I added 47 hostas to my collection this year, down from 105 new ones last year. Maybe next year I'll only get the ones I can't resist!

Kathy

A month ago I was saying no more hostas for the year, then I went to a new garden center and came home with these:

Old Glory

Paradigm

Blue Ivory

Then, last week I told hubby I'm not buying any more hostas this year. Yesterday, Naylor Creek opened up their 2016 catalogues, and I ordered 11 hostas. Where I'm going to put them, I'll think of that next year when they arrive.

These are the ones I ordered:

Amalia, Candy Dish, Apple Candy, Dark Shadows, First Blush, Game Boy, June Spirit, Sagae, Snake Eyes, Victor, War Paint.

ConnieMay, you were the enabler when I picked up The Queen! I am also in the category "have no more room" but after you posted your photo of TQ, I ran across it at Bradford Greenhouses and just couldn't resist it! I anticipate this hosta to be a real stunner in a couple more years! ..thanks for the nudge :)

I have stayed away from nurseries for more than a month now but come spring...well, who knows?

Mk, great order you got there!

I can see why you couldn't resist The Queen. I swooned and nearly had a case of the vapors when I saw that picture. I may be in love.

Beauties, what a bunch of beautiful plants! I had one order placed in spring, and another one I almost put through. Then I kept thinking, "Seriously, where am I going to PUT these?" I really don't enjoy growing plants in pots too much, personally speaking, so I don't do that. Believe it or not, I cancelled the order I placed, and never placed the second one. It was about 25 plants total. I bought one hosta this season, a nice-looking young H. 'Moonlight Sonata' I discovered at a local nursery. Will create some room for more this offseason. That's the plan, anyway. I thoroughly enjoyed watching my purchases from previous seasons working their way to maturity, though : )

Naylor Creek already????? They used to come out around Xmas, then Thanksgiving, and how it's only early October. Oh Dear, oh dear. Nothing local around these parts, so I do mail-order.

Don't worry Don...a bunch will die anyway over winter. The new little ones don't take up much room, really...just tuck them in. ;-)

-Babka

Nista - it's good to know you'll have room for the duplicates!

Zkathy - how about pics of your top 10 from this season.

mkpearse - looks like you found a great new nursery. Those are really nice sized plants...look like divisions from mature hostas.

Josephine - are you done for the season? The nurseries get new varieties in each fall and I've made some great finds at this time of year...although I now find and mostly leave them behind - but not before loading them onto my cart, walking them around the hosta section then putting them back.

Popmama - my exact reaction when I saw TQ. Lol

Don - you're so strong! I am going to try hard to follow your example next season.

Nice streaked sport of Praying Hands. Curly Fries is one I still want.

mkpearse, those are some good sized plants to start out with.

Don, you showed incredible self control this season.

Last year I didn't get any new hostas, but this year I figured out a way to squeeze in 17 new ones.

After seeing Mocc's Snake Eyes, I gave in to this one...

Remember Me

Poor Stirfry went in right before a hail storm. I left it like this hoping it had enough green to encourage some good root growth. It might need to move farther from Crowned Imperial. ...told you I was squeezing them in, lol.

Well, there were a few unplanned purchases.

Land some mini that a got at the farmers market two weeks ago that I can't even remember it's name right now.

No tag on it, anyone recognize it?

Kathy

Haha, I went a little crazy at our fall hosta club auction. I mean, it was helping raise money for the club! I brought home Thunderbolt (3 huge eyes even though I just bought another this spring), Lakeside Coal Miner, Devil's Advocate, and American Hero. Oops, indeed, I still need to plant the last three.

Plus I got a bunch of Lancifolia from Freecycle to still plant. The bunnies at mine in back down to the ground again.

I'm with Don and am enjoying the fruits of what I planted 3 years ago.I really don't have any more room.Was moving some around at the end of summer and today I was trying to figure out what to do with Sum and Substance before it becomes unmanageable. I have a lot of the big ones and am wondering if in time I can get into the back yard! I have been looking at the neighbors yard.(For expansion purposes)

Kathy- is your noid Mighty Mouse per chance?

I'm with Don & Stoc. Coveting creates cramming and detracts from my own enjoyment of the space. Just one man's opinion. Besides, I crammed enough conifers to create a conundrum I consider myself cured. ;-)

tj

I am going to try harder to resist temptation next year.

sandyslopes - I hope my snake eyes looks like yours next year - you got a nice plant. I'm going to have to look up what stir fry should look like - poor thing.

ZKathy - I'd love to get Firefox Palm Sunday - it's been on my wish / cheat list for years.

How about some pics of your loot Eleven!

I agree with Mighty Mouse - looks like mine zKathy.

Nice streaked sport of Praying Hands. Curly Fries is one I still want.

Sandy, 'Curly Fries' is Hosta of the Year for 2016, so it should be in plentiful supply and at a reasonable price next season..

Pieter

Pieter, I'm hoping I can find Curly Fries at one of my local nurseries this coming spring, unless I break down and mail order over the winter. It's a small so I should be able to find a spot for it. I'll be watching the alphabet for smalls this year.

Yes, Mighty Mouse was it! Thanks.

ConnieMay, a STREAKED Praying Hands? What a supreme find!

Hostanista, LOL....I LOVE that graphic. They need to make that a magnet so I can stick it on my fridge.

zkathy, I added 52 this year but between losses and tosses gained only 37. And I started out SO determined to only plant 20 at the most!

MK, I got First Blush from Naylor early this year and it has REALLY held onto its blue. You'll really like this one. Can't believe you already have next year's order in!

