Opnions please--Tenryu or Nigrescens?

[isadora]

My hosta budget this year is pretty limited--I spent most of it on the water bill over the summer--so I have to whittle down my list for fall. Thinking about either Tenryu or Nigrescens--they look a lot alike, and I'm not sure which one to order, but I want one or the other. Opinions, please? Has anyone grown them?

The rest of my fall list includes Eliator, Lakeside Shoremaster, Beckoning, Elvis Lives, Ebb Tide and Delta Dawn.

[Chris_W]

Hi,

Buy whichever one is the better or cheaper plant because they are just different names for the same plant and you won't ever see any difference between them.

Chris

[viktoria]

Forgive me for disagreeing with you, Chris. H. nigrescens is the larger of the two; if you want a larger plant, go for it. My personal preference is 'Tenryu'.

[R. Rock]

I have wondered this also...thanks for asking. One of the two is on the wish list and has been for some time. I have held off for a few years until I could get a visual of some "garden clumps". The Hostapedia and the library left me w/o a definite answere. The first reply here from Chris seemed it was all solved. Then...we have Victoria's response. It would be useless to argue w/ her as she will just chew you up and spit you out. I'm back to my original thoughts w/ more background though

[isadora]

You guys are no help at all, lol! Victoria, why do you like Tenryu better? Nigrescens was a little less in price. Not so much that it makes up my mind for me.

Chris, it sure looks like the same plant on Hosta Library. I'm not sure I wasn't looking at the same pictures! ....I'll get back to you with my spring order, right now you are out of most of the plants on my wish list!

[gesila9]

I had nigrescens and Tenyru on my list this summer. I was at a nursery in SE Ohio where the owner dug them from his field. He dug out nigrescens for me and saw that Tenyru was right across the path. We couldn't tell the difference between them, so I bought nigrescens and got Golden Sculpture instead of Tenyru.

Gesila

[viktoria]

MyHostas database, accessible at the Library, gives a smaller leaf size, which has been my observation, too. I have had the two growing nearly side by side so location is not a factor.

Then...we have Victoria's response. It would be useless to argue w/ her as she will just chew you up and spit you out. I'm back to my original thoughts w/ more background though

How unkind of you! I am purely sweetness and love.

Why do I like 'Tenryu' better? It appears to hold the upright form more consistently. Or not. Why do I like Coke better than Pepsi?

Viktoria

[Tigger]

One possibility is that both Chris and Viktoria are right, at least in a practical sense. Originally these may have been different plants, but I suspect that even if they are different genetically, however slightly, they may have gotten mixed up in the trade. They may be identical twins, or even identical cousins (cue the theme song, for those of a certain age).

Whichever one you buy, if you call it 'Nigrescens', no one will ever argue with you about it.

David