Six Months Ago - 6/5/09 (many photos)

[tsbccowboy]

These are some of the Hostas from six months ago on 6/5/09.



Ann Kulpa


American Halo


Brave Amherst


Calamity Jane


Carnival


Catherine Ann


Christmas Tree


Dust Devil


Eye of the Hurricane


Fair Maiden


Fragrant Fire


Leola Fraim


Liberty


Like Butta


Little Boy


Loyalist


Mango Tango


Minuteman


Miss Saigon


Ooh La La


Popcorn


Revolution


Tokudama Flavocircinalus


Lady's Slipper 'Pubescens'

[Linda P]

Great pics! You have some really wonderful plants there, Cowboy.
So, tell us about Calamity Jane...where did you get it, how long have you had it,
are the flowers really fragrant, has it set any seed???
And Like Butta...another one that looks really interesting to me...give us some
info on that one too, if you please.

Linda P

[R. Rock]

Hello,
Thanks for sharing.
I am starting to give 'Fragrant Fire' some credibility. I wasn't sure about the substance holding through the season. I brought in some this last spring. They were in pretty good shade. The performance was impressive. The contrast in the leaf seems to be alot more visible/tri-colored in shade and so does the shine/sheen. The red stems make it more impressive. Once the plant decided it was warm enough to grow , it sure took off. I hope they make it through my winter storage.

'Ann Kulpa' sure is another deserving plant. I have seen a few mature specimans. You know what happened after that. It is a damn good plant for a white-centered.

All your choices are definately garden worthy. So..... how have you made your choices for the "collection"; what are the factors?

[renaldo75]

I was wondering the same things as Linda. All of the hostas I wasn't familiar with - Calamity Jane, Little Boy, Eye of the Hurricane - along with Like Butta are Nyikos introductions. After a little digging, I found they'd all been registered, but Like Butta & Calamity Jane were the only ones in the Hosta Library. I think you need to submit some of your excellent pics, Cowboy. Did you get them directly from the Nyikos family?

Nut House - Fragrant Fire is a sport of Olga's Old Faithful so I'm sure it has great substance and durability like all her hostas. I fell for Ann Kulpa last year too. The mature plants have a different look than the young plants have. I wouldn't have ever bought it unless I'd seen mature ones since it looks like just another white centered hosta when it's young.

[redcrx]

Beautiful pictures. Is the yellow Lady Slipper native to your area? We have the pink variety in the woods around here. I have one left in my yard - had about 10 native when I moved here 20 years ago.

Love the Calamity Jane photo.

Thanks for sharing.

[tsbccowboy]

Linda P,

Both Calamity Jane & Like Butta were purchased in '08 & came from Walnut Grove Nursery. This nursery reminds me of Hallsons: good people that you can trust & you get a smile on your face when you receive your order.

Calamity Jane does have fragrant flowers but I do not have any photos of them (or at least any that I can find). I have not tried collecting seed from it but you can check out MyHostas Database to see what they have to say about the seed.

I do have another Like Butta that was purchased in ''07 that is doing real well.

Frank Nyikos runs Walnut Grove Nursery and he introduced Like Butta. Frank gave his Brother Calamity Jane & he introduced it.

Catherine Ann and Eye of the Hurricane, in the photos in the original post, are also Frank's introductions and were also purchased from him.

Cowboy

[tsbccowboy]

Nut House,

I have never met a Hosta I didn't like. With that said, there are only a few Hostas that I like less than the rest. This leaves it wide open on picking Hostas. I like the fragrant Hostas with plantaginea leading the way with its flower size. Then there are the different colors - green, yellow, blue. Variegated. Different sizes - tiny to huge. There are some Hostas that you can't be without based on looks - Liberty, Montana Aureomarginata, Sagae, Paradigm. Some Hostas have a name you can't be without - Uncle John (if you are an Uncle & your name is John). Then it is also fun to get some Hostas that are are rarer than others - like the Frank Nyikos intros.

My selection choices are pretty random but how they look is what really catches me,
Cowboy

[tsbccowboy]

Renaldo,

You did your homework on the Frank Nyikos Hostas. Like I told Linda (after your post), the Hostas were purchased from him at Walnut Grove Nursery. And just like Hallsons, it is a pleasure to buy Hostas from him.

Cowboy

[tsbccowboy]

RedCrx,

The pink Lady's Slipper (reginae) is our State flower and both the little (parviflorum) and large (pubescens) yellow ones are all native to Minnesota.

Cowboy

[Linda P]

Thanks for the info, Cowboy. I've looked at your pics at least a half dozen times already, and winter hasn't even really started yet, though it has been cold here the last couple of days. I planted the last of the tulips yesterday, so I guess winter can come anytime now.
I'll be back to look at these many times!
Linda P