I like to know the name so I don't keep buying the same thing. I'm a collector. I would have bought 15 Ann Kulpas last year if I didn't know the name. Plus I can look up size, lighting and performance of the Hosta. Stuff you may already be aware of for yours. Hard to tell the size of yours, but some ideas for ID from top left across then down: Fortunei albomarginata, ?so many like this one?, Undulata univittata, Hanky Panky, Golden Tiara, Paul's Glory, Twilight?(many like this), ???, Touch of Class.

Thank you, Steve! I knew someone would have a good reason that hadn't occured - like a certain person I know who never met a clematis she didn't like, knowing the names keeps you from having multiples. (Thankfully, running out of trellises keeps my clematis habit in check.) If I had accumulated my hostas in any normal fashion, that probably would have occurred to me. Some of these I actually pulled out of the garbage. (They had posted them on Craigslist, but it was a "get them before garbage pick up" type post.)

Also, thank you for all of the possible IDs! I feel like I would be way ahead of the game already if I decide to actually ID everything! Size should have occurred to me as a determining factor. For example, the leaves on the bottom middle hosta look smallest in the photo, but in reality they are all a hands breadth in width this early in the year. It's easily my biggest kind right now, and what people giving away hostas in my area usually call "the big boring green ones". I say right now, because I did get a lovely birthday gift of an Empress Wu and made note of her name, and I believe once established, she's meant to be larger. The only other ones I had names for before you went through and gave suggestions were two Abiqua Drinking Gourd I didn't put in the picture because I actually bought them last spring, and again noted the name. I definitely think there's some Paul's Glory in my garden because I feel like that was one of my clearance purchases. Thanks for the great head start!

there is also the snob factor ... lol ..

fyi .. for future IDs... no more than 2 per post .. its just easier all around.. and if you can include a scale on a leaf.. it usually helps ... anything we might recognize ...

if i cared to argue about any of the suggested names.. frankly.. i am not going to print out your photos.. write steves name on them.. blah.. blah.. blah ...

plz do not take offense .. just fyi ...

come back often ... we will enable you ...

ken

Thank you, Ken! I included the picture because I am a visual learner, and posts with pictures tend to get noticed, but I was pleasantly surprised that Steve was willing to attempt ID from those little shots. If I decide to go through them all, I will heed your advice, limit the photos, and provide scale. But then I'd have to figure out plant markers that don't disappear until I got the hang of visually identifying them. Then again, a few years ago, I couldn't figure out how people knew which seedlings coming up in their garden were plants and which were weeds, and now I can spot most of mine from the first true leaf, so I can probably get the hang of hostas if I decide to go the "snob" route, lol!

Granted, I won't have anything to be snobby about, since they're 90% free...

#2 Fortunei Aureomarginata?

@Jenn, you are looking for a way to label your plants. There is a good way to do that inexpensively and almost permanently. Take an unused set of miniblinds, remove the strings, then cut the individual blinds into 6" strips. Use a pencil, not a pen, to write the name of a plant on a strip. Stick the strip into the ground on the north side of the plant (or south side, or east side ... just be consistent throughout your garden so later you'll know which strip goes with each plant). Pencil doesn't fade over time, as does most ink. And the plastic strips won't decompose.

When they are young, they look very different (more elongated leaves, or fewer "bumples". The shape of the leaves and the size changes as they age, so it is very difficult to tell. It takes 3-5 years for them to show their true color/shape/size. Good plan to write down where you got it and when and from whom. Then they often sport or throw out solid leaves. Unless you have been watching them closely you won't know. The width of a margin makes a difference.

I used to get anal over this and kept precise records. Now I just enjoy them. Your pick.

-Babka

I try to keep track of their names. For one, like Steve, I don’t want to buy multiples. There is only so much room and I want

to collect as many as I can.

It also helps in where I choose to plant them. The large and giants need to go certain places and the smalls near flagstones need to stay relatively small.

I also like to place solids near variegateds so it’s pretty much all about looks, not care. And I try to keep blues in shadier areas so they don’t lose their blue as fast.

