The one that springs to mind is a Seducer - purchased back in 2013 as a strong two-eyed plant. It fared well the first year, but was horribly ugly the next, with terrible drawstringing. I placed it at the back of my garden largely out of sight. This year, the same. Consequently, I passed it onto a friend who has it planted in soil now. We'll see if that makes a difference. I might end up with it back again!

BC

My Lakeside Dragonfly has been so pretty I've been wanting to take a picture to show everyone. And I LOVE my Seducer! (Don't take that wrong.) Please, someone, say yours is the best you've ever had. This is its first season with me and it's stunning!

Kathy

Sum Cup-o-Joe. Meh, meh, meh.

Kathy - please post pics of Lakeside Dragonfly as it looks today. I need encouragement. The white edges are holey for me. It's not that my other hostas are not damaged - they just don't show it so much. I bet BC would love to see your Seducer as well.

Don I had to look up Sum Cup-o-Joe. It looks like it would be great as a mature plant.

Ivory Coast.....if it doesn't grow next year, it's on the chopping block.

Planted Frost Giant (with 2 eyes) last fall. Only one eye came up true to type. Not impressed.

Cool as a Cucumber. The edges began drying up soon after purchasing, and now it looks even worse. Well, at least I have a guarantee for one year so if it dies, I'll get my money back. But it probably won't die. Better if it did. I just don't think it's going to get better---just a gut feeling. Too bad we can't swap with each other and see if we can get different results!

Actually, I'll be sending my 'Sum Cup-o-Joe' to a friend of mine in Eastern N.Y. It's growing OK, I just don't much care for it, and a hosta more to my liking will better serve the space it'll create. : )

ConnieMay, even though it's not my LDragonfly you want to see, I can't help it ... I'm posting a pic of mine for you too. I've just returned from being away for a week, took a walk around to see the toll sun damage and lack of watering took ... I shot some pics, and remembered reading your post late last night... I so agree with zKathy's comments... mine is new this year but I already love it.

taken after nine this morning

Here's Seducer, LS Dragonfly and Cool As A Cucumber taken this morning.

Not letting me post any pictures for some reason.

kathy

Do try again Kathy. I would especially like to see your Seducer and Cool as a Cucumber.

Wow Josephine - are all of your hostas this free from insect damage? Most of mine have damage, but not all show it to the same degree.

Hi Kathy - I hope you will try again.

Thanks, ConnieMay! Yes, all the potted ones are in great shape for this time of year....can't believe my luck, lol!

Kathy, it can be frustrating trying to post pics sometimes. I've had to wait days at one point but finally succeeded. Looking forward to your photos!

I agree with Linnea. Lakeside Cupcake is the one I regret. I saw it on a garden tour and loved it but those tours are always in June. Lesson learned. What is the point of a white center if it starts to go brown in July? I moved it this summer. If it doesn't improve it will be donated - or composted.

Here's my Lakeside Cupcake (year 3), pic taken today.The blotches on the bottom leaves are dirt after today's rainfall. It gets no direct sunlight and has a northern exposure. Someone on GW suggested sprinkling epsom salts around white centered hostas in spring...did that this spring for the first time...must have helped. It also gets water daily. Notice that the edges on the 4 Cameo are crisping though. Think I will try the salts on my white edged ones as well next year.

The edges on my Lakeside Dragonfly are ratty though. It's growing better in its new sunnier location but is probably getting too much direct sunlight now.

What do you think the epsom salts does? I have 2 near each other, one gets no direct sun, the other a little dappled morning sun. They both look the same: terrible. The whites so holey your could read through them. And I don't have slugs (bugs, yes, especially this year: but not slugs).

Lakeside Dragonfly was beautiful while blooming and I don't have a pic from then, but it's not that bad even with a faded scape.

in another post I said Cool as a Cucumber was a slug magnet but looking at it now it's not that bad.

Seducer is still in a pot. I got my fall order of hostas planted, then said I would not touch shovel to dirt until my irrigation system was complete. It's been three weeks now and I'm so wanting to plant this baby. Maybe today I'll finish the system and I can get Seducer in the ground.

