'Liberty' is my largest hosta. (I garden on a city lot 60' wide; so specialize mostly in small-medium hostas). It's also the Queen of my garden and a real show-off. An attention getter from when it first emerges to the end of the season. I have no 2015 pictures of it in bloom; so it must have bloomed in the first half of July when I was away. It holds its blooms on very tall scapes.

May 16


June 1


August 13


Sept. 29

I love my 'Liberty' but it's been a very slow grower for me. It's been the same size for three years now. 'Guacamole' that's next to it has been a vigorous grower. I may need to dig it up to check the roots or maybe give it some more nitrogen.

Ann, do the edges turn from gold in the spring to white in the fall?

They certainly whiten some. You can see the difference in the pictures above.

I planted three hosta Liberty in an old half whiskey barrel and within one season the barrel was overflowing. After a second year I moved them into a border - they don't seem as happy there, and are certainly less visible. I'll see how they do this summer and then perhaps move them back to the barrel (maybe they like the tang of old whiskey!)

'Liberty' is one of my favorite hostas but it's one of those plants that seems to do better in other people's gardens.

Mika, you just gave me an idea. I may dig mine up and plant it in a whiskey barrel, since voles/tree root competition may be the problem.

SS, I hope your Liberty like their new home!
Liberty is one of the hostas that grows happily in sun, and I'm not sure but I think they may whiten more (or perhaps earlier?) when they get more sun - our whiskey barrel has sun more or less all day, and the hostas were very happy and the white bits very white; in the border where I've moved them it's much shadier and the colour isn't as bright. Perhaps Ann knows?

I have 3 in different amounts of shade and none of mine behave as nice as yours does! Mine must have come from the same place as your did SSGARDENER!

Rose, we'll just commiserate together and look upon Ann's pictures with envy!

Mika - maybe grow ONE in the barrel with some smaller plants around it and find another location for the other two?

Good idea, the main reason I moved them was that they were bursting the boundaries of the barrel. Thank you for the suggestion.

July 13, 2016