By jathton (Oklahoma City, OK - Zone 7a) on Feb 8, 2024 11:08 AM concerning plant: Hosta 'Halcyon'
'Halcyon' is a favorite in central Oklahoma... it handles stress [drought, exceptional heat, and soil conditions] better than many hostas... particularly the variegated forms. And the blue-green color of its leaves is a great foil for adjacent plants and blooms.
This unique hosta has narrow blue leaves with intensely wavy margins. The leaves are the most blue in spring; as the season progresses the leaves become more blue-green. It's a seedling from 'Curly Fries' and is patented.
The foliage clump matured to about 44 inches in width and 20 inches in height, and the scapes above the birdbath. It was overpowering the birdbath & the width was simply too large for this small garden, hiding the garden edge by about 8 inches. Bees were buzzing right near my hands when removing and replacing the bath bowl for refreshing the water, so in May, 2023 I transplanted the three clumps elsewhere with more room for their size. Two back by the tree and one behind the garage. I will plant smaller hosta around the birdbath.
I highly recommend this vigorous and beautiful Hosta. About ten years ago, this plant produced a delightful sport in my garden that is a solid golden green which has survived and flourished. I have about six divisions now. Not surprisingly, my unnamed sport is more sun-sensitive than Golden Tiara and somewhat less vigorous. Golden Tiara is itself a sport and has produced other sports. (I would have posted a photo of the sport but the format has changed and I no longer see that option.)
This is my own registration, registered in August 2021 in memory of a recently deceased friend. It is a 5 yr-old OP seedling from H. 'Tickle Me Pink'. It is now growing in 3 Ottawa-area gardens and will be shared further as it grows enough. It is not commercially available.
Kinky Boots is a sport of 'Peek-a-boo Purple' and I suspect the name is probably after the theatre play, "Kinky Boots" which ran on Broadway. (After seeing the play with friends, I had to have its name-sake in the garden.) It stands just over a foot high and spreads to nearly 3 ft. The leaves are narrow and long, a blue-green tone but with ruffled, creamy off-white margins. I especially enjoy the petioles, which stand out in a deep burgundy-purple. Its flowers are a lovely lavender. In my zone 3 gardens, this holds up beautifully all summer and into early fall. I have it in full shade, on the north side of my house - not an easy area to grow in, but Kinky Boots is a winner!
If you had gone Hosta-hunting in central Oklahoma in the 1980's you would have been hard-pressed to find more than 3-5 cultivars… a couple with blue foliage, a couple with variegated leaves and a yellow leafed one. Thank goodness, by the early 1990's, a lot more was known about Hostas and a lot more cultivars were available.
Hosta sieboldiana 'Elegans' was one of those few, early, blue selections. A few of my gardening friends would say, "Early availability is the reason this particular Hosta is still one of John's favorites… he just saw it before he saw very many others."
That might well have been the initial reason… but other, better ones quickly outweighed it.
This Hosta, for instance, has thick, puckered and cupped blue leaves that help it resist insect and disease attacks better than the thin, variegated leaves of other Hostas. This same physical quality makes 'Elegans' more sun tolerant than other Hostas… even in the drying summer light of the Southern Great Plains. Wind, as well as sun, has a desiccating effect of foliage in Oklahoma… and the same thick leaves help it avoid windburn. Its greatest enemy, however, is hail… so if you can anticipate a hail storm... covering the plant temporarily is highly recommended.
Practical considerations aside, the ornamental value of H.s. 'Elegans' is tremendous. At maturity this Hosta can be 24 inches tall and have a diameter of 4-5 feet. This alone makes it a suitable candidate as a focal point in any woodland setting. Its foliage color is blue enough to be a striking contrast to all the green, gray and/or yellow foliage around it.
In the woodland setting in which it belongs it looks absolutely stunning when planted in a grouping of three… surrounded by a low growing groundcover like Bugleweed [Ajuga], or Mondo Grass [Ophiopogon] or Geranium tuberosum [Cranesbill].
Hosta sieboldiana 'Elegans' is hardy from zone 4 south through zone 9. So, in the southern three of these zones, it is hardy in a large freeze proof container. In this configuration it looks striking placed on either side of entry or patio doors. Just remember to water in winter every 12-14 days and always just before very, very hard freezes.
I first saw this as a young plant at Black Creek Nursery. At the 2019 Philly Flower Show, it was the only hosta in the Proven Winners exhibit, striking coloration. Confusingly, it had "Hosta of the Year" on the corner of its label. In fact, it's a sport of the Hosta Growers Association 2010 "Hosta of the Year," 'First Frost'. Maybe since sports are vegetatively propagated from their parent plants, awards like this are considered to be transferred? Seemed to be a stretch, although this does look like a stunning plant with great substance to its leaves, worthy of the "Proven Winners" label at least.
I got a nice start of Victory from Wolf Creek and it adapted to my garden and grew quickly. It is a large handsome Hosta which is easily recognizable. The leaves are huge and the color contrast with the border is great. Bloom stalk is tall. I would recommend it.
Good, fast growing, edger hosta. I started with 3 (18 years ago), gradually divided them until I have about 25 plants now and they are all robust. Never had any of them revert.
'Mighty Mouse' and 'Frosted Mouse Ears' are extremely similar cultivars. However, some reputable websites (including Hallson Gardens and Plant Delights) claim that the light edges on 'Mighty Mouse' are a bit lighter than on 'Frosted Mouse Ears' when they are grown in the same lighting conditions.
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