Well--I don't know that I converted any, but I think I may have fired the flames of a couple this week, hopefully!

Uh, Linda--where can I sign up to be your daughter-in-law!! I bet she really loves you--for many reasons, but doing
all that work and being so generous has to be very endearing to her!!!! :o)

Well, my SIL, always looks around, somewhat disinterested at my hosta--never looks at them up closely to observe
them, and just says, "what you've done looks *nice*" sort of in a non-committal, disinterested way! It's not like I
expect her to faint or anything, but maybe be a tiny bit enthusiastic about what I work so hard to make a nice place
to sit and visit in! But, she's really into vegetable gardening and unusual sorts of plants that she sits on her front
porch to enjoy! I love her, but she's just not a 'hosta-person'--what can I say!!!

We're a different breed I think!!! Most that are not 'hosta-people' think we are really *over-the-top* in our zeal
for them--as I have sensed, when I bubble over in my excitement about them! Now those who are hosta-addicts waiting
to be hooked---they *catch the fever* when I talk about how wonderful they are--like my one neighbor who we share
a fence with!! What fun!

Hi, first message I've posted so please excuse any errors. I'm new to forums but not new to hosta (200+). My hosta friend and I were running from hosta to hosta at a Nursery and I saw one I didn't recognize and said what's this? A lady walking by said "oh, that's a hosta!" I still smile when I think of this : )

there are non hosta people? don't know any

Last night I was online looking at some hosta websites and my husband looked at the computer, looked at me and asked if hostas were weeds! Luckily he did laundry and scrubbed the floors earlier in the day, so I let it slide with a firm "NO".

I have an elderly lady neighbor who thinks my yard is boring,all she sees are a few shades of green, yellow,and white.lol,lol
She likes a lot of color,but does not do any gardening at all.
To each his own says i,eh? :0)

Carol

It proves the old adage; "you canÂt teach taste". It is like teaching a pig to dance; it will wear you out and piss off the pig.

I have a friend that tells me who likes the blues that the blues isnÂt "real" music only classical music is worth listening to and further that it is foolish to try to compare the blues to classical.

I like him for other reasons but I donÂt try to teach him to enjoy the blues.

He doesn't have either the green or the green and white hosta.

I have a friend with the OH I HAVE THAT HOSTA syndrome . When she doesnt!

Welcome, Elegans!

I see you are in Toledo. My daughter goes to BG and lives in Perrysburg (and spends all of my money!). Where are some good places to find hostas near you?? I hear the Toledo Botanical Garden is wonderful to visit, but haven't been yet.

greenguy,
rofl!

Dave

My favorite is "living in Colorado" is when I'm told that they can't grow here. When I tell them I have over 750 if not about 800 growing here and bring out the picks. The first question I'm asked is how I get them to grow here. My answer: I put them in the dirt.

scooter - how is the blue arch duke doing? would really like to see a pic if you have one. don't see you post much

Have to be honest,hate being negative, but it didn't last 2 weeks, the roots were not connected to the plant (very little of them in the first place) when I received it so I tried to basically treat it as a TC hoping to get some roots out of it but it didn't work. It was such a small division it really had no chance. I didn't complain because it was an auction for charity, but after that I've never bid on another of those auctions. Guess it's better than the waiting for 2 hostas I won in 1 of those auctions 3 years ago and never received. So I guess I can say it really was BAD.

Everyone needs a Patriot Sport

Oops, wrong thread?

If you turn the leaf upside down it reminds me of a acorn nut. But I'm a little tired.

Convert them or convert them to collecting them? I am teaching my mother to keep the tags after all these years. She's getting better at it.

My dear BF has two big beds in the shade and doesn't really care about "what" they are. Little does he know but that WILL BE changing. I have started saying the names as we add plants. He has lots of stuff that he doesn't know what it is so we are starting with learning the hosta. He's really doing well for only gardening abot 5 years or so and I like to tell him often how good he is at it. He makes beautiful things for the yard like an incredible trellis for "climb lattice".

I brought him a LARGE chunk (too many eyes to count) of 'Golden Tiara' from my sister's neighbor's yard. The neighbor (a gardener) is recently deceased and her daughter told my sister (a gardener too) to take whatever she wants out of the yard (we also took a piece of lily and some "hooch hurrah" and helped the other neighbor to the back side put in 11 hosta transplants from it - when hosta calls, you dig a hole) because the daughter will be putting in all lawn because she doesn't have the band width to manage the gardens and will be putting in lawn. At first, I felt bad but my sister said that the old neighbor would be glad her plants are going to be appreciated and live on. I did not tell BF they were from a dead person's garden. :o)

I also got one eye of 'June' for BF (me) from my mother from a plant I gave her a few years ago. I guilted her into because I put in the brick edger for her hosta garden and it was a lot of work. She acted like I was taking her first born grandchild. It's been about one month since we did it and her plant looks just gorgeous and "mine" has a beautiful new leaf.

