Hostas of the Year - 2015 and 2016

[Chris_W]

Well the announcement was made that the 2016 Hosta of the Year will be Hosta 'Curly Fries', a seedling from Pineapple Upsidedown Cake. I'm still not sure what to think of that decision, mostly because I don't have that much experience with it, however we do have about 100 of them growing here so I had anticipated it would be a decent seller. It is planned for our 2015 catalog but will likely be ready here in the summer. It seems too new to have that much of a track record in all parts of the country, which is part of what I thought makes a good HOTY plant.

And in case you missed it, for 2015 it is Hosta 'Victory', which is an edge variegated Hosta 'Elatior'. So a giant one for 2015 and then a small or small/medium for 2016.

What do you think of these?

[Tigger]

I'm a fan of 'Curly Fries'. No room for 'Victory' right now.

The whole "HOTY" thing is strange to me, though.

[ogrefcf]

My son picked out Curly fries last year. Good little Hosta so far. Just ordered Victory and it will take up the remainder of my last bed. I was really excited to see Chris had it this year. I'm almost out of Hosta room .

[hippieindenial]

I had the same thought as you, Chris.
I think there are other hostas that have been around much longer that deserve the title HOTY first since Curly Fries has only been available for a few years (as far as I know).
But then again, it's not HOTY until 2016 which is 3 summers away so by the time that comes, maybe it will prove itself?
Vanessa

[Linda P]

I was surprised to see Curly Fries chosen as a HOTY so soon after it was released, but it is a good little plant. I was fortunate to be in attendance at the Midwest Regional Convention in Davenport, Iowa, when Curly Fries was entered in the Midwest Preview and won its class, and I think might have won the best in show as well. (2007) It was on the tables with some really impressive plants, but that one stood out.
Victory is a great selection, but it does take a long time to grow to full size.

[Phil]

"Victory" will be coming my way this year.

[rufie98]

I haven't heard much about Curly Fries, and I too am surprised to hear that is it the HOTY for 2016. I think that if it has been chosen HOTY, after just being registered in 2008, then it should be one hell of a hosta to gain such popularity in a short amount of time. We'll see.

As for Victory, too large for me to consider.

[Tigger]

The point of HOTY is not to award merit to a well-established cultivar, but to launch a marketing campaign for a promising, but often relatively new, cultivar. I'm more surprised to have Abiqua Drinking Gourd as the next HOTY than I am to see Curly Fries on the list.

[boops]

Hi all-checking in from the snowy northeast-another storm for today. If hosta's love cold cover during dormancy, I should have a bumper crop this year! We are celebrating the birth of our third granddaughter born in October (9 lbs, 22 inches!!) so I have been very busy helping my daughter and haven't had time to join any conversations here for a while. Looking forward to Spring for sure.
Curly Fries looks a bit like Hacksaw-may give it a try!

Good luck to all in the snow storm ridden areas!

[Diana]

Curly Fries for me. I have to go small, rather than large due to space restrictions. (pots) If this is such a good grower that the "growers" voted to select it for 2016, I'll grab one. One thing about the HOTYs is that they aren't temperamental. Good.

-Diana

[isadora]

I've had Curly Fries for three years now, well four this spring. It's done really well through two years of drought, extreme heat, and last winter's deep cold, coming up this spring with a gusto. Not a traditional looking hosta but I think it's cute. It looked good all season, getting that bleached French fry look in August, haha but it didn't burn or get brown. Slugs seem to ignore it.


Sandy