What is a Special Collection?
Among the numerous Hostas varieties we offer, some truly shine above the rest, earning them a place in our 'Special Collection'.
The varieties in the special collection will change every year depending on availability.
Breeders are always looking for the next fashion in Hostas, whether it be red-stemmed, or even streaked Hostas. They are always striving to bring us the next best thing.
When a great new variety is found, it will always be low in numbers to start with. These probably won’t be commercially available for several years.
The new varieties coming through at present are from introductions from a few years ago and have gone through that period of testing and multiplying, to bring them to the market.
You will not find these in a garden centre or local general plant nursery, only at a specialist Hosta company like Rewela Hostas. We are working closely with a specialist producer to make this happen sooner.
New introductions are less available than established varieties, and we make it our duty to select as many of these as possible and offer them to our customers.
These will be available in small numbers, and they will appear as our special collection. A carefully selected few new varieties, just for you.
One of the inevitabilities of any new introduction is it may be for just this season. Just because a new variety is available today, it may be that it won’t be available again for be a few years, as they need to build enough numbers for further introduction.
Hostas in our special collection are not rare varieties, but they may be classed as difficult to find, or possibly not many available. This makes them just that much more expensive, at least until they are more readily available.
The special collection is for everybody that wants them but are generally aimed at the more serious collector.
Dedicated Hosta enthusiasts eagerly seek out newly introduced varieties. We strive to offer what is available to the market, although they are typically produced in limited quantities.
So, I hear you say! What makes these Hostas more expensive?
It’s mainly time! It takes longer than you might think to hybridize a new plant and bring it to market. To produce a new variety from seed or even as a sport, can take several years. There is the cost of production and labour over that period plus other costs like heated polytunnels & greenhouses, propagators, air-conditioned units etc, to help these Hostas along in the initial stages.
Production of a new variety from seed can take as long as 15 – 17 years with a lot of culling of stock that didn’t quite make it’. It is likely that for every 1,000 or so seedlings that germinate, you will be lucky to get just one that makes the grade.
Production of a new variety from a sport can take many years as well, with all the labour and growing costs. Some will have already been produced before. You need to check if this sport already exists.
If indeed you have a new variety, it needs to be registered and then grown on for many years to produce enough stock for selling, either as a rare Hosta, and to then be commercially produced.
All of these stages take a very long time with substantial costs, certainly in the early years. They also need several years being trialled before ever being introduced to the market.
The Hostas selected for our Special Collection have been through most of the early stages but are not fully commercially available just yet. They are what you would call ‘difficult to find’. Some of these will eventually become commercially available, and therefore easier to find. It could be a wait of several years though.
A rare Hosta will be one that is not readily, commercially available or can’t easily be found in the private sector. A rare Hosta could also be one that is grown in private gardens, and rarely sold. These are always expensive to buy, if you can get them. They often appear on Hosta auction sites and can be sold for a figure in excess of £500. Or in the recent American Hosta Society auction this February Hosta Burlesque sold for over a $1000 dollars!!
Hostas can be rare for a number of reasons
Hosta varieties that have been developed but are not yet into commercial production. It takes a many years, for the grower to produce enough of the variety to offer it for commercial production.
It could be that someone, who produces a new variety, instead of creating vast numbers, only sells it by single divisions each time. This makes the variety rare. Often there is an agreement between the seller and the buyer, that the buyer does not reproduce for sale.
Some are sold at large Hosta conventions. These are often for charity with a ‘no production’ stipulation as well.
Rarity sometimes doesn’t last long. Once into a commercial environment, they become more readily available, no longer rare, and then of course will be cheaper.
Most new varieties will go through an initial period of rarity, simply because, there are enough available, but once there are plenty available, are no longer rare. Any Hosta that is now in commercial production, is not rare.
Do not take the word of any old website stating that a Hosta is rare. Take a look at The Hosta Library to determine its status.
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A difficult to get hold of variety, could be available in just a couple of nurseries who they sell them regularly. I wouldn’t class them as a rare variety, just difficult to get hold of. Supply is usually very limited.
It's always nice to have just that unusual variety in your collection, to show off to your friends.
Why not take a closer look at our Special Collection for 2025?
To learn more about Hostas, you may interested in reading : Grow and Maintain Hostas In Containers,  Benefits of Companion Plants, What Are the Common Mistakes to Avoid When Growing Hostas?, Ways to Protect Your Hostas from Slugs and Snails and "Uncovering the Advantages of Bare Root Hostas:
Shop for Hostas HERE
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John Plant
Rewela Hostas
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