One way I have often thought of converting someone is with named hosta that refer to something they are interested in. Maybe someone with lots of service persons would like 'Liberty', 'Patriot', 'Old Glory'. Or maybe someone that sews would like 'Stitch in Time', etc. The other part that motivates is having a successful result.

We just had a big July 4th get together and it was the first time that some of our family visited our new home during the summer. We got lots of compliments on our garden and many offers of help "when it was time to divide all those hosta".

As for the best line I've heard, my brother-in-law and I were sitting on the porch discussing my gardens when my boyfriend came home with a few hosta, one of which was something I'd been looking for. We were talking about where he purchased it and how much he'd paid when brother-in-law said, "Why do you keep buying those? You know you can just get them for free... just about everybody has one of them in their yard and they spread pretty well. Most people would be happy to give you a piece of theirs if you asked."

I wanted to say, "You think I should ask for a piece of the green one or the green and white one?" Instead I tried to point out differences between plants and talk about names... then I noticed his eyes were glazed over.

Hey, Scootersbear! You answered my question on this forum last year about growing them in CO. At that time I wanted to know because daughter was thinking of moving. Well, she did. And now she's trying to sell us on moving and knows I won't budge until I find where they'll grow. She is in Westminster and I was there in June and was disappointed. We're going out there for about 10 days in a couple of weeks again and I would love to know where you are. I had no idea you have so many hostas so you must be where there are TREES and SOME SHADE!!! Where IS that? Do you have pics you can post? I lost your email address and would like to write. Or - write me at cdwestg@comcast.net. I was out there in June looking around the Denver area and didn't find many hostas. Realtors I am talking to don't get it - I'm so frustrated. I wish there was a realtor who specialized in homes with hosta gardens. Or just gardens!

Westy

re: "... many offers of help "when it was time to divide all those hosta"."

I can't wait, till I feel that need!!! Right now, I am tenaciously holding on to what I do have,
for them to get mature, and then enjoy their 'maturity' and hopefully will feel the need to divide
one day!! How long does that take?

I have an acquaintence, who carries a shovel in her car, and my impression is that at anyone's house
she goes to, she looks for something to get a piece of! She's not been to my home yet, and I am shaking in
my boots that there will be a time she'll come and I will be put in a position, where I can't say "no"! I don't
want to be greedy--but, like I said--I'm just not 'there' yet!!! I truly, truly hope to be 'there' very soon!
What fun that will be!!! I love to share!!

Maybe I could give her a division of my 'Captain Kirk'! It's looking better this year, since the '07 devastation,
and I've already divided out a clump to fill a spot elsewhere in my garden. That's it--that one likes to be divided,
I think I recall reading somewhere! She's really a lovely lady, so that will be fun--yeah--that'll work!!! :o)

Well,my most recent one was when a fellow choir member came into our choir room for practice,and she said she had hosta divisions to give away. I asked,what kind they were,and she said,"the variegated". It turned out they were undulata albomarginata,naturally! I took some,anyway,and they are still growing. The other day,I was walking down one of my garden paths,and wondered what she would say,if I showed her all those plants along the path,and every one of them was a different plant in size,color,texture,and shape? Phil

hey_j...

I personally think that the best part of giving is when it works well for the recipient AND the giver. Maybe if she arrives when you aren't yet ready, you can discuss which ones she'd like and you'll watch them for when they'd be ready for a division. The anticipation might be fun for both of you.

regattagirl
P.S. I too travel with a trowel and empty containers but I never ask for anything that isn't obviously in need of being controlled anyway.
P.S.S. With all this HVX discussion, I'm now a little freaked about hosta divisions from non-hosta people.

for 20 years I headed the Arboretum's annual plant sale. We sold bedding plants we contracted for and divisions of plants from people's gardens.
When we began, we had just moved into a house with every bed edged with 2 1/2 feet of lancifolia and I dug out a pickup load....and we sold it all in a blink!
That continued for about 5 years (as I dug, the remaining lancifolia grew!)...people would be lined up at the gate waiting for a chance at those hosta!
Eventually we could add some of the "green and white ones"...and the demand grew!
Now we get donations of named varieties and any lancifilia are often left for the compost!
Linda C

scotterbear,
My sister lives in Golden Col.,we have been there several times to visit and no one there has even heard of a hosta.
She has no idea what i am talking about.
We drove around a bit and did not see any growing any where either.
Are you in a secret spot and keeping all those beauties for your self? :0)
Carol

Here's my favorite:

"I like the ONE with dark green in the middle and light green on the outside"

I hand them the encyclopedia and say, "there are a few hundred, pick one!"

