the undulata clan ... the white centered one.. the white edged one.. and the green one ...

lancifolia ...

and i will ponder more ...

and yes.. they are the ones that will grow on the driveway ... aka workhorses ...

they are ubiquitous ... man. i have been trying to use that word in a sentence for a decade... lol ...

the real key.. in your circs.. is to flop in a big plant.. and try to drown it ...

i dont think .. you will ever grow out little pieces.. with enough vigor.. to get them big ...

when planting.... dig hole .. put in bare root plant plant.. backfill with what you dug out ... native soil ..... never fert just a plant .. and broadcast water.. not the plant itself ...

come on peeps.. what other 'cant kill if you wanted to' hosta are there????

these are the ones you see at the edge of the road.. or on craigs list ... free for the taking ..

ken

ps: you take instructions well ...lol

Here is a link that might be useful: link

For me, trying to get away from the ubiquitous (hey look there, I used it too) green and whites, June is a workhorse. Doesn't matter where I put it, it just does well and depending on the sun amount of spot, there are variations in how it looks.

I don't mean to disparage the undulatas; they are what drew me to hostas originally and some in my yard were long established before I bought the house. I've hacked those to pieces to fill in blank spots and they were full and lush within a couple of seasons. I did have some of those along my drive where it meets the street. Living in Iowa with our winters and salt and sand road "junk" thrown around and onto that soil at the bottom of the driveway, those plants still did well even in that sandy debris-filled soil.

Hmm, I think I have some lancifolia that need moving....

not sure I have undulata - will have to check my list at home

ubiquitous is a good word, glad you had the opportunity

my husband might disagree about my ability to follow instructions

and I have several June (I kept buying it cause I like it so much and forgot that I already had it). I could spare one to give it a try.

Paradigm, likes shade and sun in our area. Good grower and should be able to find at reasonable cost ($8 and up). Pic is in October and morning to midday sun.

Paul

I'm in a totally different environment, but workhorse to me means fortunei plants (and of course, So Sweet). Francee does well for most everyone. I think f. aureomarginata is going to be that same kind of plant. Mine is only in it's second year, but it looks great all season.

bk
Francee

f. aureomarginata

my husband might disagree about my ability to follow instructions

==>> thats because he doesnt speak in hosta-nese ... lol ..

royal standard is another 'cant beat it back with the shovel' plant ...

golden tiara ...

ken

I left a (forgotten behind) Aureomarginata in a dry bucket, on the driveway, for 3 1/2 months and it did better than a few finicky hosta in the ground. does that count?
(I finally planted it for someone Sunday)

ventricosas and Antioch. Been trying to kill those off for 15 years with sheer neglect, hacking into pieces, burying, etc. and they are still here. Like the energizer bunny...

Note that Prairie_love lives in zone 3/4, North Dakota. There is no hot sun for long and most hostas should be able to live there right next to the driveway.
I have 'Halcyon' and 'Patriot' living next to my blacktop driveway with little shade in zone 5.

Note that Prairie_love lives in zone 3/4, North Dakota. There is no hot sun for long and most hostas should be able to live there right next to the driveway.
I have 'Halcyon' and 'Patriot' living next to my blacktop driveway with little shade in zone 5. Though some water on hot days will help any hosta. Bernd

Good old plantaginea. They're all over the property (not my doing but I'm not complaining). Dug a clump out of complete shade by the creek - must have been there many years - because I needed something for a large planter. Plopped it in, put it in a spot that gets 6 hours of sun a day. Yes, a bunch of leaves burned, but now there's a whole crop of new lush greenery emerging. Workhorse for sure.

Hostanista,

I'm glad to hear that Plantaginea thrives in our zone, I wasn't sure- yours is so beautiful!

Bernd, I'm not sure, but I think it gets really hot in North Dakota. It's prairie. I forgot who was talking about the Canadian prairie last week. I think it gets up in the 90's and low 100's. It's in a higher latitude, so the sun will not be as strong, but it's still hot, I think.

That said, Halcyon does fine in my hosta unfriendly environment, as does Patriot. On my driveway...........maybe not. I'd choose Francee for sure. We'll see about f. aureomarginata.

bk

Altho' it's a space hog, Kiwi Full Monty has been amazing in my garden. First it grew to more than twice it's projected normal size. I divided it, gave my daughter a couple of divisions & replanted a few in my part shade bed. Now she's divided those divisions after just a couple years and filled in her own beds. I further divided mine this year into 8 pieces that I planted around the base of a mature oak tree. The divisions get a few hours of midday sun, no supplemental water and are already blooming.

I'm afraid to plant it near the driveway.

Here is a link that might be useful:

i was wondering about plantiginea also ... its been in moms garden since around 1965 ...

a lot of the very old time hosta [they are being mentioned above] .. that are still around ... probably fit in this category also ... why else would they still be around ...

and they are usually cheap.. if you find them ...

dont forget... if you want larger plants... land of the giants can be a source ...

ken

Halcyon is indestructible here. My original plant was "divided" by a contractor's backhoe. Month's later I found five Halcyon happily growing in the dirt pile behind my yard.

Two years ago I transplanted one from my entranceway only to find seven tiny Halcyon growing in the spot the following spring.

This post was edited by harryshoe on Thu, Jul 24, 14 at 11:22