Hi,
I don't grow it, but it is available at O'Brien Nurserymen in Granby, CT. If you;re a Tri-State HS member, you will certainly know John . Price is $45. He's open 10/5,6,7 and 10/19,20,21, which is the end-of-season sale. Gorgeous display beds- I think he has over 1000 specimens on display.

Hostanana are you going to the fall sale?

'Purple Haze' kind of reminds me of 'Almost,' with red extending up into the leaf.

Hosta 'Purple Haze'
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Hosta 'Almost'
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Wow, those are beautiful hostas! This is the first I've ever heard of them, and now have to put them on my wish list.

Thanks for the info & beautiful pix everyone. I did join Tri State on the way out of the Morristown N.J. Leaf Show last spring. Unfortunately I didn't meet John, & Ct is a 5 hr drive for me.I checked his website & did not see H.'Purple Haze' there -any other ideas? Other wise it may just have too wait until the new listings come out for the 2008 season. I really would love to get my hands on one ! Thanks -again ~ Dot

Great, now I have another plant on my wish list. 'Purple Haze' is lovely. You might want to call John and see what he has on the property, or his plans for it next year- I'm sure he'd bring one to a meeting. Anyway, what's 5 hours driving to a hosta looney? I drove five hours to NJ from
near Cape Cod to judge the Tri-State Show! Stayed overnight,drove home. Only bought one plant,too.All in hosta fun!

From what John told me is he doesn't even have the plant or it would be on his list :-(.

It's a nice plant but the purple doesn't last long here. When freshly unfurled the leaf center and edge has a purple tint to it.

Here's Bill Janssen's (Originator) description:
This unique hosta has glaucous blue leaves with purplish stems, with the color continuing into the veins and with a haze of purple infusing on to the leaf surface. This color is most pronounced in spring. A neat mid size plant with elongated leaves of heavy texture.

oops sorry forgot to add the photos :-(

Great information all, and seeing another picture just makes me lust more for the beauty! I didn't mean to sound whiny about Ct being a long drive & 5 hrs for an end of season hosta sale would be no problem in my book :) I am just without my own transportation right now,so not feasible. I getting ready to start some seed , looking forward to my second season of winter hosta mania, also putting the purple & red legged ones at the top of my wish list. Ah.. & a streaky breeder. Yes, I admit I have the addiction pretty bad now,glad to have a whole forum of like minded folks who understand. Thanks for all the enabling.~ Dot

Hey Don,

Wanted to see a bit more of 'Almost' on the HL and don't see it there. Can you tell us a bit more about it, and it may be a thought to submit whatever pictures you have to Bob Axmear @ the HL.

Don, I now figured out where I'd seen the picture before: Jeroen's site (Hostavalley) shows the same one you sent, so it's likely the only picture in existence. I see it's an Arthur Wrede creation, I received another of his creations in a trade earlier this year: Miss Grace, which also has red legs, but not like the 'Almost' you showed.

Hosta Almost was entered in the cut-leaf show of the AHS in 2005. The pic I posted was copied from the Hosta Valley web site:

Hosta Valley

Here's a rough translation of the comments at that web site: "Hosta 'Almost' is perhaps the most mysterious and most impressive hosta which there is at this moment. This Arthur Wrede originating hosta is especially striking because of its red stems, which extend through the center of the leaves. In this way it is very unique. This hosta has been observed only by a very limited group of hostagrowers. Up to this point as far as I know, 'Almost' can only be seen at Arthur Wrede's hosta collection at his home. Hosta growers want to have as much red in the leaf as possible. Their ultimate aim is a red hosta!!!!
Hosta 'Almost' is the best one he has at this moment (as far as I have observed). I know nothing of the origin of Hosta 'Almost.'"

Don

Hostahaveum- O'Brien is listed in the 2007 Hosta Finder as having 'Purple Haze', so I don't know where it went, or why it was listed. Having no transportation could be a good thing- you will not be dipping into the 2008 hosta budget early, if walking is your only option.
As for sounding whiney, you should be locked up if you didn't sound a bit reluctant to drive for five hours, even if hostas were at the end of the drive. Thanks for showing us a very appealing plant.

Ooh and aah, those are two I haven't heard of. Thanks Don for bringing our attention to Almost. And Jamie I like your pic of Purple Haze even without the noticeable purple. What catches my eye is the widely spaced veins and leaf shape. Cool.

Yes I agree Almost is a fantastic looking plant also. Too bad we can't get any..yet. I was a die hard Jimmi Hendrix fan in my youth, I have a "Purple Haze" garden where I plant plants in shades of purple as this is the title of an old song from the 7o's. I guess only old retired hippies would do such, as my sons tell me often. So I will be keeping them both on my some day ,some way dream list. ~Dot

The purple garden sounds fantastic. Would love to see a pic!
Hendrix fan here too, remember Electric Ladyland??