Pic of the Day--Darwin's Standard

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

Moderators: ViolaAnn, redcrx, Chris_W

New Topic Post Reply
Hank Zumach
Posts: 3262
Joined: Oct 11, 2001 8:00 pm
Location: Stoddard, WI

Pic of the Day--Darwin's Standard

Post by Hank Zumach »

Hi All--Darwin's Standard is the last of our 2002 purchases that were planted in the area of our garden that I have been "touring" for the last 6 weeks or so. It is also one of the most attractive of that very, very nice group of hostas. Growing in a spot under a full forest canopy, Darwin's Standard quickly reached the over all size expected for a mature plant, 30x20, according to Lemke's listing. Its measurements have been 27x13, 32x12, 34x15, 37x15, 41x15 and 45x17; apparently the plant will forever be wider and a bit shorter than the norm. Slugs have not evolved an interest in Darwin's Standard plant.

Registry - not registered as of Nov. 2012
MyHostas - http://myhostas.be/db/hostas/Darwin%27s+Standard
Hosta Library - http://www.hostalibrary.org/d/darwins.html

The pix are from 2002, 2004, and 2007.
s Standard 6-25-07c 034.jpg
s Standard 6-25-07c 034.jpg (50.38 KiB) Viewed 6306 times
s Standard 7-8-04c.JPG
s Standard 6-24-02c 145.jpg
Hank
Better Gnomes & Gardens
zone 4B-5A
Latitude: 43° 48' 51" N
hubble
Posts: 29
Joined: Aug 15, 2006 5:25 pm
Location: Eastern KS

Post by hubble »

Hank, how does Darwin's Standard compare to Gold Standard? I have Gold Standard in high canopy and while it grows well, I do not like how the margin blurs into the gold. I would like a more sharper margin to gold look. From your pics, it looks like Darwin's Standard might be the one. Or, would you recommend something else?

Thanks Hank! As always, love your pics and continue to learn from you.

Karen
nanny_56
Posts: 3202
Joined: Jul 01, 2006 5:07 pm
USDA Zone: 5b
Location: Putnam County, Indiana Lat. 39* 45' 54.2892" Long. -86* 41' 55.9284''

Post by nanny_56 »

I like that one. Very pretty plant!
Claudia
"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest" - John Muir
wishiwere
Posts: 6029
Joined: Jan 05, 2004 11:05 am
USDA Zone: 5
Location: Central Michigan
Contact:

Post by wishiwere »

Oh dear! :o Both of mine are at that standard size (30 X20) and shoulder to shoulder with others, so I'm supposing if they are going to follow suit with yours, I better get someone moved!

Nice pics Hank! :D

I love this hosta! Its one that doesn't require much of anything. One has sun from 10-3 and looks great, the other just filtered from 1-5 and looks even better except for the petals and bird doo-doo it collects! :(
Jane (from the middle of the Mitten state)
My hosta list: viewtopic.php?t=39540
Hank Zumach
Posts: 3262
Joined: Oct 11, 2001 8:00 pm
Location: Stoddard, WI

Post by Hank Zumach »

Karen--I'm not sure about recommending one over the other because both are very nice varieties and I athink it is a matter of personal preference. Depending on the size of the space you have, you might also consider Dick Ward, Satisfaction, Inniswood, Alex Summers or Old Glory.


Jane--How old are your plants?
Hank
Better Gnomes & Gardens
zone 4B-5A
Latitude: 43° 48' 51" N
wishiwere
Posts: 6029
Joined: Jan 05, 2004 11:05 am
USDA Zone: 5
Location: Central Michigan
Contact:

Post by wishiwere »

Hank, I'll have to look when I go inside, but it was spring of 2003 or maybe 2004 at the latest. I'm almost positive it was from my first Hallson's visit also. I'll double check, here's a pic of the one in the shadier area.

The first one gets the most sun, the second is the one that's in dappled shade all day by an arbor to the west and a plum tree south of it.
Attachments
sun all mid-day
sun all mid-day
DSCF5734.jpg (46.38 KiB) Viewed 6217 times
dappled shade all mid-day
dappled shade all mid-day
DSCF5805.jpg (49.64 KiB) Viewed 6217 times
Jane (from the middle of the Mitten state)
My hosta list: viewtopic.php?t=39540
User avatar
newtohosta-no more
Posts: 15270
Joined: Oct 25, 2001 8:00 pm
Location: Ohio, Zone 5

Post by newtohosta-no more »

