2022 Hostas S-Z

 We made it.  These are the final letters of my hosta alphabet.  I enjoyed taking the time to catalog our collection, and I think it will be a great reference in the coming years, as the plants grow into their mature forms/colors/shapes.

Seducer is a mystery to me.  I understand that young hostas normally do not display all of their mature characteristics when they are smaller, but this one seems to have a two tier leaf height thingy going on.  The first leaves that grew this year were taller, as expected for this variety, but the subsequent leaves that grew were substantially shorter.  Either way, I am looking forward to this one especially, since I have seen a mature one this year and it is a stunning plant.  I am really looking forward to that white line that appears between the yellow edge variegation and the green center.  C'mon Seducer, I am rooting for you.  Seducer was purchased at DeGroot's in Sarnia, ON.

Snake Eyes.  I love this plant.  I think it surpasses the other plants in its lineage, including Strip Tease (I lost to HVX this year).

However, my favorite thing about this plant is getting to meet its daddy; Andy Torvinen of Perennial Accents, in Royal Oak, MI.  I happened upon Andy through a FB Marketplace ad that somebody posted for a hosta that they were selling that they purchased from 'the hosta place in Royal Oak'.  Seeing that I only work 5 mins from Royal Oak, and hadn't heard of this place, I was pretty excited.  It did not disappoint.  Andy's gardens/yard are AMAZING.  Apart from the hostas, he has some other beautiful plants, including a stunning mature Skyland Oriental Spruce, and a really funky huge Ginkgo.  We had a brief discussion, as I was on my work lunch break, but I cannot wait to go back in the spring.  I purchased three plants from him, two of which are listed below.  If you ever have the opportunity to visit, I highly recommend.  You can find his info here: http://www.perennialaccentsofroyaloak.com/home.html

As our small city lot is filled with larger hostas and companions, the allure of smaller 'pocket fillers' gets stronger.  This is Spartan Arrow.  Spartan Arrow will grow into a really cool pointy, wavy clump, just big enough to fit in between some bigger ones.  Spartan Arrow was one of the beauties I found at Perennial Accents in Royal Oak, MI.

This is Stag's Leap.  This one is going to be a stunner.  Already showing the nice long pointy leaves with great coloration.  This was its second year in the ground, but still only one eye this year.  I am hoping that its new location, along with lots of water this summer will help it take a leap in year 3.

Stag's Leap was purchased at Hosta Choice Gardens in Appin, ON.

Sting has been on my want list for a while, so I was pretty happy to find it on clearance at Eckert's Garden Center in Warren, MI.

Sting is another white flame centered hosta, my kryptonite.

Talking Point was another one from Andy Torvinen at Perennial Accents of Royal Oak.  This is almost an un-hosta, with its super long pointy leaves.  Can't wait for this one to mature.  Not much info out on the interwebs about this one, I assume it is pretty new to the market.

Like a bad math problem, this hosta comes to us from:

 ((Mother of Dragons x OP) x OP)) x OP.

My friend Mary Lou in Petrolia, ON sold me this one from her garden.  I named it based on its lineage and my nerdy love of Game of Thrones.  Not sure how big this one will be, so it will be fun to watch it mature.

The King is truly majestic.  Even in its first year, it is one of my favorites, and placed accordingly in the yard for viewing.  This one comes to me from Hosta Choice Gardens in Appin, ON.  Glenn, the proprietor, was so kind as to realize that the one I ordered from him was kind of small so he graciously dug one up from his display gardens and split off this mature piece for me.  Glenn's place is a must-stop if you are in SW Ontario.  www.hostachoicegardens.com

Not much to say about Thumbelina.  It is suffering from first year summer uglies.  Next year, Thumbelina, next year.  I purchased Thumbelina from Bill Gibbons.

Similar to Seducer, Waterslide was a mysterious one this year.  It sent up multiple pips in the spring, but only two actually came to anything, and even then, it looks pretty sparse.  I have seen mature ones that are really striking, so hoping this one lives up to its potential.  Waterslide was purchased at DeGroot's.

Wheee! is just fun.  This huge first year planting was purchased at Bordine's in Rochester, MI.  There is something to be said for buying the biggest plant you can afford for a space.

Another Strip Tease sport:  White Bikini.  This one really struck us when we visited Murray Hosta Farms in Orchard Park, NY.  This one took the place of a wilting Diamond Lake in the front entrance garden.  It is doing pretty good for only being in the ground for a month.  Should grow into a nice medium/large size clump.

Vulcan is epic, and a great hosta to end on.  Has been quietly moving up the charts for my favorites in the yard.  Vulcan is happily doing great under the Puple Leaf Sandcherry in the front entrance garden.

Thanks for looking at the 2022 Hosta library at Greenman Gardens ;)

Listening to:  'Ju$t' by Run the Jewels