Re: Hosta Flowers



ECPep@aol.com wrote:

>
> An observance overlooked in your essay is that hostas bloom in the shade
> unlike the genera in the quote above.
>
> Claire Peplowski
> East Nassau, NY
> z4

Well, I knew that you all couldn't give up.  By the way, I loosed the dogs on
the mob last night and survived to fight another day.

The observance wasn't necessarily overlooked.  I thought the discussion was
the relative merits of the hosta flower, not where they grow.  Now I suspect
that the more I defend my position, the more people are going to argue, but
that doesn't usually stop me.

So.  As I said before, plantaginea and its progeny, plus a few other hostas,
have nice flowers, though even these pale in comparison with many, many other
perennials and shrubs.  The vast majority of hostas have flowers that are
unexceptional in size, color, substance, form, and longevity, and none but the
above have any fragrance.  The vast majority of people do not buy hostas for
their flowers, florists do not use them, they are not suitable for drying or
cutting.  I suspect that if they were not associated with hostas, most would
agree that they are as ordinary as a flower can be.  Not ugly, just ordinary.
My whole point, if I have one, is that breeding hostas for improved flowers is
a worthy goal.  Breeding hostas for flowers that will stand on their own
merits in competition with other flowering perennials is probably futile.
People buy hostas because of their leaves.

Ok, for the shade -  Astilbe, polemonium, azaleas, tricyrits, anemones,
lobelias, columbines, trilium, primula, tiarella, filipendula.

Chick
Unbowed and unafraid
By the way, as much fun as it is arguing with you guys, this one has probably
gone beyond beating a dead horse.  I'll try to think of somethin else.

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