I love this one and received mine in a secret trade. It grows really well. It's looking quite stressed now because of the weather we've had, but here is a pic from last year. Mine gets morning sun, but is shaded in the afternoon.
Attachments
DarwinsStandardESOHB6-17-06.jpg
~JOAN~
My Hosta List

Tomorrow is promised to no one, so love and laugh today.
User avatar
DBoweMD
Posts: 1170
Joined: Dec 11, 2003 2:27 pm
Location: Northeast Ohio
Contact:

Post by DBoweMD »

It is extremely similar to Paradigm. Some have argued that it is the same plant, but Chris has told me he can see a difference.
It's a real beauty, and Paradigm is a Hosta of the Year.
wishiwere
Posts: 6029
Joined: Jan 05, 2004 11:05 am
USDA Zone: 5
Location: Central Michigan
Contact:

Post by wishiwere »

Wow! You are right, they do appear to be similar! Do you remember what Chris said he saw that told him the difference?
Jane (from the middle of the Mitten state)
My hosta list: viewtopic.php?t=39540
Linda P
Posts: 6212
Joined: Oct 15, 2001 8:00 pm
Location: N W Illinois, zone 5

Post by Linda P »

I have my Darwin's Standard and Paradigm planted on opposite sides of the sidewalk, and I can definitely see a difference. It's hard to describe, but it's there. The main thing is the difference in growth rates, at least for me, anyway. DS grew about twice as fast as Paradigm. Also, there seem to be more shades of gold in the center of DS, especially when it gets a bit more light. I've picked a leaf off one plant and had someone put it in the other one to see if I can find it, and I always can. This year I've pretty much leaning to the theory that one of the plants Walmart sold a few years back as Polar Moon is actually Darwin's Standard.
I've also done the 'hide the leaf' test with Darwin's Standard and the Not Polar Moon plant, and I can't pick it out. I can tell NO difference whatsoever between the two plants. I think I will try to take pics and start a different thread one of these days to compare them.
Linda P
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten.....
Algernon Charles Swinburne

Latitude: 41° 51' 12.1572"


My Hosta List
ckp
Posts: 95
Joined: Aug 04, 2003 2:37 pm
Location: zone 4, Appleton, Wisconsin

Darwin Standard

Post by ckp »

If you want a beautiful tough hosta Darwin S. is it. We cut down a nasty small Amur Maple because of it's roots on a cool Sunday the middle of last June. The next day a heat wave started from which we little relief until recently. All survived after frying, some down right crispy. Darwin though, had just a little brown on the edges of 2 or 3 leaves and stayed beautiful. I really love this hosta. ckp
Charlene
User avatar
Chris_W
Administrator
Posts: 8465
Joined: Oct 05, 2001 8:00 pm
USDA Zone: 9
Location: Co. Roscommon, Ireland
Contact:

Post by Chris_W »

This really is a nice looking, easy to grow, great plant :)

When growing this side by side with Paradigm, the Paradigm got bigger. Vein spacing was larger on Paradigm and the leaves were larger on a Paradigm that was actually younger than Darwin's Standard.

Originally Darwin's Standard was said to be a possible sport of Gold Standard, but the flowers and bloom time do not match at all, so that's not it. I've often wondered if it was in the August Moon family but I keep forgetting to compare it to the other August Moon sports like September Sun, Lunar Orbit, and Polar Moon. Linda might also be on to the same track there! We really need to compare blooms and bloom time to see if it is related to those.

I have a sport of Darwin's Standard with a medium green center and a yellow margin. The green color in the center is lighter than Abiqua Moonbeam and might be close to JGH's August Moon sport called Hosta 'Xela'.

Attached is a picture of my Darwin's Standard sport. Last Sunday a visitor suggested the name Darwin's Theory and I love it! The name might be better than the hosta :lol:
Attachments
DarwinsTheory.jpg
DarwinsTheory.jpg (43.7 KiB) Viewed 6018 times
Image
User avatar
DBoweMD
Posts: 1170
Joined: Dec 11, 2003 2:27 pm
Location: Northeast Ohio
Contact:

Post by DBoweMD »

I also love the name Darwin's Theory!
wishiwere
Posts: 6029
Joined: Jan 05, 2004 11:05 am
USDA Zone: 5
Location: Central Michigan
Contact:

Post by wishiwere »

Ditto on the name!
Jane (from the middle of the Mitten state)
My hosta list: viewtopic.php?t=39540
User avatar
Tigger
Posts: 2727
Joined: Oct 14, 2001 8:00 pm
USDA Zone: 6b - 7a
Location: SE Penna Zone 6b (7a?), lat. 39°50'
Contact:

Post by Tigger »

How about calling it 'Intelligent Design' (i.e. the opposite of Darwin's Standard)?

