What I learned this summer is the Angels (Blue, Guardian and Earth) do not like growing in afternoon sun. I have read Blue Angel is sun tolerant but I did not find this out as true. I ended up moving these three and filling the area in with hopefully more sun tolerant hostas. I am still looking for an ornamental tree for this garden. I wanted a Japanese Maple but was told it would need more protection then this spot. So I am still looking. This area receives sun from Noon till late day.

the banana bread recipe gave me an idea..how about zucchini bread? Lol..

as gardengoon said..I’ve crowded plants too..🙁

I‘ll be moving some hosta this summer..

y’all know about my mistake planting Clausa..I planted it next to some of my favorite hosta..Clausa grew all around them with no end in sight..if I could turn back time..Clausa would go in a large open space, a confined space with hardscape boundaries or a container..

for fun..my surprise lilies yesterday..I saw a yellow tip..realized I put too much leaf litter in that area last fall..they were completely covered so I removed some debris..

the sad thing is we have temperatures in the teens coming..I can’t win..what’s best?..buried alive?..or exposed to frost?..

I tell myself 'not' to overcrowd and move or divide those that are already overcrowded but seldom do.

Not to wait so long before I start spraying deer/rabbit repellent and be more diligent with it throughout the year.

Not to spray/drench amonia solution after plants have fully leafed out. Maybe it was on a hot sunny day or affects thin leaf plants more.

Fire Island- 5/15 before spray

5/27 - after spray - I think where the solutiion puddled

6/13 doesn't show real good but the white/burn spots fell away leaving holes and ragged edges.

Paula, that Jesse James s hilarious!!

Beth, I have thought about moving a couple of Blue Angel eyes to sun. I had no idea Blue Angel was sun tolerant until I started looking for sun tolerant hostas for a spot in my sun bed. I was surprised to see it on the list. Perhaps I will leave all eyes where they are….. for an ornamental tree—-how about a hydrangea tree???? They take sun all day, provide shade and are beautiful??

Gardengoon, I am curious about your growing zone. If you are a lower zone than Beth, maybe that’s why your BA tolerates the sun better. I love your pictures of crowed plants…. I have already bought 17 (?) hostas because I want a fuller look in the garden. I often feel that my beds look bare….lolo

Ann, I sure learned from you about the dangers of Clausa!!! For those lilies, I would probably put some leaves back on them if it’s possible and easy….otherwise let mom nature do her thing.

Old_dirt, I accidentally mixed my ammonia solution incorrectly last spring and had the same burning and holes you did! Lolololo Won’t do that again.

debra

i love the crowded beds. when they mature you never have to weed or renew that ugly mulch.

The textures and colors close together are more striking.

latest lesson is diploid sun tolerant hosta are not heat and sun tolerant. the sun tolerants have terrible transpiration rates and burn like crazy with high temps and direct sun.

on the other hand you can reverse engineer the latest trends in field grown hosta, forbidden fruit and tea at bettys are tets that were mass produced and sold last year.

clausa works for me as a ground cover, this bed keeps getting larger around the tree. it is over 10 years old. give it room to grow. i mow the path around it.

when it flowers it is nice, nice, nice.

Here are some lessons I learned:

don’t get your ammonia mixture wrong

Not all sun tolerant hosta can tolerate sun in my yard the first year. They have to adjust. And sometimes need protection, umbrella or other.

Finally, not all sun tolerant hostas tolerate the same amount. After three years, Sagae was just burning too badly, so I had to move it. Liberty, next to it does better. Because of corner of the porch, the spot Sagae was in received an extended amount of sun.

debra

Debra- i am in zone 5 midcoast maine probably closer to a 6 it only got to 20 below once briefly and seldom over 90 also i have little real shade so everything gets alot of sun !

hosta_maker..I like hosta close together but not smashing each other..hard to get it perfect..

that’s great that your Clausa aren’t a problem..I don’t have your knowledge..goofed when I planted mine..

I put a few in 2 areas in back where they can spread..

