2000 HOSTA VARIETY DEMONSTRATION RESULTS
City of Tyler, Cooperator
BY: Keith C. Hansen, County Extension Agent-Horticulture
Tyler, Texas, Smith County Precinct 4
SUMMARY:
A hosta variety trial was established in 1997 within the Tyler Rose Garden with 22 varieties; 14 more varieties were added in 1998, and 4 in 1999. Hostas, like many perennial ornamental plants, take several growing seasons to become established and show their potentials and limitations. Several varieties have performed well all four years and can be recommended for East Texas landscapes.
PROBLEM:
There is a need for landscape plants adapted to shaded conditions because urban trees cast increasing amounts of shade as they grow and mature. Hostas are attractive warm-season perennials highly adapted to shady locations, and has been called the number one perennial in the world in terms of popularity. There are several species and hundreds of varieties with varying characteristics including plant and leaf size, leaf color, leaf variegation, flower color, fragrance, season of bloom, resistance to sun scorch, and degree of pest resistance. Most Texas nurseries offer only a few varieties to the consumer, who are generally unfamiliar with this plant. Often these plants are sold as 'green' or 'variegated' with little attention paid to specific cultivars. There is also a general perception among those familiar with hostas that they are not particularly adapted to Texas growing conditions.
OBJECTIVES:
- To grow, compare and display commonly available varieties.
- To grow, compare and display less well-known but commercially available varieties with outstanding characteristics.
- To compare emergence dates among the varieties planted.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
In May, 1997, the following hostas (three each unless otherwise noted in parentheses) were planted at the Tyler Rose Garden: 'Patriot', 'Invincible', 'Francee', 'Great Expectations', 'September Sun', 'Sugar and Cream', 'Aphrodite', 'Blue Cadet', H. montana 'Aureo Marginata', 'Emerald Tierra', 'So Sweet', 'Colossal', and 'Blue Angel' (Tawakoni Plant Farm in Wills Point, Texas); and 'Elegans' (2), 'Hyacintha', 'Sun Power' (2), 'Albo Marginata' (6), 'Undulata' (5), 'Royal Standard' (2), 'Lancifolia' (6), 'Gold Standard', and H. fortunei 'Aureo Marginata' (Whitehouse Gardens in Whitehouse, Texas).
On June 25, 1998 three each of the following hostas were planted in the same area: 'Honeybells', 'Grand Tierra', 'Krossa Regal', 'Big Daddy', 'Halcyon', 'Fragrant Bouquet', 'Sum and Substance', 'Daybreak', 'Hadspen Heron', 'Bold Ribbons', 'Summer Music', 'Resonance' (Tawakoni Plant Farm); 'Shade Fanfare', 'Gold Edger' (Whitehouse Gardens). Also, a few of the 1997 varieties which either had only 2 original plants or had lost one of the three original plants were brought back up to three of each variety - 'Invincible', 'Sun Power', 'Great Expectations' and 'Royal Standard'. The following were planted May 6, 1999: 'Guacamole', 'Sagae', 'Fried Green Tomatoes' and 'Temple Bells' (Tawakoni Plant Farm).
The bed, amended in 1997 with sand and aged pine bark, is located under a mixed canopy of pine, oak and blackgum on the southern side of the Tyler Rose Garden. Pine needles were used as a mulch. The plants were treated, as needed, with Deadline to control slugs, snails and pillbugs. The bed was fertilized in early April with 15-5-10 at a rate of ½ pound per 100 sq. ft.
RESULTS:
Hostas were evaluated 3 times (June 6, August 8, and October 10, 2000) after all varieties had completely emerged. Smith County Master Gardeners and the County Extension Horticulture agent evaluated the hostas based on overall attractiveness. Hostas were assigned a number from 1 -10 with 10 being the best, and 1 being the worst (almost dead). Evaluation was based on the qualities of individual varieties (rather than comparing varieties with one another), thus giving an indication of desirability and garden worthiness. General qualities included appearance, fullness, compactness, flowering and pest damage.
The summer of 2000, like the summer of 1999, was extremely hot and dry. Although the bed is irrigated automatically three times a week, in early July, the irrigation system suffered a problem which was not adequately corrected until mid-September. This resulted in some of the plants within the trial area to receive insufficient water and therefore suffer severe drought stress, thus affecting appearance. 'So Sweet', 'Sugar & Cream', 'Royal Standard', and 'Albo-Marginata' were among the varieties most severely affected. Therefore, care must be taken in interpreting the results.
Nine varieties averaged, over the 3 evaluation dates, a rank of 7.5 or above (see Table 1): 'Blue Angel', 'Sugar & Cream', 'Blue Cadet', 'Francee', "Gold Standard', 'Honeybells', 'So Sweet', 'Royal Standard', and 'Lancifolia'. Only the first three ranked 9.0 or higher: 'Blue Angel', 'Sugar & Cream', and 'Blue Cadet'.