Dave- Our Botanical Garden is very nice. If... lol, you have any money left to buy hosta, after paying for college, try- Andersons, in Maumee, $, Whiteford Greenhouse, in Sylvania, nice selection but $$. My favorite is Rosewind, near Hillsdale, MI, really nice selection and excellent prices, about an hour away and worth the trip.

Lynne

My sister thinks I'm a nut case with over 300 hostas. She calls it my "lettuce". Well, she actually commented on a new bed I'd planted last season, that it had filled in and looked lovely. So what did I do...I went out and bought her a 'Sea Gulf Stream'! She's so excited she can't stand it. I'm convinced we can turn any hard-nosed grass lover into a hosta addict! LOL.

My son starts at Bowling Green in August as a freshman, so I will probably need to check out some of these places too.
I've had a lot of people look at plants in my yard and say I have that one, when I know THERE'S NO WAY they have that one. I tell them I know what they mean, but that you have to be kind of a nut case like me to be able to tell the difference between them sometimes.
Dave

Lynne,
Thanks, I think. Do I really need somewhere else to spend money??? lol
Will be on the lookout for you and the other Dave!

Dave

Hi, My name is Tracy and I am a recent Hosta convert. lol! I used to be like those non hosta people. Thought they all looked alike etc. Then I needed to put in a shade garden and it was all over after that! I have fallen head over heals and have been adding new hosta every chance I get!
Here is a pic of my shade garden. I keep adding moving everything so I can fit more hostas, then I discovered the minis. Oh lordy am I in trouble now! lol!

Now I am finding spots for hosta's in every part of the yard. I now have Pual's Glory, Wide Brim, August Moon Frances Williams and Lakeside Kaleidoscope, Metallica and Chantilly lace planted at the base of my 2 overgrown apple trees. I have more on order and will be surrounding my potting shed with them. Can't wait till they get here! Wheeeeee!

Tracy - that's a really pretty garden & I like the spots of pink - astilbe?

Tracy,
I have to be careful how I say this because others here know my wife, but I am in love
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. with your border planting!

Dave

My sister was not a hosta person. But she came over to my house this spring when I had all the hostas sitting in pots close together. She saw the undulations and the textures and the color variations and she immediately started asking me for some. Her birthday was in May, so I took her a starter collection:
Big Daddy
Sea Fire
Gold Edger
Stilletto
Patriot
Feather Boa
Emerald Tiara
Tokudama Aureomarginata
Plantaginea
Parhelion

They were all planted nicely in a bed with heuchera and ferns. Now she is all ga-ga over the bed and wants to build another hosta bed in another part of her yard. Mmm-hmm another non-hosta person transformed into a soon-to-be hostaholic. I feel no guilt at being an enabler.

Lainey

Those who've been to Colorado know exactly what I'm talking about then. They should grow better in Golden than where I'm at. I put mine directly in the sun outside of shade trees and let the shade trees grow to shade them. They look ratty for a while but they get bigger that way. Hostas are shade tolerant not full shade plants, people forget that. The best way to save water is shade.
Carol I've had to order just about every hosta I have or trade. I go to garden centers all the time knowing all they will have is the green 1's or the green and white 1's

If you love to garden it's Northern Colorado you want to be at. Westminister is about an 45 min to an hour from where I'm at. Your just not going to find hostas here but you can grow them. I'll try to post some pics, we had a tornado go through our area. The tornado that hit Windsor missed my house by about a mile but the hail pretty much made my hostas look like shredded celery but they are recovering pretty nicely.
The Denver Botanical Garden grows hostas there but for the most part they are just your standards.

Lainey...

Wowwwwwwwww.....you are a good sister!

Regatta

Inlimbo, Thank you, yes those are astilbe. They didn't do so hot last summer but came back this year with abandon. I have white mixed in there too but they blend in above the greenery. Soon the turtleshead will be blooming behind them for another dose of bright pink. Then the clems will start a little later on the fence. I have one integrifolia blooming back there now.

Dave, Aw shucks, you made me blush! Send my regards to your wife! LOL! I have to ponder on telling my hubby that someone is admiring my "weeds" (as he affectionately calls all of my plants).

Lainey, care to adopt a new sister? I don't have one and boy would I love to have you! lol!

Scootersbear, I recently saw Ken's pics of what the hail did to his hosta. I am so sorry to hear that your's were hit too. I am glad the tornado missed your home.

Tracy

Scootersbear! I NOW remember who and where you are. I was in Fort Collins, Greeley AND Windsor the day before the tornado that tore up your garden and did so much damage to homes. The day OF the tornado, I flew out of Denver International in late afternoon and was honestly not sure if I was going to get on that plane.

