Hosta Halcyon
Todays post is highlighting the Hosta Halcyon and also some of the other Hostas growing in our garden.
I have no idea why, after all this time of blogging I haven’t as yet got around to talking of the Hostas in our garden, which only happens to be the perennial which I favour over all others. The majority of these plants were purchased many years ago, and at that time I wasn’t so very concerned with plant names. Had I known that I would be spending so much of my time doing this sort of thing twenty five years later I would have been more particular. 
Halcyon is one of the few Hostas in our garden which is not variegated. Name is known as it was purchased in Spring of this year.The lance shaped blue/green leaves are extremely eye catching and as you can see we have this one in a pot. Hostas absolutely thrive in pots we have a few which have been in the same containers for over twelve years without having been repotted. Although Hostas are generally grown for their leaves, many of them have rather attractive blooms which should not be overlooked, the pale lilac blue flowers of Halcyon are quite exceptional. 
Halcyon like many other Hostas will tolerate a fair bit of sunshine but perform best of all in partial shade or even quite heavy shade. Halcyon belongs to the Tardiana group and was given the RHS award of garden merit. Grow your Hostas in moist but well draining soil, they are reported to perform best when the soil is acidic to neutral. 
The Hosta Halcyon shares a place with many other plants in a totally transformed area of the garden. In an upcoming post I will let you see what we have done. ( Hosta Halcyon)
• Hardiness *** Fully hardy
• Position *** Partial shade
• Blooms *** In Summer July/August • Height *** 18″/45cm
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Here we have some of the other Hostas in our garden, I am sure it would have been of more interest had I known the names of them. I will number each Hosta and if you happen to recognise and know the name get in touch and I will add your name and a link to your blog.
Hosta No. 1
In the woodland area of the garden.
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Hosta No. 2 *** Albo Marginata, named by Carolyn, a gardening grandmother from Utah USA.
In a pot and moved around from pillar to post.
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Hosta No. 3
A pair of these ones sit by the pond in tubs.
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Hosta No 4 Dress Blue
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Hosta No. 5
In an East facing border. I will have to move it, cramping its style with being overcrowded.
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Hosta No 6 (Fragrant Bouquet) A pair of them planted in pots when I was relatively young, that should give an idea as to how long we have had them. I discovered the name for this one on finding a very brittle plastic name tag in the pot. Fragrant Bouquet seriously dislikes too much sun.
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Hosta No. 7 Big Daddy *** named by Angie from Scotlands capital city.
Planted in an East facing border beside the pond.
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Hosta No. 8
In the round garden beside some Ferns.
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Hosta No. 9 (Minuteman)
A newcomer, in a pot in the new garden area which I will talk of quite soon.
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Hosta No. 10
Planted in the round garden where it disappears under foliage of other plants by the time August arrives. Doesn’t do it any harm but its just so wrong.
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Hosta No. 11
Strange as it may seem, shares a position alongside a Heather bed.
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Hosta No. 12
In a pot and placed in a west facing position where it is unfazed by being in full sunshine. The pot is crumbling owing to the time its been there. Honestly I know of no other plant which would tolerate such hardship.
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The front garden in July. I dont show it so very often. Its something like half permanent plants and half annuals.
If you happen to leave a comment I will be sure to visit your site and do the same
hi, Very nice blog:)
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http://seedgerminator.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/cabbage/
Any suggestions and feedback will be appreciative.
Hi Janet
Hostas are very useful as pot plants. I reckon this is my website acting up again and promoting posts which are several months old.
What a beautiful collecction of pristine hostas Alistair, they really are great plants – until the slugs get at them! Your post has just inspired me though – I have a drain cover I need to disguise in the middle of my woodlandish corner, and plenty of pots. I shall rescue my now very tattered hostas from the border and kill several birds with a single stone. Thank you!!
It is going to be hard in some ways Frances, although we are now feeling ready for this and I have to admit it is quite exciting. I don’t really have to put anything after aberdeengardening but it wont exactly be appropriate, actually relocated is a possibility.
Alistair that’s a bit of a surprise though I remember you talked about it, just occurred to me ~ getting out before Mr S might get his way! I almost envy you, though leaving your wonderful garden and house full of memories must be hard, regarding the name of your blog do you have to put anything after aberdeengardening, if so ‘relocated’ is all that comes to mind at present,
good luck to you both I hope all goes smoothly with sale, purchase and move, Frances
Hi Rick, thanks for the welcome. We are not in Cheshire as yet, was just visiting for a few days. Our house is on the market next week so hopefully the move will be made before the Winter sets in.