I think Paul's Glory may be 2nd row, number 3 (L to R). Your pictures are pretty and you make a good point about size/perspective. When I first started to get into hostas about 5 years ago, I had not realized that there was such a range of sizes. Let's just say that Sagae is not a small plant. It is like buying a puppy and being surprised when it becomes a 90 lb Labrador retriever. If you ever get into Hosta collecting, it is good to keep the mature size and form in mind to avoid buyer's remorse.

I don't think any of @Jenn's noids upthread are Paul's Glory. Below are mine. Paul's Glory has wide yellow centers and dark green rims, with ever-so-slight puckering.

I love it that this plant produces some leaves with all green on one side and with yellow on the other side. It's so weird that nature will allow this asymmetry. My Rainforest Sunrises do this too with some leaves.

Wouldn't it be great if a cultivar would reliably do this with every leaf. I'd put it in my garden in a prominent spot. I don't think I'd be the only one.

Thanks all! I definitely appreciate all of the information. I could see why paying attention to the names of anything new I plant will absolutely help with placement. Hopefully now that the shady garden is somewhat filled in, I can be a bit more selective.

I had been looking for mini-blinds at garage sales last summer because the few markers I have that have lasted are from a garden friend's backyard sale, and that's the method she uses to mark plants! Great advice.

The photo of Paul's Glory Liquidfeet posted is gorgeous - I can see why you'd want to collect such pretty specimens! I love the bright centers. I also think the miniature ones are adorable, but haven't really gotten any of those yet - if I were to start collecting, I imagine that's where I'd head first.

I did notice that the appearance of my new hostas really changes over subsequent years. They look very different with one or two leaves than when they are large established clumps.

Now I'm just a touch worried because they're spread out over a quite large backyard garden, and there's not even close to enough lightweight sheets in my house to attempt protection if tonight's temps really do hit 31. I had quite a few leaves get frosted a couple weeks ago, but they had bounced back so nicely. Nature is being nasty in 2020!

Paul's Glory doesn't get that yellow until later in the season (if at all) here for me. It starts out looking almost monotone. Here is mine from two days ago and then last August. Yeah, it doesn't get much sun. Exposure can make such a difference too. I also thought Jenn's plant could be Brother Stefan or Paradigm, but I went with the most common one.

I shall hold out hope - that really is a beautiful hosta! And if none of mine look like that eventually, I now know a name to go looking for!

Below are my Brother Stephans. The top one of this bunch, which you can see if you click on the photo, is not Brother Stephan, but the leaves look exactly the same. It blooms at a different time, so maybe it's a Paradigm, not sure. I remember getting it from a guy who sold it very cheaply since he had no idea what it was. Steve Duggins, I'm surprised that hostas with the same ID can look so different because of where they grow. I didn't know that. I'm jealous for the puckering you have on your Paul's Glorys.

These Brother Stephans and my Paul's Glorys are all in full shade, in a small side garden next to my house. My chosen color scheme for that garden's foliage is dark, dark green leaves and yellow leaves. I avoid white and cream on any hosta leaves. These two hostas that we are discussing are perfect for what I want that garden to do.

I've tried to stick to the plan, but it's been difficult. My hostas in that garden are dark green and/or yellow/chartreuse, or both. I've needed to put other things in for contrast in height and texture. It hasn't been so easy to keep those non-hosta plants on message. My neighbor keeps giving me free yellow-green leafed astilbes and I can't resist free plants.

I’m like many others here who are collectors so I want names. Haha!! Well, I thought #1 was undulata Albomarginata, #3Night Before Christmas, #4 Hanky Panky and #5 Golden Tiara. I truly have no idea about the others. I may have them, but mine are not up yet to compare. Go back to December and take a look at the alphabet, started 26th. You’ll see lots of photos beginning with A, B ,c and so on and you may find some of your hostas. It’s easier then paging through the library’s photos. Good luck.

Btw, as Babka says it’s best to write stuff down. It can be as simple as a roughly drawn map, like I have. It provides guidance so I remember what’s where when it’s coming up. I also use plastic markers to put the names with the plants—-first, it helps me remember the name every time I see it and also, it’s the teacher in me, the Retired one that is. :-)

My Paul's Glory today. Have fun discovering your Hostas names. Gardening is fun, overall.