I think if we look seriously we would likely look near you - Loveland, Windsor - maybe Ft. Collins. I'm so bummed that there are no good hosta nurseries. I would probably drive east to Iowa to buy them! But I would dig and MOVE at least 250 - or I AIN'T going. Thanks for reminding me where you are. I saw the pics of your disaster on the Hallson's forum. Please try to post one of these days. I cannot imagine that many hostas in one yard in Colorado!

Westy

Scootersbear, I can't imagine why Hostas wouldn't grow well in Northern Colorado. But then, I live in Northwest Nevada, where we get less rain and warmer winters (probably hotter summers as well, but I only know the lower temperature range because you mentioned your hardiness zone) than you do. And I grow Hostas. No--not just "The Green One" and "The Green and White One". I can tell you the name of every one that's still alive and in the ground (which is most of them--I lose a few to slugs, bad placement, wrestling cats, late spring frosts and failed watering systems, but if I didn't lose a few plants, I wouldn't have ANY room to try other things). Hopefully I'll know all the names and locations of the ones I'm growing on in pots to plant this fall (almost 30 more). I also ordered another 7 Hostas plus two free ones from Hostasdirect.com tonight. I just had to. They had a bunch on sale.

But since I can ONLY tell you the names of the ones I've planted (Sagae, Wide Brim, Potomac Pride, Inniswood, El Nino, Chinese Sunrise, Krossa Regal, Blue Mammoth, Twilight, Guacamole, Sum and Substance,Guardian Angel, Feather Boa, Cracker Crumbs, Pandora's Box, Little White Lines, Popo, Sun Power, sieboldiana Elegans, Fried Green Tomatoes, So Sweet, St. Elmo's Fire, Regal Splendor, Olive Bailey Langdon. Francee, Frances Williams and a few small-to-minis whose tags I've long since mislaid and I can't remember the names...) and that's under 100, I tell myself I'm NOT a "Hosta Person"...yet.

After all, there are so many interesting plants I want to grow that aren't Hostas, so I have to weave everything together into an absolutely chaotic whole. I also love Daffodils, Lilies, Salvias, Old Garden, Shrub and Species Roses, Clematis, Antique Tulips, Fritillarias, Euphorbias, Epimediums, hardy Orchids, Agaves, Aloes, Cacti, Antique Tulips, Species Tulips, Hardy Geraniums, Ornamental Grasses, Japanese Maples, Tree Peonies, Herbaceous Peonies, Bulbous Iris, Bearded Iris--especially Miniature Tall Bearded and Antique varieties, Siberian Iris, Alliums--especially ones native to the American West, Muscari, Colchicums, Crocus (Spring AND Fall blooming), Hellebores, and Snowdrops. Oh, and xeric/desert plants (in the front garden) and woodland plants (in the back, shady garden). My next obsession is slated to be Trilliums, but it's going to have to wait a couple of years. In the dry garden, I expect Calochortus to consume my interest in a couple years. I'm HOPELESS, but happily so...

Westy, I live in Firestone, east of Longmont, about 45 miles north of Denver. I have about 240 hostas. I have to cover the ones facing west with shade cloth if the temp goes above 90 (which happens a lot!) since we don't have much shade, but hostas do grow in Colorado. You just have to water the heck out of them. I am always so busy and don't post much but I'll try to post some pics. Let me know when you are coming out here and you are more than welcome to come see my hostas.
Donna

You get no arguement from me that hostas don't grow here, just the opposite. I think with the mile high sun and we do get over 300 days of sun here they grow great, it's convincing everyone else. Hostalover I grew up in Firestone, I graduated from Frederick High, were only about 20 minutes apart if you drive the speed limit:)

Cool! I didn't mean for this to morph into a Colorado Hosta thread but had to jump on the opportunity because I believe we will leave around the 20th for Westminster. I did visit Longmont with my daughter when I was there in June (I think - have to check the map) but didn't go farther East. I'll look for Firestone. If we spend time seriously looking at 'areas', I will email you dmshostalover! Would love to see your garden. And I never even considered the CONSTANT sun being a huge positive - with some afternoon shade and lots of water, of course.

Thank you,
Westy

I have lots of hostas, and would love to share with a certain family member when we visit them in another city. But she said, "Oh, I have lots of those. I don't need any more." I have seen what she has. I'm not sure which 3 or 4 old varieties that they are...they call them ribbon grass...they are ratty and slug-bit. I wouldn't want more of those either. I have some nice big slug-proof blues that would add something to the yard, but what to do? No point in digging them up if they aren't wanted.

ok, my email is dsadonis@gmail.com. We are supposed to get up to 97 degrees today and we haven't had rain in five weeks so pray for my hostas!
Donna

oooo i was one who would look n say its a hosta lol
think im addicted now :) i didnt even know i had 8 diffrent kinds! now 10 whoohoo! i traded off some roses for a spritzer n she also sent me a eye off her fried banannas! im looking around n thinking were i can fit more lol:)