Software
Houzz Logo Print
don_in_colorado

H. 'Guardian Angel'

10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago

Second flush. Please post your Guardian Angel! : )

Comments (46)

  • 10 years ago

    No way am I posting my sorry little thing.
    Beautiful Don. I can only wish.
    Dave


    don_in_colorado thanked Tiddisolo Wales UK
  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    No way! Nuh-uh - ain't gonna do it! You wouldn't recognize it even if I did! Mine has a ghost of variegation on maybe two leaves! What a weird GA I have this year compared to last year's beauty....but.... Yours is fabulous!!! It must be quite the stand-out in your garden...just gorgeous colouring! WOW!

    I'd be taking lots and lots of pics of that one! Lucky you, Don! :-)

    don_in_colorado thanked josephines167 z5 ON Canada
  • don_in_colorado thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
  • 10 years ago

    Absolutely stunning pictures!

    don_in_colorado thanked Michelle z6a pei can
  • 10 years ago

    Ken...er....ahem.....yup, who needs words???? ,!!!

    But words are required, after all. That first picture? I'd pay whatever to have that! Excellent photo!

  • 10 years ago

    Wow Don and Ken,mine is just a little whippersnapper.

    don_in_colorado thanked stoc zone 6 sweden
  • 10 years ago

    Great looking GA's! Mine is good sized at a bit over 5', but not nearly as white. Should I move it into more shade?

    Some leaves have some white


    don_in_colorado thanked mac48025 ( SE michigan)
  • 10 years ago

    Very pretty. I love the green/white contrast on yours Don.

    don_in_colorado thanked popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
  • 10 years ago

    mine was in very dense shade .. with some morning sun ... and it held the white longer ... but eventually.. they green up pretty good ... in the center

    ken


    don_in_colorado thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
  • 10 years ago

    Beautiful, Ken. And that was ten years ago???

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    year 2or3 small but much better colour this year

    don_in_colorado thanked frogged
  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Beautiful variegation on yours, Don.

    Mac, Ken, luckykat, wonderful monsters yours.

    Frogged, you are lucky to have such a compact plant at so young an age. Mine is 4 years old . I wish it were better proportioned like yours.

    Edit: Anyone know what dulls the colour on the larger leaves (12, 2 and 6 o'clock)? The first year that happened I thought the hosta was diseased.

    don_in_colorado thanked irawon zone 5a Ottawa.ca
  • 10 years ago

    That hosta!

  • 10 years ago

    Mine is showing very little variegation this year, so no picture, but yours Don is outstanding!

    don_in_colorado thanked garyz6ohio
  • 10 years ago

    I can't wait to pick up this hosta next month. It's on my buy list AND I'm making a spot for it.


  • 10 years ago

    To cope with my disappointment I told myself that instead of colour this year it gave me a new look instead...and beautiful large leaves. :-)

  • 10 years ago

    You can have a chunk of mine if you want eleven......I need to dig it up to move it anyways. I think it will whiten more in the shade even though it will eventually green up.

  • 10 years ago

    Mac, what a guy! Way to pay forward "The Friendship Plant" : )

  • 10 years ago

    Great looking GA's!

    Ken...Holy Cow!!!

  • 10 years ago

    Mac, thank you for the generous offer. We can talk about it when I see your garden.

  • 10 years ago

    Mac, more sun will make the green recede. The green is chlorophyll which the hosta produces more of when it has less light and needs more surface area of chlorophyll to get the photosynthesis it needs. The stronger the sun, the less green.

  • 10 years ago

    Thanks Jon, that makes total sense. I was thinking more light would cause the leaf to produce more chlorophyll. Thanks for pointing that out......to more light it is!

  • 10 years ago

    I am not over-the-moon-ga-ga about my GA - yet (?) Planted in 2013, maybe it needs another year or 2 to wow me? It's kind of like a lanky teenager right now - leaves pointing in all directions. I like the photos of everyone else's way better than mine. Although that bottom leaf is sort of interesting with nice waves. Patience, gardener, patience.


  • 10 years ago

    Hostanista, it reminds me of how a youngster's head looks when someone ruffles their hair. Cute!

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Here is mine at the end of June :

    don_in_colorado thanked in ny zone5
  • 9 years ago

    I'm getting a fantastic early-spring show this year.