LF - Paul's Glory was one of the first ones I planted here in 2016 and I started with a big pot crammed full (on sale of course). It may have even been August 2015. Memory isn't what it used to be (its cheaper). I just remember being really excited about being able to grow Hosta after failing at it in Southern California. Yours will get there soon.

DJ - Those are good guesses too and equally as likely as mine

Thanks all! Perhaps I will make hosta ID a summer project. I do have a very detailed spreadsheet of notes on the rest of my garden, so adding the proper hosta names is probably for the best. I will definitely look through the alphabet once all my leaves are completely unfurled for the year and report back when I get stuck. I appreciate the encouragement!

Also Jenn, throughout the summer here and there, ask for an individual ID on a hosta. Couple pics of one plant with something to compare it to, like a ruler or soda can.....things everybody knows the size of. As your go through the summer, also note when your plants bloom, the color of the flower and if it is fragrant. These all help in identifying hostas.

Also, when the alphabet starts in late December, eventually there will be a NOID category, “Not Otherwise IDentified.” We help each other out in that category too.

debra

I know some of my hosta , Use to know all their names , moved them so records were wrong. I now just enjoy and if I am really needing to know the names , I just ask Myrle she knows my hosta better then I do. I had to quit buying from lack of room and energy to have more. I am now enjoying the beauty of each .

Thank you! I tried to start researching just my favorite and ran into a wall almost immediately. There are SO MANY hostas! Perhaps my original strategy was wiser...

Since you don't have many, I would suggest you ID them now, before you acquire more. I don't think you will be able to ID them through searches, unless of course, you have more patience than I do. Everyone here likes to play the ID game, so give it a shot.

To get a good ID, take your photo when they are fully unfurled. Take another a month or so later, so that you catch those centers or margins that come up yellow and fade to white. Take photos of the back side of the leaf. Take a close up of the leaf. Also get a close up and a far shot of the flowers.

Getting a correct ID is sometimes difficult as there are so many different varieties of hosta. To get in the ballpark, you need to know how many vein pairs your mature plants have. What color is the back? Are the leaves ruffled? Are they round, or pointed? Is it upright or cascading? Do the flowers have fragrance? Are the flowers white, pale lavender or lavender? How are they shaped?

There are several references. One is the hostalibrary.org which has lots of information about hosta growing, diseases, history as well as a very extensive collection of photos. Another is the website myhostas.be, which gives you all the information on size, leaf shape, flower color, etc. There is generally a link on the hostalibrary.org page that will take you to the myhostas.be page for that hosta. Then, there is the hostaregistrar.org website, which is the official place to get information on a hosta. Be aware that not all hosta that are registered or are represented in the hostalibrary are really available.

It will be a whole lot easier to get the photos and post them here. I used to have about a 100 hosta (lost most to a freak disease problem). If someone posted a photo of a hosta I had, I almost always recognized it. I'd go out and look at it and I could tell if it matched the one that was posted. That's why coming here for help is a lot easier. Once you get a suggestion, you can check it against the above references.

A lot of words here to hook you into hostadom. It's a great hobby.

bkay

I like knowing the names of my Hostas...but I acquired some unknown Hostas.

I've ended up focusing on 4 hosts as my favorites.

Some "big leaf blue Hostas: that grew as a seedlings from my sister-in-laws unknown Hosta is named after her as "Giant Jody" LOL...and another Hosta growing in many yards in my last very old neighborhood that neighbors apparently shared with each other in the past- named it "The Old Neighborhood Hostas".

I have two with official names- Sum and Substance and Francis Williams.

Wish I knew the names of those I gave names too.

Photo of a "Giant Jody" maybe really Empress Woo? just opening- leaves get as large as a foot and a half.

Anyone know the real name, let me know.

Gorgeous hosta Sue. Hope someone can ID it.

bkay2000, your info is great! I have visited the hostaregistrar.org site, but have never really understood how to use it. Can you give some pointers? It took me several times before I understood how to use the compare link. In fact it took awhile for me to explore the entire site and see all that it offers. I suggest others who haven’t explored the full front page of the HL do so. Lots of good info.

Lol Jenn! We actually will thank you for posting your NOIDs. We enjoy the opportunity and sometimes the challenge of IDs. I am okay at it but some people here are very good.