Hi, Sabrina. I have only a few dwarf hostas, so I can't speak from too much experience, but Blue Mouse Ears seems to be a big favorite among many hosta growers. I have also been very happy with Baby Bunting and Green Eyes. Cherish is a precious little thing that I almost drowned last year. I have been warned that excessive watering can damage the small root structure of the very small plants. Have fun with your mini-garden. Lois

Sabina...
It's difficult to select 5 of the more than 35 dwarf/mini's that I grow, as my favorites change from year to year! :Here's some that are at the top of my list:
Pandora's Box
Island Charm
Medusa
Cherish
Kinbotan
Green Eyes
Faithful Heart
Thumbelina
Twist of Lime
Baby Sunspot
Kiwi Gold Thimble
Green With Envy
pulchella kifukurin
Masquerade

Have several Blue Mouse Ears, but can't say it is a favourite Hosta. At the bottom of my list, would be Cat's Eye, and Hi Ho Silver, Hostas that are difficult to grow here and require a lot of attention. They may perform well in your area.
Rb

"I have been warned that excessive watering can damage the small root structure of the very small plants."
Lois

I simply don't believe this is possible unless the crown is sitting in water for long, I mean long periods of time.

And, my experience is they are never quite as small as you expect, give them a little more room than if feels like you need to.

no, no, no ...

no such thing as excessive water with a hosta ...

the corollary is.. poor soil can be a problem ... i know they don't like pure sand... with high drainage ... which is also a root length issue per below ..... so i try to drown them ....

and they don't like soil that will let them heave in winter... since the root structure can be minimal .. relative to the size of the hosta ..... in the soil heave zone ...

i mean a two inch hosta.. isnt going to put down 12 inches of roots ... to hold itself in in winter.. and to search out water ....

but water is NOT an issue...

forget hi ho silver and cat eyes.. both are problems ...

ken

True minis/dwarfs:

Pandora's Box
Cracker Crumbs
Kifukurin Ko Mame
Tortifrons...but can be tricky for some
any of the venusta sports like Kinbotan and Ki Nakafu Otome

Blue Mouse Ears is definitely a winner, but gets larger than a true mini. It is a small plant, but I'm guessing small plants will work in your situation, too.

I also have many minis and also mini-smalls. It's hard to pick, but if I had to pick JUST 5 it would be...

Blue Mouse Ears
Pandora's Box
Cracker Crumbs
Cherish
Kifukurin Ko Mame
Chickadee
Paradise Sunset (this might border on a small)

Hmm... I seem to have lost count...

Wow great suggestions! Please keep them coming. And if you have more than 5 put them down. The more I have to chose from the more I'll get and more space will get used up. This is the area I have to work with
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I was originally just going to plant next to the air conditioner but may have to go with the whole area instead. :)

Some more for consideration-
These are some that grow well for me, in addition to many that are previously listed

Mini/Dwarf
Peanut
X-rated
Radio Waves
Cookie Crumbs
Gaijin
Sugar Plum Fairy

Small
Hidden Cove
Rainforest Sunrise
Wily Willy
Yang
Miniature Praying Hands (may not be widely available yet)

The following all grow nicely in the Ottawa region:

Pandora's Box
Medusa
Blue Mouse Ears
Twist of Lime
Chartreuse Wiggles
Little Sunspot
X-Ray
X-Rated

Papou

Miniature Praying Hands (may not be widely available yet)

Georgia-rose, what can you tell us about this? Who/where did it come from?

Sabrina, judging from the picture you posted of your available space you can easily go to varieties that fall into the 'small' category, which is defined as a plant with a height range from 6-10 inches at maturity.

Thanks Pieterje! I was thinking I'd be able to add some but I'd proabably put more minis in the area with a small one thrown in here or there.

Sabrina

Ken and EO, I have always been told that you couldn't over-water hostas, but a local garden store put up a sign that said: "Please don't over-water these mini hostas. They have very small root systems." And I must say, my little Cherish did much better after I let up on the watering. Maybe it was sitting in a clay pocket, or maybe it was just a coincidence. However, from what I've read in this forum, you two are hosta gurus, so I defer to your knowledge and experience. I did water like crazy this year, and I was quite happy with how well most of the hostas I planted in 2006 and 2007 did.

Welcome Sabrina! Most of my minis are new this year but I thought you'd like pictures of ones I could find. Most of these were just planted.

I love Silver Threads & Golden Needles - this picture doesn't do the coloration justice.
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Cherish
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Teeny Weeny Bikini

Pandora's box - I love it. It was purchased in 2006
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Medusa - I love its form
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Fireworks - This one was impressive in a display bed I saw but grow much at all this year; but like most of my minis, I just bought it in 2007...time will tell...Looks like I added too much compost right up to the crown...maybe it is too deep?
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Ken, Hi Ho Silver has done well for me here in Wisconsin. This is only 1 year old. This plant grew so well for me that this is only 1/4 of the original plant purchased Aug. of 2006.
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Peanut
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Lakeside Elfin Fire
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Hidden Cove
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Cameo
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Have fun!

Char

lois .... you don't have a locale listed next to your name...

i said .. or meant to say ...

IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOUR SOIL

if you are in that famous OHIO clay ... or anything like it.... good luck ... i have no experience .... and don't want the experience ...

MANY .. many peeps ... grow minis in special beds.. with high course drainage... with lots of water ... because of the drainage ... think about how people grow alpines.. if you happen to know anything about that ...

only you know your soil.. and only local people can truly help you with it... we can make suggestions on our experience... but we still cant know your soil ...

so gurus or not.. take it all with a grain of salt ...

ken

Ken, I'm just west of Minneapolis on a 60' bluff over Lake Minnetonka. We have a lot of clay in our locale. It would be my custom to augment the soil, but under all the good stuff, is a lot of clay nonetheless. It doesn't sound as troublesome as the the Ohio clay you speak of though, thank goodness.