Thank you Frances, Back home now the weather was very pleasant and most of our time was spent house searching. Our property goes on the market next week so well and truly committed this time. Aberdeen gardening will be having a break for some time in the near future and when we are in our new home I have every intention of picking up again. My website will still have to be aberdeengardening, will have to drop the from bonnie Scotland and add from Cheshire, doesn’t make sense so I will be on the look out for suggestions.
I hope you and Myra are having a lovely time with your daughter and haven’t suffered the storms that have been in some parts,
I bought hosta halcyon last autumn, it’s my first hosta and so far, so good, it has just thrown up a flowering stem but the flowers are not out yet, I look forward to seeing them,
you have some very beautiful hostas Alistair, Frances
I sincerely wish you all the best, now you are down in my territory maybe we will meet up one day although if you are near Holmes Chapel you are about an hour away.
Cant believe it myself Rick, I think its the most adventurous thing we have ever done. Never mind the area we are going to, all the streets have Scottish names.
Hi Alistair, I didn’t realise you are coming down to join us Sassenachs. What are we going to do without Aberdeen Gardening from Bonny Scotland?
Thank you for visiting my blog Annette. Sorry for taking so long to reply but we have been away for a week. Make sure your Wisteria is placed in the sunniest position possible. Take care and enjoy the rest of the Summer..
Hi Rick, The Hostas do indeed enjoy being positioned in the shade. All systems are now go for our move to Cheshire depending on how soon our Aberdeen home sells. Not sure about my website (Aberdeen gardening from Cheshire) not so sure about that.
Thank you for dropping by Vesna and I also hope you are enjoying the Summer.
Alistair – I love your hostas, each one looks perfect. My favourites are the ones with the waxy coating on the leaves
The front garden would do well for our fourth of July celebration. Big Daddy is one of my hosta favorites. My varieties incluce Guacamole, Sum and Substance, Gold Standard and Elegens.
Hello Alistair, it has been some time since I posted the comment on your post but I do read it regularly. Nice post about Hostas, they are doing very well in my garden in spite of hot summer. It is important to find shady and moist places in the garden to plant them. So far I haven’t noticed any slug eating them.
Your garden is as always inspiring. Have a nice summer!
Hi Alistair, Like you I have accumulated my hostas over a period of time and to be quite honest I couldn’t name one of them. I don’t think you can beat then for brightening up the garden whether in pots or the border and they are generally far more tolerant of dryness and shade, once established, than many people realise.
Hi Alistair,
I really enjoy your garden site – I also live in Aberdeen and am becoming something of a garden fanatic these days. I was pleased to see your info on Wisteria as I have been wondering about trying one against a wall in the back garden.
Also I bought a hosta at the Botanic Garden plant sale recently and it looks very like Halcyon – it is doing well and I am now looking forward to seeing the flowers. I am also going to try matching my other hostas as I too have no idea what they are called! I think this year has been slightly better for slugs and snails so far. Could be because we have finally got a resident thrush – it is so good to see those empty snail shells near any large rocks under bushes. I have also seen a frog (or maybe more than one?) a couple of times – so I guess he is doing his bit too.
Thanks for all the info on your site – it is very helpful and great pictures too.
Thanks for dropping by Kate. Hope you are happy with the move which you made. Something we are considering, hard to decide.
It is difficult keeping the slugs under control Sunil, I usually lose the battle later in the Summer.
Hello catmint, apart from the slugs, which we get plenty of I think Hostas would struggle in the intense heat. Mind you, we are actually having a Summer this year.
dear alastair, I enjoyed this post because I love hostas. But I must admit I did regard the post as a bit of a tease. Because In The Beginning (of the garden, that is) when I was very new and innocent, I tried growing hostas. Before they shrivelled and died of heat and thirst, they got infested by snails. So we are reminded, yet again, that Scotland is a long way away from Australia! Your garden, as usual, is looking superb.
Hi Alistair, I like the hostas, we have a few in the garden too and they’re a mix of solid and variegated colours. Who would have thought there could be so many variations in green/blue/white? Some I really like while others I’m indifferent too. I notice that all your hostas are completely untouched by slugs and snails, unfortunately, I can’t say the same for mine!
Love all your hostas. They are something that having lived out on the prairies of Alberta Canada with absolutely no shade to speak of I didn’t get to use much. I put in over a hundred bare root this spring and then split and moved several that were already in the garden in Hamilton Michigan. Im loving them and the contrast they provide in the garden. You have spectacular ones that I want to find now and include in my garden..
