AHS Popularity Poll
AHS Members, don't forget to cast your votes for the current Popularity Poll in the Members area.
Each year the American Hosta Society (AHS) conducts a popularity poll among its members to determine their favorite Hostas.
The ballots are included with the Hosta Journal and members return their submissions by mail. Popularity polls are important to Hosta gardeners, letting everyone know which plants perform best in the gardens throughout the years.
AHS Hosta Popularity Poll 2008
Bob Olson St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Perennial favorites Hosta ‘June’ and ‘Sagae’ led the way again in this year’s Popularity Poll, but ‘Liberty’ made a large leap toward the top and threatened to surpass its progenitor, ‘Sagae’, just as ‘June’ long ago passed its forerunner, ‘Halcyon’. Members of The American Hosta Society like big plants, but they like variegation more.
There are a number of plant families represented in the top 25: H. ‘Halcyon’ is related to ‘June’ and ‘First Frost’, ‘Sagae’ to ‘Liberty’, ‘Fragrant Bouquet’ to ‘Guacamole’ and ‘Stained Glass’, ‘Blue Angel’ to ‘Guardian Angel’, ‘Gold Standard’ to ‘Striptease’ and H. montana to H. montana ‘Aureomarginata’ and ‘On Stage’. There are those who suspect ‘Regal Splendor’ and ‘Praying Hands’ are related, too.
The Poll seems to suggest that AHS voters like big, distinctive plants—and big, variegated, distinctive plants even more. Look for a white-edge sport of ‘Niagara Falls’ to come out of a tissue culture lab in the next two years and take the world by storm.
The 2008 results were tabulated and provided by Popularity Poll Chairman, Bob Olson.
They were announced in The Hosta Journal vol. 40, No. 2
1. |
H. 'June' |
2. |
H. 'Sagae' |
3. |
H. ‘Liberty’ |
4. |
H. ‘Guacamole’ |
5. |
H. ‘Blue Angel’ |
6. |
H. ‘Striptease’ |
7. |
H. ‘Paul’s Glory’ |
8. |
H. ‘Stained Glass’ |
9. |
H. ‘Gold Standard’ |
10. |
H. ‘Halcyon’ |
11. |
H. ‘Sum and Substance’ |
12. |
H. montana 'Aureomarginata' |
13. |
H. ‘Paradigm’ |
14. |
H. ‘Orange Marmalade’ |
15. |
H. ‘Regal Splendor’ |
16. |
H. ‘Whirlwind’ |
17. |
H. ‘Spilt Milk’ |
18. |
H. ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ |
19. |
H. ‘Guardian Angel’ |
20. |
H. ‘Patriot’ |
21. |
H. ‘On Stage’ |
22. |
H. 'Niagara Falls' |
23. |
H. ‘Great Expectations’ |
24. |
H. ‘Praying Hands’ |
25. |
H. ‘First Frost’ |
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AHS (Very) Small Hosta Popularity Poll 2008
Bob Olson St. Louis Park, Minnesota
This was the first year of the (Very) Small Hosta Poll, where the members decide what qualifies as a small hosta. The results were gratifying (at least I thought so). No one complained about the criteria and several members said they definitely liked the new system—no one had ever commented favorably on our voting system before.
Even better, a far larger percentage of the membership voted in both Polls. In prior years, half the members just skipped the Mini Hosta Poll after voting in the AHS Popularity Poll, which includes all hostas. Our results are more representative now.
The main change with the Poll’s new configuration is that Hosta ‘Blue Mouse Ears’—which wasn’t on the former Mini Poll ballot—nearly beat the regular favorite, ‘Pandora’s Box’, for first place. No other hosta was even close to these two. H. ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ and ‘Pandora’s Box’ were on virtually every ballot, usually ranked either first or second.
There are two other things to note. First, two newcomers, ‘Cookie Crumbs’ and ‘Dragon Tails’, are moving into contention, achieving ninth and 10th place, respectively. Second, two other rising stars, ‘Cameo’ and ‘Country Mouse’, generated enough votes to earn them a place as honorable mentions, although they haven’t cracked the top 10 yet.
The 2008 results were tabulated and provided by Popularity Poll Chairman, Bob Olson.
They were announced in The Hosta Journal vol. 40, No. 2
1. |
H. 'Pandora's Box' |
2. |
H. ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ |
3. |
H. ‘Baby Bunting’ |
4. |
H. 'Tiny Tears' |
5. |
H. ‘Popo’ |
6. |
H. venusta |
7. |
H. ‘Cracker Crumbs’ |
8. |
H. ‘Lemon Lime’ |
9. |
H. ‘Cookie Crumbs’ |
10. |
H. ‘Twist of Lime’ |
| Honorable Mentions: H. ‘Cameo’ and ‘Country Mouse’. |
Previous years listings are in the members area.
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