If Guacamole is your 'best' at the moment, I would certainly add 'Fried Bananas' and 'Fried Green Tomatoes'. These are a yellow and a green sports of Guacamole, with the same flowers as Guacamole. Both grow amazingly fast, but give them a spot with a bit of sun to get optimal (flower) growth

I would also add 'Flower Power', a fragrant hosta that didn't steal it's name and that delivers an abundant amount of flowers.

And further more? 'Essence of Summer'. I've seen a mature plant, and the amount, the size and fragrance of the flowers is amazing. I bought it immediately, but I will have to wait until next year for flowers

There are other plants you could consider, 'Hosta plantanginea' if you can give it the right spot. Most extra-large hosta have long flower stalks blloming for a very long period, but you need the place to plant them...

My Fire Island and Sparkling Burgundy just came into bloom. My late bloomers are all very dark colored flowers with purple scapes (is this a theme for late bloomers?). However my latest bloomer is Red Neck Heaven. The budded scapes arch like swan's necks and have displayed unopened for almost two weeks. The flowers should begin to pop this weekend.

Last year, when I was hybridizing, I did a cross and prayed for 45 frost free days. Well, frost came in about 30 days and I had to cut the scapes with seeds and put them in sugar water to ripen. Flowers are not usually my thing on hosta, however Red Neck's scapes gracefully arch in the same direction as the leaves. I like this feature because I prefer the blooms that "do not" tower over the plant.

Hmmm. You probably do know that each hosta bloom lasts only one day, just like a daylily? So to get a long blooming season, pick the varieties known to produce lots of blooms per scape, or lots of scapes - or both. And you can certainly stretch your hosta blooms through the entire growing season by planting varieties known to bloom at different times.

So, for example, the early bloomers include the sieboldiana hybrids - Elegans, Bressingham Blue, Blue Mammoth, etc...; also Blue Angel, Love Pat, Abba Dabba Do. Those also produce huge numbers of seed with no effort whatsoever.

Mid-season, hm, Permanent Wave is fantastic in my garden; also Revolution, Jade Cascade, and many of the smaller varieties, like Lemon Lime and Blond Elf. And Sum & Substance, and probably many, many others.

Then you have the many fragrant varieties plus the likes of Stiletto, Lancifolia, and the tardianas such as Halcyon, June and all of their relatives; Lakeside Looking Glass, which is generally disliked for its susceptibility to bugs, produces a very lovely and unusual nice flower show.

And, finally, towards the very end of the season, the red-legged, red-petiole ones, and in my garden Purple Dwarf and Raspberry Sorbet make a real showing, followed by One Man's Treasure and Red October. I hear Rhapsody in Blue is also fantastic with profuse late flowers.

This is a very sketchy line of thinking, and of course the precise time of blooming will vary according to the plant's location in a garden - shadier/sunnier, wetter/drier, all make a difference in growth pattern.

Good luck!
Digs.

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

Sugarman~
I just bought FGT this year. I think it needs a sunnier spot in my garden. I'll move it next year. I'm writing down some of your suggestions, and will look at pics at the Hosta Library & in my books. I don't have plantaginea, but do have Aphrodite, which is gorgeous. I have 2 other Aphrodites in the front yard in spots with dappled light. They clearly want more sun. Also going on the "moving" list next year.

Hostabuff~ I've seen pics of the flowers on Sparkling Burgundy. Very pretty. I meant to order it this year, but the seller I ordered from last was out of it by the time I put that order in. Had already received my other hostas by then, so I hope to get it next year. Do you have a picture of yours?

Digs~
I have quite a few on your list. Some are my favorites. I'll check out Permanent Wave. I think I have that one written down somewhere on a wish list. Somebody must have posted a nice picture. Do you have a picture that you can post?

Can't wait to see the new catalogs!

I just looked at my picture files, and can see that Guacamole started blooming in late July. At this point, they have been blooming 7 weeks. Still have a few more flowers to open. Some of them were new plants last year. They have clearly been blooming for a longer period than Honeybells. Gotta be my champs!

~Bunnycat

My best bloomers are Jade Cascade(early), Tick Tock(mid-season) and Dragon Heart(late).

The next group are Permanent Wave, Blue Mammoth, Lakeside Little Gem, Sunny Disposition and Hirao Splendor.

Bunnycat, here's Permanent Wave . . . .