I am learning the zone 7b is a zone of contradictions. Yes, hostas and many plants eagerly grow here and quickly die here. I simply cannot continue to protect plants so poorly suited to this zone. They will survive the next 2 months of frosts or die trying. Today, 2/16/23 (or February 2023 in my hosta garden): hosta Coconut Custard, Hosta Teaspoon, variegated hydrangea, and maple tree leafing out in the false spring.

utog..are you saying your hosta would be better off to stay dormant longer?..my hosta come up later than yours..I have spring frosts too..I wonder if everyone does?..

Yes, I think that they would fare far better it they stayed dormant longer. The freeze damage weakens them and leaves them prone to disease when the spring really comes. The Halcyon lineage does best for me as it breaks dormancy late. I think all of my Halcyon lineage plants have grown surprisingly well.

yes..it’s sad when fresh perfect leaves freeze and turn to mush..

the same issue in a way..my few underperforming macrophylla hydrangeas have buds at the tips of the stems that are already dead and dry..they’re freeze dried!..I’ll be cutting them off someday..

I was surprised to learn that someone here on Gardenweb from Georgia puts his houseplants out when I do..

I assumed he’d be a month ahead of me..but he says their nights are still too cold..

Hosta_maker, how do we tell diploid from tet sun tolerant hostas?

debra

deb

most hosta buyers don't and won't do the research. i get that, as a hybridizer i spend alot of time picking apart lineage and genetic plusses and minuses.

don rawson has done us all a big favor by making the hosta lists, so under sun tolerant you can find pauls glory, orange marmalade etc.

http://www.hostalists.org/hosta_list_sth.php

if you go to the library and look up forbidden fruit you can click on hugo phillips data, another great service.

https://www.myhostas.be/db/view/Forbidden+Fruit

there you can see forbidden fruit is a sport of orange marmalade.

down a little further is ploidy, you can see 4-4-4, 4 stands for tetraploid in that layer of the hosta. ...a diploid will be 2-2-2

like i said, most people don't want to get that far into it. some of us hosta heads have alot of time on our hands in winter.

I thank you for that info! I always look at the sun tolerant list. Keep a copy next to me when looking to buy. Now I understand those numbers and will incorporate that into my searches as well. Thank you for always taking the time to share your knowledge!!

debra

UTOG, that early rising/late freeze is the most pressing problem in zone 7. I think I'm now considered 7b (used to be 8a). At this point, I don't think I'll ever go back to 100 potted hosta for that reason. I still get that little flutter when I look at my old photos, though. So, I won't say, "never".

bkay

Paula lol travel the world until I run out of money!

Crowding is an issue. I space carefully but sometimes they exceed their given dimensions.

Smash Hit got much larger than expected and Itsy Bitsy Spider is completely covered on the left between SH & Zebra Stripes. Goober on the right is getting squished and this is still early season. I must rescue IBS before it is no more.

is this right?..didn’t Esther post in the alphabet?..

Laurie..I read tags and sometimes measure..we had a wooden yardstick that cracked..my husband used the mitre saw and cut it into 2 smaller easy to use pieces..

and my hosta are still crowded..

Yes Ann. Esther normally does. She has been posting just not in the alphabet. She is probably busy with projects at her new house.

Most tags just give a general idea or worse yet a generic 24-36". I always check myhostas.be plus the Hostapedia by Mark Zilis. I wish he would do an addendum since so many new intros have been added. I love my books but they get outdated quickly. I hope your lilies are okay. Even here in the frigid north I have foliage of Dicentra cucullaria and Monarda showing in a sheltered corner against a foundation.

utog I feel for you.

Debra I am sure you will never make that mistake again.

old_dirt it is beyond a pain and costly but I spray with Bobbex every 2 wks. I have herds of deer that will eat them to nubs. I almost think rabbit damage is worse. Why cut foliage you don' eat. Ugh.

Peren, you are absolutely correct!!

debra

Even the Halcyon lineage is pipping (first photo is Silver Shadow). Sigh. Rainbow’s End, Raspberry Sundae, and Teaspoon on 2/26/23. The hostas in the ground are pipping, too. Spartacus has long green pips today. I think I have about 100 hostas in full pips already with over 6 weeks to go until last frost. No amount of mulch or tarps can save them now. Here’s hoping for mild weather.

utog here's hoping the weather cooperates!