I've gone to, or seen on the internet. I will even show you my "haul".

Thank Goodness I have an outlet here and have found other simlarly minded lovers of this amazing plant. Were it not for here, I would not have learned about the wonderful features of Earth Angel of Liberty. They looked pretty ordinary in the pots when I saw them. But now, I can see why they were MUST HAVES!

Ken...I am in Vancouver,Wa. And I do think I should probably join a garden club of some sort or another and I really do need to start some kind of journal so I can chart my outcome, I just bought "Eskimo Pie", we'll see how "he/she?" goes. I just wished I could get this picture thing down so I can show off a bit, I also want "Elvis lives", I found one at my local nursery for $9.99.