Very impressed by those numbers hostatakeover! How about a few pics? How many plants do you have in your collection now?

I'm going to try and post more than one picture at a time in this post, so we'll see how this works. I'm embarrassed by my garden this year because I expanded the border and haven't filled in the new, empty space; I've left a lot of space between Hostas; I'm very lax in planting companions because I'd rather expend my energy planting Hostas; and lastly, most of the mulch has disappeared and I need to haul in a massive truckload to replace (where does it go?).

Hmmm.....the last one didn't post so I'll try again.

Beautiful.

Hostatakeover, what a big, beautiful space you have. I bet that does take a lot of mulch. 180 hostas is a pretty good sized collection. Leaving room for them to grow is good planning. If you ever want companion plants you have room, but hostas come first!

Thank you, Lesley.

Thank you, Sandy. How kind of you to say that.

Never posted pics of the garden itself before because it's so unimaginative. I should have put more planning into it before I began, but years ago I just thought I'd plant a few things so I'd have something to look at on that side of the house. Now, six years after I began, I have to make do with my mistakes. It'll look better once I finish filling in the empty spaces and add a lot of companions. And mulch!

You're being too hard on your gardens, and thanks for reminding me that I do the same sometimes. (I see every %&#%&! blade of grass that shouldn't be there. :) Looking at your photos, the word unimaginative would never come to mind. Your woodland setting is so pretty and serene.

If you find plants that speak to you, you'll find a way to add some in, but there's nothing wrong with a sea of hostas. That will also look fantastic! I can picture them growing bigger, spreading out those leaves, and all the hosta flowers attracting lots of hummingbirds.

We all create something unique with the space we have, and yours is looking pretty good!

Great way of looking at it, Sandy. Thank you!

hostatakeover - thank you for posting pics of your beautiful woodland setting...the curve of the garden makes it look like a hosta river.

At 180 varieties you have about double what I have but sooo much more space for them to mature.

Agreed... they all look healthy and happy... and you have some garden art, birdbath, etc., that all adds. Very pretty, and definitely serene.

ConnieMay, a hosta river! I like that. It slopes downward, too, so I can see what you mean.

Windymess, thank you kindly. It is definitely serene. When I'm out there working, my favorite moments are when the Wood Thrush joins in the songbird chorus.

Let's review the replay tape, Don to see if that was your "only" hosta purchase.

That was it for the 2015 season. That single hosta. : )

Why? For the love of peat, WHY?????

Because I'd rather enjoy the plants I have now, looking great and relatively uncrowded, than get a bunch more and have them smashed together looking like, in my opinion, crap. I'm out of space. Over the last three seasons, I spaced them out to give them room to grow, and I like that look just fine. I'll make some more room for hosta in the offseason, then I'll get some more. Just my personal opinion.

: )

I noticed that I could buy a division of two interesting plants for which seeds were available at the recent auction at about twice the price of the seeds, and therefore bought the plants for May 2016 delivery.

Well, I bought way too many this year and I am still trying to get them into the ground. Everyday I get out there and find space for two or three. Thankfully it was 80 today - in November that is crazy warm for us in Windsor, Ontario. I will have to store the rest in the shed over the winter. Next year I may have to do like Jon - one hosta for the season. I suspect I will have to stay off this forum too. Enablers all of you!!! Why do you have to post such beautiful photos of your hosta?

Roger that, Don. I was just having fun with you. Your Hostas look fantastic and they'll thank you for the elbow room. I did the same for mine, but I left TOO much space so now I'm slowly filling it in a bit more. They just don't seem to grow as big as expected in this climate.

80 in Windsor, Ontario?! You're way warmer than the Ozarks of Missouri, Barb, and we've had an unusually warm Fall so far. Are any of your Hostas so oblivious to the date that they're blooming?

I know you were, Hostatakeover. Believe me, it was hard to get out of pure acquisition mode with these plants. But, taking a step back, planning where to make room, and actually prepping everything before I buy will serve my yard well in appearance, I think. Your property looks great, I'm definitely envious of your space : )

When you all look really hard you can always find space for more hostas, so don't give up buying more. A few weeks ago I found an area where grass was not growing well due to roots of a pine. So I cut those roots, mulched the place well and planted 20 more hostas with amendments there. You see, it's easy, only look harder.

3 years ago i looked into the woody part in the back of my property. Guess what? Yes, there are no longer wild woods and bushes, but rhododendrons and a lot of hostas. That was easy too. My birthday is coming, so I gave myself a treat, yes, hosta seeds and plants. Now Xmas is coming in a few weeks, so I am thinking....

The most important way to stay a hostaholic is not to listen to those 'reasonable' people, but follow this :

Always buy the hostas first, then after a few weeks later start looking for space. You will always find places to plant them! LOL! Did you believe that?

Honestly, I am only kidding.

Like Don, I favor restraint. I tend to think aesthetically. My garden is small, but even if I had a lot of space I wouldn't cram in so many hostas for a hodgepodge look. That's just my style of gardening and doesn't suit everyone.

LOL Bernd! : )

Poor me - half of me thinks like Donna, the other half like Bernd! And the two of me are always bumping heads, lol! But.....I come home with more hostas... thinking "well, I can always move to more land, can't I?"

Don, I like your approach. I will have to do that next year. I too prefer a less crowded look. Next spring I will just have to dig up the old Undulatas and share or somehow divest myself of them to make room for the new ones not yet in the ground. Then just be happy maintaining everything.

I will definitely have to use this kind of restraint next spring... I'm in the process of expanding beds/creating new beds -- dangerous territory! And I have a long list of desired hostas and companions, based on all of you enablers out there and your great pictures and advice!