Kathy

Linnea,

This is what I found at Wikipedia about plant nutrition and epsom salts/magnesium:

Magnesium (Mg) deficiency is a detrimental plant disorder that occurs most often in strongly acidic, light, sandy soils, where magnesium can be easily leached away. Magnesium is an essential macro nutrient found from 0.2-0.4% dry matter and is necessary for normal plant growth.[1]

A plant with Magnesium deficiency

Excess potassium, generally due to fertilizers, further aggravates the stress from the magnesium deficiency,[2] as does aluminium toxicity.[3]

Magnesium has an important role in photosynthesis because it forms the central atom of chlorophyll.[1] Therefore, without sufficient amounts of magnesium, plants begin to degrade the chlorophyll in the old leaves. This causes the main symptom of magnesium deficiency, chlorosis, or yellowing between leaf veins, which stay green, giving the leaves a marbled appearance. Due to magnesium’s mobile nature, the plant will first break down chlorophyll in older leaves and transport the Mg to younger leaves which have greater photosynthetic needs. Therefore, the first sign of magnesium deficiency is the chlorosis of old leaves which progresses to the young leaves as the deficiency continues.[4] Magnesium also is a necessary activator for many critical enzymes, including ribulosbiphosphate carboxylase (RuBisCO) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC), both essential enzymes in carbon fixation. Thus low amounts of Mg lead to a decrease in photosynthetic and enzymatic activity within the plants. Magnesium is also crucial in stabilizing ribosome structures, hence, a lack of magnesium causesdepolymerization of ribosomes leading to pre-mature aging of the plant.[1] After prolonged magnesium deficiency, necrosis and dropping of older leaves occurs. Plants deficient in magnesium also produce smaller, woodier fruits.

Magnesium deficiency may be confused with zinc or chlorine deficiencies, viruses, or natural aging since all have similar symptoms. Adding Epsom salts (as a solution of 25 grams per liter or 4 oz per gal) or crushed dolomitic limestone to the soil can rectify magnesium deficiencies. For a more organic solution, applying home-made compost mulch can prevent leaching during excessive rainfall and provide plants with sufficient amounts of nutrients, including magnesium.[5]

Thanks! I wonder if it would be that here, though. I have clay soil (around the Chicago area, but 30 miles west of the lake), and local lore says it is alkaline.

Thanks for posting your photos Kathy. I especially wanted to see your Cool as a Cucumber. Now after seeing it, I would say that yours looks great compared to mine! It's too dark now, but I will get a picture tomorrow to post.

Thanks Irawon for the info regarding epsom salts. I was told a couple of years ago to use epsom salts on a hosta of mine that suffered from chlorosis. I had forgotten all about it. Great to get the info.

our L.S. Dragonfly. was fine b4 hail storm.

Your Lakeside Dragonfly is doing so well hostahillbilly! How old is it? We experienced hail twice this year so many of my hosta are looking a bit sad. But that's no excuse for CC to look as bad as this . . .

That Lakeside Dragonfly is 6 years old.

I would rather have left Appletini at the hosta place:

Kiwi Black Magic too, but I refuse to take a pic of that one.

I could do without Ginkgo Craig. I propogated it all over my early garden looking for a spot it would like. It doesn't like anyplace.

kathy

Uh, oh! Appletini is on my short list to pick up at an out of state nursery next week. The golden leaves seen on a google search had me wanting it. Is the green color and leaf damage I see on yours typical?

Linnea, I don't know about typical. I brought mine home at the end of June. It was a very full plant, stuffed with leaves. Since planting, the leaves have been doing THAT. I don't know if it's from the stress of being babied in a pot then going in the ground here?

The color will probably be different if planted in some sun, as this is a shady bed. I'm thinking about moving it up front to the edge of a bed where I just removed a tree.

I have a 5 year old Independence that isn't photo worthy. If it doesn't do anything next year, I'm kicking it to the curb.

Three years ago, I had to have Cliffords Stingray. It was such a cute little plant.

Still is. Looks exactly like it looked the day I bought it. Doesn't die, doesn't grow. If I didn't know better I would think it was an artificial plant. Next spring if it looks the same, it is going in the trash. Waste of money.

I am going to be ruthless next spring. All the plants I have been babying are on their way out...Life is too short. I tend to get caught up trying to nurse things along, and that's just not fun.

Eleven I think you will really like Appletini once you have moved it.

linnea Appletini is a wonderful little hosta and you really
should get it. I have a group of 3 in dappled shade. One got a
bit swamped by a neighbouring plant and it was the colour of Elevens,
the other two are brighter yellow - they are very bright in spring.
The scapes and flowers add to the beauty of this one.

Thanks, peren.all! I'll keep such a location in mind...I won't put it in dense shade.