Can Spilt Milk take a lot of sun?

[redcrx]

I just got in a small Split Milk and was going to put it in a sunny location. I have Stained Glass and Gypsy Rose there already and they seem to love it. I have cooked a Gold Standard there - at least I thought it was a Gold Standard --> I moved it to a shady location and it is now brighter than all my other Gold Standards and has a thinner green edge - so it may not be a Gold Standard.

[supercat]

My Spilt Milk gets full sun for part of the day and has done quite well. I had a small amount of drying out along some of the "milk lines" last year, otherwise, no problems.

[redcrx]

Thanks.

This spot is the hottest in my garden - it's a southern exposure up against the house but it would get a lot of water - I just killed a Rhododendron in the same area.

[supercat]

This is a southern exposure against a fence. I usually have a soaker hose that runs along that line of hostas, so I must have taken this pic before I put the hoses out last year (which was late.)

[redcrx]

Thanks, it should work fine there.

[Kas]

But won't the blue burn off the leaves? I think something like a Sum & Substance would be better. I don't know. My Southern exposure is a three foot (if that big) path that seems to collect junk. Nobody sees it.

Kas

[jgh]

Spilt Milk is a blue with seiboldiana heritage... SM likes medium light... it is very slow in too much shade... and doesn't look that good if it gets direct sun... bright shade is best, as much light as possible without much direct sun... pretty much the wrong kind of hosta for lots of sun and for heat...

it might grow pretty well, especially as you said it will get lots of water - but I wouldn't expect it to look its best. It won't get its best blue, will kind of bleach out and not show the contrast with the white "milk" as much with lots of sun - kind of gets an off green with little contrast with the milk.

I'd pick something for this place that is more of a sun lover... anything in the Guacamole, Avacado, Holy Moley, Fried Green Tomatoes, Fried Bananas, Fragrant Bouquet, Sweet Innocence, plantaginea group will like the sun better and give you nice fragrant white flowers...

[Chris_W]

Hi,

I also think that Spilt Milk just looks better in more shade, though it sounds like it would do fine in sun with plenty of water.

[supercat]

I should note that the Spilt Milk above didn't originally get that much sun until our friendly neighborhood electric company came along and butchered the trees anywhere near the power lines. I lost quite a lot of shade!

[jgh]

I hope you didn't detect any criticism, supercat... we grow them where we can! But your experience of having it in both conditions should be informative... so what do you think... did you like the color better when it got more shade or now that it gets more sun?

[redcrx]

It's funny, I didn't consider Spilt Milk as a "blue". I have one in a bright shaded area that is really slow growing and it always looked "green" to me. I have Halcyon, Blue Diamond and Krossa Regal in the area and I can see they are "blue". I was trying to see if it would grow better with different light.

[kaylyred]

I should note that the Spilt Milk above didn't originally get that much sun until our friendly neighborhood electric company came along and butchered the trees anywhere near the power lines. I lost quite a lot of shade!

Isn't it funny that most gardeners would be overjoyed at gaining more sun while we hosta lovers mourn the loss of shade?

[Noreaster]

Every time I hear the neighbor behind us out with his chain saw, I panic! Wind or ice storms also really, really make me panic. We are surrounded by some huge trees, including pines which often seem to go down in big storms. I don't know if I'm more worried about a tree landing on the house, or losing my shade! That said, I really could use a bit more sun. There is a nursery here with some hosta in full sun in their display beds and they are phenomenal. I really like the blues in the shade, though.

[supercat]

To answer jgh - It's hard to say which I like better. When it was in shade, it was a young plant, so not as corrugated. I love the leaves on it - both color and texture. I think the biggest issue with this much sun is that the "milk lines" do scorch a bit on some leaves. I have quite a few blues that now get way too much sun, but they do well. The one I actually regret the change on the most is my halcyon, which used to stay a gorgeous blue all year, but now melts to green fairly early.