Josh-
The mini PH's came from the 2005 Dixie Region HC in Memphis.
There were too many available to be OS, so they had to be TC's. Who? Where?, don't know.
Thought at first that they were PH liners, but after 2 growing seasons, they are still dwarf sized, 7-8" tall and very upright and don't multiply as rapidly as PH. The variegation is so thin, that you almost have to view the leaf edgewise to see it.
Remind me next spring and I will see if I can pull a division off of one.
Sorry about the OT!

Second try, hope this one works and dont get dumped again! :-(

"We have a lot of clay in our locale. It would be my custom to augment the soil, but under all the good stuff, is a lot of clay nonetheless. It doesn't sound as troublesome as the Ohio clay you speak of though, thank goodness."

Search my name you will find a lot about clay that some will disagree with but I say clay is wonderful as is the basis of most of the agriculture in the world.

All that is needed is organic matter on the surface and the soil organisms will take it down, just that simple. I suggest it will be easy to understand if things will grow in your soil, look around your area, if there are meadows and trees growing well then the soil is fine.

"Please don't over-water these mini hostas. They have very small root systems."

They may have been referring to recently potted rather than about how to grow minis and garden centers can be the source of terrible specific information. Look at how many items they are marketing and COULD they be experts about each specie.

And I am not a guru but I've studied the soil extensively and years of field work on hosta and water.

georgia-rose
So they were sold as regular Praying Hands then, not as miniature Praying Hands? There is no registered mini praying hands, correct?

Hi Ho Silver is a good and fast grower for me. It resists slugs and makes a nice, compact clump:

Papou

Fireworks could very well fit in your space...depending on your choice of colors. Like Hi Ho Silver it has elongated leaves, and both stand late in the Fall. I like the crisp white and dark green edges of Fireworks which make a unique color contrast. I admire the tri-color effect:

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Papou

Hi Sabrina,

You'll have to drop by end of June and see what I have available for dividing. I think I may have potted up a few divisions in the fall too.

My favourite mini/small are:

Blue Mouse Ears
Chartreuse Wiggles
Hope
Hidden Cove
Tick Tock
Just So
Fireworks
Dixie Chick
Cameo
Lakeside Little Gem

Those are just the ones that I remember off the top of my head. I'm sure that there are a few more...

Hi Maureen,

That would be great! I can definitely head over if you have some you're looking to divide.

Sabrina

You can see from the various lists that there are several to choose from, I would also spend time thinking about how these various plants will look as a whole. If it is pleasing when you are finished will me more important than how many different ones you can stuff is this space.

Look at landscape photos that appeal to you and copy the overall affect with smaller plants including some small ferns, astilbe, etc if you like.

For example I can see a very dwarf very tall conifer in the back corner, if that appeals Ken can advise or the dwarf conifer list could help you find one that would fit the space. BIG OR they can tell you it is a bad idea and why!

yardmom
They were available & sold as miniature PH, but I, being the skeptical one and having never heard of a miniature version of PH, thought they were just offering PH liners as a fund raiser! After growing them for 2 seasons, I am pretty well convinced that they are indeed, a miniature version of PH. A 2-year old PH, from Naylor Creek, in my garden, was huge!
Each year, I check the major labs (WG,SO & Q&Z) and some of the minor ones, too, but so far have not found any other source. Maybe they are still being evaluated? Curious!

hosta-haven
Nice ST & GN you have!
My opinion is still out on that one, which seems to be an extremely variable Hosta for me. I never know what face it is going to show each year or during the season!

I didn't see 'Royal Tiara' listed by anyone. Has anyone had success growing that one. I've had 2, one died and the other one turned all green the second year!

EO - if I'm thinking of the corner you mentioned(top left corner) I have an ostrich fern planted there, assuming it grows and in the top right corner, my dryer vent is there so have to be careful with what goes there. But the idea of a conifer sounds good.

hosta-haven - thanks for the pics

Sabrina

what are the stones for... dont forget pots on the stones ...

and ... I HAVE SEEN HOSTA GROWN IN CONTAINERS.. HUNG FROM WOODEN FENCES .... go figure on that.. you should be able to grow another 50 or so ... lol

ken

"assuming it grows and in the top right corner, my dryer vent is there so have to be careful with what goes there"

Dryer vent puts out moist air, may not be as big a problem as you think?

Sabrina, another dwarf/small hosta that hasn't been mentioned yet is venusta. I bought one late last October. It was sitting at a variety store in the marked-down bin. It had completely died down for the year, and it looked so forlorn, I couldn't resist it. It had only two divisions and late October is probably way too late for planting in Zone 4b, but for $2, I thought I'd give it a try. I was amazed when it came up strong and healthy this spring. I don't know how many eyes it had, but it grew into a lovely, lush green clump about 12 inches across. What a little trooper! I'm sure if I had divided it this fall, I would have 4 or 6 clumps next year. You might use it as a filler or as a break in between more colorful varieties.

There are dozens of options for growing/displaying dwarf/mini and small Hostas. In addition to those mentioned by Ken, I have them in pots and bonsai dishes of almost every imaginable size & color sitting on steps, walls, tables, porches, along borders, wherever a pot will fit. In hanging baskets and baskets on metal stands, planted with sedum, ivy or whatever coordinates with them. In tufa, concrete and plastic troughs, in a rockgarden and yes, some in the ground, also!
I use the potted one's. along with other potted plants to fill in the bare areas after spring flowering bulbs, the native spring ephemerals and fall & winter flowering cyclamen have become dormant.
Rb