Pic of the Day--Sagae

Talk about hostas, hostas, and more hostas! Companion plant topics should be posted in the Shade Garden forum.

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Hank Zumach
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Joined: Oct 11, 2001 8:00 pm
Location: Stoddard, WI

Pic of the Day--Sagae

Post by Hank Zumach »

Hi All--Today's variety is one of the really outstanding hostas, Sagae. While no one seems to agree on how to pronounce it's name, nearly everyone agrees that Sagae is one of the very best varieties. Since I purchased it in 1994 (it was named Fluctuans variegated back then), it has been growing in an area that usually receives several hours of afternoon sun. For several years it had a good, steady growth rate and then stabilized at a size around 66x34. Zilis' listing is 70x31. Sad to say, a few years ago it had a bad attack that almost killed it. I finally figured out that it was some sort of borer and eventually discovered that an application of a 2% disulfton granule stopped the damage. I'm happy to say that the plant is recovering but still a year or two away from getting back to where it was. The photo is from before the damage. As with nearly all hostas, Sagae benefits from slug protection.

Registry - http://www.hostaregistrar.org/detail.ph ... iety=Sagae

MyHostas - http://myhostas.be/db/hostas/Sagae

Hosta Library - http://www.hostalibrary.org/s/sagae.html
Sagae 6-24-02c 094.jpg
Last edited by Hank Zumach on Jul 02, 2007 12:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hank
Better Gnomes & Gardens
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eastwood2007
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Post by eastwood2007 »

Beautiful location for that hosta!
Charla
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Justme
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Post by Justme »

Someday mine will be that large and beautiful.

Tami
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nanny_56
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Post by nanny_56 »

Beautiful!

My neighbor(the ones that just knows they're "hostas) has a gorgeous Sagae and has promised me a division off of it!! :P

Absolutley a "must have"!!

Claudia
Claudia
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sugar
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Post by sugar »

In my poll earlier this year, Sagae was elected the favourite hosta on the forum, and frankly, it deserves it 100%

It's one of those hostas that doesn't seem to have a weak spot...

Tom
Arlene
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Post by Arlene »

Hank, that's beautiful. I'd love to see a slightly farther away view . . . it really appears to be spotlighted where you have it. The rocks give it a beautiful setting.
Hank Zumach
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Post by Hank Zumach »

Arlene--I don't think I have a photo from a medium distance. Here is a photo from 2002, the year of the photo I posted above. As you can see, Sagae is part of a whole bank full of hostas.
hosta bank from deckc 6-29-02 043.jpg
Hank
Better Gnomes & Gardens
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wishiwere
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Post by wishiwere »

Looks great in both pics!

Hank? What is the all white area up the left of that. Is that a ground cover?
Jane (from the middle of the Mitten state)
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Patrushka
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Post by Patrushka »

Yours looks fantastic Hank! :cool: Mine will never look that good unless I dig it out from under the neighbors lilac that has crept into our yard.
Pat
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largosmom
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Post by largosmom »

It's certainly been my favorite from the moment it was planted in my garden.

Laura
Hank Zumach
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Post by Hank Zumach »

Jane--That is Bishop's Weed. We really like the way it looks but it is too invasive, particularly on that steep slope. It is difficult to get around there to pull out the unwanted plants. So, we are planning on spraying it with Round Up and then planting that area with Golden Money wort. While the Money wort will spread around too, it isn't nearly as tall as the Bishop's Weed and so the hostas will shade it out and keep it from being as much of a problem. At least that's the theory. :lol:
Hank
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wishiwere
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Post by wishiwere »

Oh, Okay. Thanks for the information and the warning then! :D
Jane (from the middle of the Mitten state)
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Arlene
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Post by Arlene »

Thank you, Hank . . . in Tennessee I'll be hosta-ing on a hill with rocky outcrops, so am always looking for ideas. Lovely! Another one of your pics I'll be saving for reference!
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baja220
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Post by baja220 »

I love it planted in the corner like that!! Beautiful!!!
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impatience
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Post by impatience »

Hank, I sure would like to hear how the round-up works with the Bishop's Weed. It is very invasive here too and I'm not sure anything can kill it, so if your method works-yea!

I put mine along the driveway where is gets run over from time to time. It is also in a low spot where it gets flooded and is in much shade. I mowed it as close as I could a few weeks ago and it is springing back with a vengence.

Wish I had never seen it.
Gardening is the slowest of the performing arts.
Rookie_Green_Thumb
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Post by Rookie_Green_Thumb »

This has to be the best POTD so far! Wow is all I can say! That setting is to die for....really really gorgeous! Congratson a gorgeous garden. Love the rocks, and different hieghts. Makes for a really interesting area that draws your eye back and forth right up to the top!

And that Sagae is lovely! There is a reason it is so popular. It is stunning.

How would you pronounce Sagae then? I had thought it sounded more along the lines of the word 'saga' ?? Does the 'a' at the end have a short or long sound?
Jaime
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Post by bengal »

Hank, that scene is stunning. I'm overwhelmed with the taste and aesthetic sense that produced it. I hope you don't mind, but I've saved that image....when I move and can grow a real collection of hostas, I'd love to refer to it for tips on how to landscape right.
bengal
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Post by bengal »

I just enlarged that image of the hosta bank. It's extraordinary. Just beautiful. Do you have IDs for some of the hostas?
Hank Zumach
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Post by Hank Zumach »

Hi -I usually pronounce it sa-GAY but I've heard it done at least 5 different ways. Take your pick. :lol:

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments about the plant and general landscaping. We do live on a hillside along the Mississippi River and our garden area gets quite steep in places, the area in the photo is one of them.

If someone wants to ID some of the plants in the photo, you can figure out most of them by following the Pic of the Day since the plants shown are usually one after another as they appear in the garden as a person might walk around. We do relocate a plant from time to time and this year we had to replace some varieties that were killed in a vandalism attack in the spring of 2006. Also, because quite a number of vandalized plants lived but are much smaller, the photos I use in the POTD are often ones taken in years before the vandalism attack. So, a person looking at a wide angle view of the garden might not easily recognize some of the varieties.

Here is a pic I took of the area a few days ago. The plant between Sagae and today's POTD, Tokudama Flavocircinalis, is one of my seedlings that replaced a plant that had been killed.
6-28-07 022.jpg
Hank
Better Gnomes & Gardens
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Rookie_Green_Thumb
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Post by Rookie_Green_Thumb »

Hank, that has to be one of the lovliest hosta displays I have ever seen a pic of! Really gorgeous. I love the different angles and the lines. Really really outstanding. You also have a very nice eye for color and plant combos. TFS! :D
Jaime
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