How Many Hostas Are Too Many?
- John Plant
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Being a ‘Holic’ can often be a very lonely place. This is almost certainly the case with things like gambling, drugs & alcohol. I can’t imagine how these people feel.
From a self-confessed Hostaholic point of view, it has introduced me to hundreds of happy like-minded people, who are more than happy to share their interest. They are more than willing to talk about their problem?
Qualifying to be a possible or even probable Hostaholic, is indeed down to how many Hostas you have. However, is it the same to call yourself a Hostaholic with just a few dozen or do you need to have hundreds of Hostas.
Personally, I am not sure that numbers matter. I feel its more of a case of “I must have that one”.” I can’t be without it”
If you “need” that Hosta, especially if you haven’t got room for it, I would get yourself checked out, but all the symptoms are there.
Often, collecting Hostas is not a joint collaboration. With a lot of couples there is generally one who is the Hosta person, with the partner being the support unit. If both are avid collectors, there is no-one to keep you in check.
Ask yourself “have you got room for this Hosta”? Where are you going to put it”? If your answer is I don’t know, but I am sure we can fit them in…… Think about it!
Do you need to make more beds? Do you need to reduce, or even get rid of that lawn? If you can make room for your new additions, then go ahead. Buy them.
Admittedly there are far worse addictions to have, just be grateful it is only for Hostas.
Being a Hostaholic is a means to an end when buying more and more Hostas.
The initial question is ‘How many Hostas are too many’.
I suppose there is no limit on the number of Hostas you can have, as long as there are the funds to buy, the space to put them, the capacity to look after them, and the ability to keep a record of each variety. No point in having loads of different Hostas if you don’t know what they are.
There are usually hundreds of new, and sometimes exciting varieties, introduced to the market every year. It is understandable that you may wish to want or need a few of these. To have something that very few others have.
Typically, you start with maybe one or two Hostas, but that just steamrolls into many, many more. So, when do you stop?
Is it when the obsession wears out? Not likely from the many collectors I know. Once you have the bug, it’s there for a long time, and there’s no age limit on it either.
Maybe it’s when the funds run out. This is a good time to stop, or even just slow down. Spend your money on something for the family. Something practical.
Perhaps you might just run out of space. As an avid collector, you may overcome your problem. Plant in pots as well as the ground. Make more space by removing something else. Or simply move. Get a bigger house & garden and move your collection. That’s pretty well what we did. We looked at property with our Hostas in mind, as much as the living accommodation. That had to be right as well.
We have always been able to find space for more varieties. We are currently over 850 different varieties and will be adding more in the future. Space has already been allocated for them.
You will instinctively know when to stop, you might not see it immediately, and it may not even come.
How many Hostas are too many is a personal thing. Whether you have 20 or 30 different varieties, or hundreds, if you feel that you want more, or just can’t resist a few more, or like us you just keep adding to what you have, it is still personal.
It is not someone else’s decision. Their thoughts on numbers are not your concern.
What I would say is that collecting for collecting sake may not be the way forward. Buying a Hosta that looks the same some you already have is a little pointless. Make the new ones a little different.
There isn’t a limit on the number of Hostas being too many. There are 7-8,000 varieties of Hosta around, (Most of which are not available on the market today). Best of luck with finding these.
Go on! Do your worst! Spoken by a Hostaholic, who doesn’t have enough Hostas yet.
Happy hunting.
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John Plant
Rewela Hostas
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