Shining Tot

many small Lakeside plants

Let's Streak

venusta

tortifrons

Kii Mime ??

Bob, I will stick my two bits in here. One thing to watch in selecting breeding stock for small plants is the season span of the plant. Many of the small ones go dormant much too early for the south. I like a plant that looks good until the frost finishes it for the year. Also often the substance in some of the smaller early plants is not so good. I get great results from Lakeside Knickknack. It is not only vigorous but flowers 3 to 4 time each season. It set most any pollen. I have some great babies from using it. One that I like to crow about is Lakeside Cricket. Picture enclosed. Another mini that is from it but not yet registered will be Lakeside So Ho Baby. The leaves are the size of my thumbnail. It is green with a nice border. The second is also one in the making. It also is from LK. The color is lovely and the substance outstanding.

Mary

Bob,

When considering the hybridizing of small and mini hostas, I think of Mary's plants. No matter the size, color or shape; Mary always has plants with exceptional form. This is not an accident. She is making sure the form fits the plant. So, if people are interested in producing smaller hostas, don't use parents with sloppy forms. ‘Shining Tot’ seems to have good qualifications as a parent. Also, just because the parent is small, the offspring may not necessarily be the same.

Ron

Bob,

My plant was not Tiny Tot but Shining Tot. I have used Tiny Tears a number of times with great results. The Elvis minis I sent photos of yesterday were from Elvis x TT. The only thing is when using TT have another parent with great form. eg. Elvis. Have you seen Darla? It is a cross of Rascal and Tiny Tears. Remember the cute Little Rascal called Darla??? Dakomo is a cross of Darla and Komodo Dragon; now the size gets increased to medium and the leaf shape and form from Darla gets passed on. Feel free to share whatever portion of this you want to share. Uzo-no-Mai is a no way!!!!! Very hard to keep alive and not fertile here.

Ron

Wavy edges or piecrust hostas

FIRSTLY, I'm thinking, that the RUFFLED ('Piecrust Leaf Edged hosta-type AND FACTOR') fits into your wavy leaf category and way of saying it? There are several of these leaf-forms to choose from, for example, Green/Blue and Grey Piecrust named piecrust types directly, to mention but a few. And there are many other hosta named types, having piecrusted (ruffled-leaves). My favorite, to use for ruffled leaf edging in seed kids is ‘Donahue Piecrust’. (See photos attached?) ‘Grey Piecrust’ puts up some nice yellow-leaf, piecrusted seed kids.

Good morning, Bob and Bill.

What about Spring Fling? I also like War Party and am thinking of some crosses with each this season.

Linda Miller

Northern Il, zone 5

Hello Bob,

This is my favorite trait. I would recommend Atom Smasher, Green Machine, Hacksaw, Childhood Fantasy, Montel. I have many more that I like to use. I strongly would suggest Elvis Lives.

Ron

In my humble opinion, piecrust is more uniform than ripples, which can very in length and size on each leaf.

Ron

Bob,

I use four plants for wavy edges.

Azure Snow, this one gives very good results but you have to wait a few years to see the rewards.

Split Decision gives both wavy & piecrusted plants.

Pycnophylla will give very good results.

Hypoleuca (I bet you are surprised by this one!)

Kent

I think you folks are trying to collect breeders that will give rippled seedlings. I find Lakeside Ripples to be one of the most reliable. It gives a good percentage of up right plant with ruffles.

Mary

White Backs

Bob I like to use hypoleuca. The enclosed picture, ‘Lakeside Breaking News’ is from its pollen.

Mary

Hi Bob,

The two best for white backs are hypoleuca and 'Smokey' in my experience. The hypoleuca should be one with very white backs, not one of the grayer-backed ones. 'Smokey' isn't really available this year, but will be next summer (2006). A few people might have one, but not many are out there. It is from 'Urajiro Hachijo' and can yield backs as white as good hypoleucas can. Some pycnophyllas do well too, but not all of them. All of these will give so-so white backs, and so will a lot of others, but you should try for ones at least as white as the seedling in the picture here. You will only get 1% or so with backs this white, so grow a lot of seed from your crosses to increase the odds. I only have two this white so far. This one also has a nice upright form that shows the backs off so far. I hope it doesn't lose that as it matures.

.........Bill Meyer

Yawn --coming out of hibernation here. I like using Azure Snow for white back. It also has a blue gray color and loose upright form that passes on to seedlings.

Ray W.

Mentor, Ohio z5

Ray and all,

I have placed the Azure Snow Family listing in the Library today. I could not find many hostas from that family. The one sport was 'Arctic Frost'. One pod parent "Tunisian Dream' and no pollen parents. If you know of anymore, please advise and I will add them to the list. Azure Snow pod parent is hypoleuca which give it's stable form, heavy substance, lightly wavy and glaucous bloom.

Thanks for helping Bob in is request for hybridizing information,

Mike Lemke

Fragrance

Hi Sam, For fragrance, go right to momma herself, 'Plantaginea', all other fragrant hostas are F1s from mom. Offspring from F1s never produce any noticeable fragrance. Keep on growing.

Jim from the Hills

Hi Jim,

A bunch of the oldest plants like 'Sweet Susan' and 'Honey Bells' were F1 seedlings, but later plants like 'Fragrant Bouquet' and 'Fragrant Blue' were at least 2-3 generations away from plantaginea. We don't know the background on those plants that have Aden's name on them, but they seem to have their origins in Kevin Vaughn's early crosses with plantaginea. I would guess that one parent of the Aden ones may have been Kevin's 'Summer Fragrance', which I think was an F1.

Nobody has yet reported any plantaginea offspring which had as much fragrance as it does, or flowers as large as it does. Maybe the size is part of why there is so much less fragrance in the seedlings.

For my part, I've done a fair amount of hybridizing with fragrant material. 'Fragrant Bouquet' and 'Fragrant Blue' were frequent pod parents for me. I have plants from crossing onto these that are now 3, 4, and 5 generations removed from plantaginea. I don't let that many reach blooming size because of space restrictions here, but I haven't yet had any with no fragrance at all. Most seem to have about the same as much fragrance as their parent did.

Ron, what have you seen? Or should I say smelled? You've gotten a few generations away from plantaginea too.

Attached is a seedling that is 'Fragrant Blue' x 'Big Boy'. The leaves on this one get pretty large. The one with a lot of veins behind it (can see one leaf here) is a sibling of this one. Scapes and flowers on both look very much like 'Fragrant Blue'.

............Bill Meyer

Ron, what have you seen? Or should I say smelled? :-) Fragrance carries; it is dominant. The farther away from plantaginea the more diluted it usually becomes. It also does not always smell the same as plantaginea. I have one "Precisely" which seems to favor the smell of licorice. You've gotten a few generations away from plantaginea too. I am attaching a photo of Triumphant flowers. They are very nice, large and fragrant.

Ron