Other hostas which ranked 7.5 or higher on at least one of the three evaluation dates include 'Albo-Marginata', 'Emerald Tiara', and 'Grand Tiara', all in the June evaluation.
Click on the link for a graphical view of the top 16 of 38 hosta varieties in 2000. These are the averages of 3 rankings over the growing season.|
NAME |
DATE |
AVERAGE | ||
| June | August | October | ||
| Blue Angel | 9.8 | 8.8 | 10 | 9.5 |
| Sugar & Cream | 9.2 | 9.4 | 9 | 9.2 |
| Blue Cadet | 8.7 | 8.8 | 10 | 9.2 |
| Francee | 6.0 | 8.8 | 10 | 8.3 |
| Gold Standard | 6.3 | 7.6 | 10 | 8.0 |
| Honeybells | 7.1 | 8.8 | 8 | 8.0 |
| So Sweet | 9.4 | 5.6 | 8.5 | 7.8 |
| Royal Standard | 7.4 | 9 | 7 | 7.8 |
| Lancifolia | 7.3 | 7.8 | 8 | 7.7 |
| Grand Tiara | 7.8 | 7.2 | 7 | 7.3 |
| Albo-Marginata | 7.6 | 5.8 | 7 | 6.8 |
| September Sun | 6.2 | 7 | 7 | 6.7 |
| Sun Power | 6.8 | 6.8 | 6 | 6.5 |
| Elegans | 6.0 | 7.4 | 6 | 6.5 |
| Emerald Tiara | 7.8 | 7.2 | 4 | 6.3 |
| Patriot | 4.6 | 6.2 | 7 | 5.9 |
| Bold Ribbon | 6.5 | 6.8 | 3 | 5.4 |
| Guacamole | 6.7 | 5.4 | 4 | 5.4 |
| Gold Edger | 7.1 | 6 | 3 | 5.4 |
| Fragrant Bouquet | 5.1 | 4.8 | 6 | 5.3 |
| Sagae | 5.2 | 4.6 | 6 | 5.3 |
| Shade Fanfare | 5.5 | 4.6 | 3 | 4.4 |
| Summer Music | 3.8 | 2.8 | 6 | 4.2 |
| Undulata | 6.3 | 3 | 3 | 4.1 |
| Temple Bells | 6.1 | 3.2 | 3 | 4.1 |
| Krossa Regal | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4 | 4.0 |
| Resonance | 4.3 | 5.2 | 2 | 3.8 |
| H. fortunei 'Aureo Marginata' | 4.3 | 3 | 2 | 3.1 |
| Aphrodite | 3.5 | 2.4 | 3 | 3.0 |
| Colossal | 4.3 | 2.6 | 2 | 3.0 |
| Fried Green Tomatoes | 3.8 | 3.4 | 1 | 2.7 |
| Invincible | 4.5 | 2.6 | 1 | 2.7 |
| Halcyon | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2 | 2.5 |
| Big Daddy | 2.3 | 2.8 | 1 | 2.0 |
| Daybreak | 1.7 | 2.4 | 2 | 2.0 |
| Sum & Substance | 2.1 | 1.8 | 2 | 2.0 |
| Hadspen Heron | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1.2 |
*Master Gardeners were asked to rank each variety from 1 to 10, with 1 = worst/almost dead, and 10 = outstanding in every way.
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS:
Hostas are one of the most popular perennials for landscaping shady areas in the northeastern US. There are hundreds of varieties on the market, many with outstanding leaf color. There is a perception that hostas are not well-adapted to Texas, and that they are readily decimated by slugs and snails. This hosta variety trial was established to evaluate varieties both commonly grown and newer or lesser known varieties with attractive foliage. Growers can use this information to grow and offer varieties which exhibit the most outstanding characteristics for the southern landscape. With superior hosta varieties identified, growers and retailers can stock proven performers to the consumer.
CONCLUSION:
Several of the hosta varieties in this trial showed very good potential for long-term performance in shady sites in northeast Texas. There were also many that did very poorly and did not thrive. Hostas are known as a long-lived perennial for shady locations. Thus, the gardener's expectation in growing hostas would be for plants to persist over many years, resulting in a permanent display in the landscape.
There are hundreds of hosta varieties originating from several different hosta species, and apparently their genetic parentage factors into their performance in any given climatic condition. The assumption that hostas are better adapted to more northern climates may be true for many varieties, but this trial showed that there were several garden-worthy varieties for northeast Texas conditions. Some varieties which are very attractive with good form and heat tolerance emerged from dormancy much slower than other varieties.
Hosta varieties which consistently scored high overall marks over the 4 years they were evaluated include: 'Blue Cadet', 'Blue Angel', 'Sugar and Cream', 'So Sweet', 'Royal Standard', Francee', 'Albo-Marginata', 'Lancifolia'.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
City of Tyler, Cooperator
Keith Mills - Tyler Rose Garden Center
Smith County Master Gardeners
Tawakoni Plant Farm, Provided Hostas
Whitehouse Gardens, Provided Hostas
ESTES, Inc., Provided Deadline