Hmmm... would that make it sell better or worse?
User avatar
Chris_W
Administrator
Posts: 8465
Joined: Oct 05, 2001 8:00 pm
USDA Zone: 9
Location: Co. Roscommon, Ireland
Contact:

Re: Pic of the Day--Darwin's Standard

Post by Chris_W »

Interesting to bring up such old threads and see what we were talking about.

Back then there was some debate about Darwin's Standard and its origins, and at the time I felt that there were enough differences between Darwin's Standard and Paradigm for me to believe they were different but very similar plants.

Well, 4 to 5 years later I've finally concluded that yes, they probably are the same. Flowers, shape, color, height all seem identical. Clump sizes have come closer to being about the same when I've planted them side by side in the same conditions. They are so close to each other that I would say that they are either both green edged sports of Abiqua Recluse, or Darwin's Standard was a renaming of a clump of Paradigm.

The sport that I was talking about above still exists here, but much of it sported over to a solid yellow plant that I've since separated out and I now have a couple massive clumps of both (the solid yellows and the plant pictured above). Some day I'll do something with it, but one thing I need to do is try growing it in a few different locations to see what it needs for the best coloring. I moved it to a spot in tons of sunlight and unfortunately the center green part bleached to more of a yellow so it is hard to see the variegation. I wasn't too happy with that, which is why I never did anything with this clump...

But back to Darwin's Standard, like I mentioned, I've come around to the thinking that it is another Paradigm. :)
Image
User avatar
redcrx
Posts: 4872
Joined: Jun 23, 2008 4:39 pm
USDA Zone: 7
Location: Camden, New Jersey
Contact:

Re: Pic of the Day--Darwin's Standard

Post by redcrx »

Just grabbed a couple of photos of this one today.

Darwin's Standard
Darwin's Standard - October 17, 2014
Darwin's Standard - October 17, 2014
Darwin's Standard - October 17, 2014
Darwin's Standard - October 17, 2014
Darwin's Standard - October 17, 2014
Darwin's Standard - October 17, 2014
Ed McHugh, Sicklerville NJ
ImageMockingbird feeding juvenile yellow raisons - never leave home without them.
User avatar
redcrx
Posts: 4872
Joined: Jun 23, 2008 4:39 pm
USDA Zone: 7
Location: Camden, New Jersey
Contact:

Re: Pic of the Day--Darwin's Standard

Post by redcrx »

Darwin's Standard this season - this plant, somehow, wasn't destroyed by the voles a few years ago.
Darwin's Standard - May 23, 2017
Darwin's Standard - May 23, 2017
Ed McHugh, Sicklerville NJ
ImageMockingbird feeding juvenile yellow raisons - never leave home without them.
User avatar
redcrx
Posts: 4872
Joined: Jun 23, 2008 4:39 pm
USDA Zone: 7
Location: Camden, New Jersey
Contact:

Re: Pic of the Day--Darwin's Standard

Post by redcrx »

Darwin's Standard with flowers:
Darwin's Standard - June 20, 2017
Darwin's Standard - June 20, 2017
Darwin's Standard - June 20, 2017
Darwin's Standard - June 20, 2017
Darwin's Standard - June 20, 2017
Darwin's Standard - June 20, 2017
Darwin's Standard - June 20, 2017
Darwin's Standard - June 20, 2017
Darwin Standard 17 f 1355b.jpg (37.1 KiB) Viewed 4283 times
Darwin's Standard - June 20, 2017
Darwin's Standard - June 20, 2017
Ed McHugh, Sicklerville NJ
ImageMockingbird feeding juvenile yellow raisons - never leave home without them.
User avatar
redcrx
Posts: 4872
Joined: Jun 23, 2008 4:39 pm
USDA Zone: 7
Location: Camden, New Jersey
Contact:

Re: Pic of the Day--Darwin's Standard

Post by redcrx »

It's funny, I was working on another topic and referred back to this topic. While reading through it and getting to the bottom flower picture my brain said "that's an August Moon" flower. Maybe triggered by the mention of August Moon in the discussion. I checked my photos and the flower timing is wrong. In my garden DS flowers in June while AM flowers in July.
Ed McHugh, Sicklerville NJ
ImageMockingbird feeding juvenile yellow raisons - never leave home without them.
New Topic Post Reply