    Photos taken 4/22/2016 - 2.4 pips - 3rd year

    don_in_colorado thanked Ludicious Acres
  • 9 years ago

    Here's a pic of mine from last week. It has become a little lighter since the picture. I've never bought a Hosta from Home Depot, but I got this one off the clearance rack last year for $4.


  • 9 years ago

    Nice. That's a good size already, Koffman. Yours is looking great as well, Ludi! I love Spring.

  • 9 years ago

    Thanks Don. It was bigger, but right before I took the picture I removed two all green leaves which were probably the biggest two leaves on the plant.

  • 9 years ago

    When does the middle turn white ? Does it take a few years or just later in the year ? Mine gets a few hours of sun in the morning and maybe an hour before the sun goes down at night, I think that would be enough.

  • 9 years ago

    Last year was the first season for mine to be that light in the centers. They didn't stay that light for very long.

  • 9 years ago

    Don, your plant is gorgeous! I saw this one at the nursery the other day and I couldn't decide if I really wanted it or not. Now I may change my mind and go back and get it.

    don_in_colorado thanked Linda's Garden z6 Utah
  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks very much, I appreciate the kind words, Linda. 'Guardian Angel' is one of those hostas that, when very young, typically does NOT impress right away, as, say, a 'Spartacus' might. It is, in my opinion, a leggy and gangly and rather ugly baby. I got mine in 2012 as probably a two-year-old plant, judging from where I bought it (NH Hostas). Give it a few seasons, though, and you'll have yourself an awesome-looking plant. Here's a pic of mine right after I planted it...Sorry about the crappy pic, but it gives you a good enough idea...

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    And here it is last year. Even though I planted too many edge-variegated hostas together, I love the way this bed is coming along. It's the oldest hosta bed. Fortunei Aureomarginata has been there since 2009.

  • 9 years ago

    Ok Don, you've convinced me to go back and get it. They were fairly good sized plants but did look gangly. And I agree with you about Spartacus. I think mine is finally going to look really pretty this year. Thanks for showing your garden. It's really beautiful!

    don_in_colorado thanked Linda's Garden z6 Utah
  • 9 years ago

    koffman99, Guardian Angel is one that benefits from cooler conditions for better coloring, so you don't want to push the sunlight as that can keep it darker.

  • 9 years ago

    I just checked mine - starting to unfurl but I can already discern the lighter centre through the shoots. YES!!! It's going to be a good year for GA once again!

  • 9 years ago

    Mine is just OK, nothing to write home about. I love the ones that have ruffles....mine is jut...big!

  • 9 years ago

    Here's mine right now. Never thought it would get this big when I bought it back in '09.


  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hostatakeover, that is a beautiful specimen!

    Sally, I've read that when mature, only the newest flush of leaves of GA have the waviness. However, Hostatakeover's picture is certainly an exception to that. If it makes you feel better, here is what mine looked like last year...barely any colour, or ripples. Looked nice but not what I expected. Someone pointed out that occasionally, GA just doesn't colour up well so I just accepted that reasoning. (Have not synched my devices, sorry. I'll post photo shortly.)

    This was last July.

    Mine is a division from a mature one and is coming up year three now. Today's shot..

  • 9 years ago

    Here is my Guardian Angel still in a pot. Sure wish it looked like this for the whole season.

  • 9 years ago

    Mine has gotten bigger, the extra splash of white is from birds roosting overhead in the tree. LOL

    Also notice the scape in the middle.


  • 9 years ago

    Thank you, Jo! But look at yours this year. I see some beautiful color!

    Barb, yours has wonderful color and lovely waves.

  • 9 years ago

    I have a couple of small GA's and when they emerge in the spring they look like this (quite white in the center):

    So last year when I found a GA with four eyes at a decent price, I was thrilled and I bought it. Currently it looks like this:

    It didn't have the strong center white that my others do. I am surprised to see such variation between them. I will have to compare them later on in the season. I have lots of shade at my house, and it will be easy to limit the amount of sunlight to encourage the variegation in the leaves. Perhaps younger GA's display more white?

  • 9 years ago

    Ooohh, I so like the subtlety and softness of that colour combination in second photo too! NHL, I had the same reaction when viewing the first photo you posted last year, I think...that it reminds me of Golden Meadows! What crispness of white! Lovely.

Sponsored
Grow Landscapes
Average rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars8 Reviews
Planning Your Outdoor Space in Loundon County?