Hello Alistair
Gorgeous hostas, especially Halcyon. I think I had this at one time or maybe still do (I’m bad at keeping all the names straight). I know I planted Blue Wedgewood and Blue Cadet as well.
I like your other ones as well. I see you let the flowers bloom – many gardeners don’t like them and cut them off when they appear. I like both stages of Hosta – with and without flowers.
Your front yard looks “happy” with all that colour. Excellent job.
Donna, that is seriously large Hostas which you have. Heading south tomorrow for a weeks break to our eldest daughters place in Cheshire England.
Its hard to keep the slugs under control Esther,at least the ones in containers are easier to keep slug free. I use what is referred to as environmentally friendly slug pellets , once in Spring and once in early Summer. By the time late Summer comes around the Hostas are sometimes in a sorry state.
Jealous. I like hostas and some of these are specially nice – but I haven’t even tried here because of slugs. Maybe you have fewer in Aberdeen because the winters are colder and they are regularly slain? (Do you use pellets? I wouldn’t like to do that.)
I love hostas and have always had so many…now with the trees being taken down I hope I have enough shade for them. Some of mine are huge and measure 4 feet in width….they are an addiction…love all the color in your front garden.
Helps keep the slugs away also Deb. Thanks for the suggestion for Hosta NO.1 I think stained glass has more yellow than the one which I have.
You have confirmed that it was a good choice Patrick.
Great collection AListair, and they all look so pristine!
Hey Alistair,
‘Halcyon’ is our go to choice for shade gardens. Ranked by some as one of the top ten plants for Midwest gardens. What a all-around winner, my friend.
You have some gorgeous hostas! I like the idea of putting hostas in pots. I will be doing this in the future, as I am tired of losing mature hosta specimens to voles! Your #1 looks a lot like Stained Glass.
Good to see a big shout out for hostas…they so often get overlooked these days. And your fron garden…well what can I say….stunning!!
Linnie, Hostas are brilliant in pots, its only recently that we have been using other perennials in this fashion. The idea of nervous plants makes me feel guilty considering how badly I treat them if they don’t meet my expectations.
Hi Angie, thanks for the suggestions, I will check it out further.
Helene, I am inclined to agree with you regarding variegated Hostas, however I am very fond of this Halcyon. Weather has also been gorgeous here, some change from last year.
Gardening shoe, I didn’t pick up on any fragrance from Halcyon, however I am surprised to see it produce another four flower spikes, on such a young plant.
What a gloriously diverse and healthy-looking collection of Hosta plants! I am pleased that you have included a photo with flowers. Hosta growers/experts can be a little vague on flower colour. I suppose they must only think of them in terms of foliage, but they can have delightful flowers – some scented (are Halcyon flowers fragrant?) – and I do like to know flower colour when I select plants! So thank you!
Hi Alistair, lovely collection of hostas, I love them all! But I think I like variegated more, they kind of ligt up in shady areas of the garden and I want to add some more this autumn in my redesigned bed. I am planning to add some miniature hostas too. Absolute favourites of your list was number 5 and 9, that’s hostas to me 🙂
Hope you have just as nice weather as we have down south, it has been a remarkable summer this year!
Take care, Helene.
Lovely healthy hostas Alistair! Like you I’ve a few I’ve had for years and no longer have names!
Can I make a couple of suggestions for IDs to you. No 7 is possibly H. Sieboldiana. There are a few varieties e.g elegans and big daddy. Could No 8 be H. June? A sport of Halcyon. Colour of June varies greatly depending on how much sun it receives.
Halcyon is a cracker – I grow it too and like it paired with purple foliage.
Very eye catching front garden – plenty of kerb appeal!
I love your hostas Alistair! I never thought of growing one in a pot, but I like potted perennials and how they can be relocated like furniture. You (and Carolyn) inspire me so about these plants. I look forward to seeing the new area you are working on. I’ve been plotting some new fall digging myself, so exciting but I think it makes all the plants nervous.
Thanks Carolyn, after checking a little further Hosta no. 2 does indeed look enough like Albo Marginata to go ahead and name. For those at your side of the Atlantic my colour scheme is for you, others over here may well feel its a tribute to the union jack flag. Of course if Scottish independence goes ahead I will have to alter my colour scheme.
Lovely hostas Alistair. I do believe hosta #2 is ‘Albo Marginata’, I have several in my gardens. Your hosta #6 ‘Fragrant Bouquet’ has captured my eye and I’ve added it to my list of “plants to look for”. Lovely front gardens… red, white and blue… is this a tribute to America’s 4th of July? Sorry, I just had to toss that in. 🙂