Hostas and the Mid-South Hosta Society Sale

The Mid-South Hosta Society will hold its annual plant sale on Saturday, May 9, from 9-2. This is the big hosta sale for our area--over 1000 hostas will be available for purchase. A good selection of mini-hostas will be available including 'Cherry Tart' and 'Curly Fries'. The sale will be held at the Memphis Botanic Garden, and parking and admission to the sale are both free.

After going to the sale, be sure to take a tour of the Memphis Botanic Garden Hosta Trail, which was certified by the American Hosta Society in 2006 as an American Hosta Society National Display Garden. Plants were supplied by donations from the Mid-South Hosta Society and the Trail is maintained by Society members. It is quite beautiful, a hosta paradise.

The Mid-South Hosta Society holds its meetings at 7:00 pm at the Memphis Botanic Garden on the third Thursday of February, March, April, September, and October. More information on membership can be found at the Society's website or from the current president, Judith Hammond (judithhammond@bellsouth.net).

To whet your appetite for the sale, here is a sample of favorite hostas from my garden. You can probably find them all at the sale.

'Paul's Glory' is a nice large hosta that emerges green in spring and takes on a more yellow color as the season progresses. 'Dream Queen' is the hosta to the right in the picture.

Paul's Glory

Here is a better view of 'Dream Queen.'

Dream Queen

'Sum and Substance is also a nice, large yellowish hosta.

Sum and Substance

June is a medium-sized hosta that emerges a nice yellow in the spring and retains its color nicely throughout the summer. Are you detecting a pattern here that suggests my favorite colors?

June

I also like the blue hostas, but many of them do not hold up well in our hot summers. One of the exceptions is the mini-hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears,' shown in this collection of mini's. If you like large hosta, some of the larger blues that seem more suited to our environment include 'Halycon', 'Pewterware', and 'Blue Jay'.

Blue Mouse Ears

Here are two others you might like. Shown below is 'Striptease.'

Striptease

This is 'Full Monty', a sport of Striptease. Sports are shoots of plants that are different from the rest of the plant. They are isolated and sold as a different variety. Sometimes the differences between varieties is very subtle, as is the case with 'Striptease' and 'Full Monty'. This may be the reason that we have over 6,000 varieties of named hosta varieties!

Full Monty

See you at the hosta sale and tour on Saturday!