H. 'Paradise Joyce'

2010 is the third year in a row I have exchanged Hostas with the same lady in Brandon, MB. This is one of the ones I received this year and is the third 'Halcyon' derivative acquired this year. It'll be interesting to see how this differs from 'June' over time, will it prove to have similar chameleon-like behaviour in how light coloured the center variegation gets with increased light exposure? A quick comparison of the pictures of both on the Hosta Library show 'June' as having largely tri-coloured leaves, whereas this one shows only as a bi-colour.

What didn't occur to me until early September 2011, is how closely this resembles another 'Halcyon' derivative: 'Katherine Lewis'. I took a few divisions of the latter in 2011 and for 2012 I'll make a point of growing similar sized plants of both side-by-side and take lots of pictures. Certainly comparing the pictures of them in the Hosta Library shows quite clearly how similar they are. Supposedly 'Katherine Lewis' is out of a 'Halcyon' seedling, whereas 'Paradise Joyce' is out of 'Halcyon' itself. No doubt as to the family resemblance here.

The two cultivars are shown here late in the season, September 19th 2011, and both are showing signs of senescence, which is to be expected that time of year. The picture does serve its purpose though of showing how similar these two varieties are. 'Katherine Lewis' does show a slight tendency towards what I would describe as a re-greening of the leaves, where there is a blush of green showing up again in the center variegated area, something we do not see in the 'Paradise Joyce' here.

It's difficult to say what, if any, difference there might be in the colour of the seedpods, seeing as none developed on 'Paradise Joyce'. But, there are notable differences in the petioles, at least at this juncture, keeping in mind the 'Paradise Joyce' plant is smaller and less mature than the 'Katherine Lewis' one. The bottom of the petioles of 'Paradise Joyce' are clear of any markings, there is an ever so slight darkening of the very bottom and the center, but barely noticeable, the ones on 'Katherine Lewis' on the other hand clearly show a maroon speckling for a good portion of the lower part of the petiole. It'll be interesting to see if this difference maintains itself as both plants mature.

Next season's series of pictures of these two will make an interesting comparison, I think the early ones in particular will make it very difficult to tell which is which by just looking at the tops of the leaves. BTW, like this year, both will be grown in near full sun placement, leading to a quite light coloured medio variegation. I would expect the variegation to be a fair bit darker with a shadier environment.

Some more info in Hugo's Database.

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Pages last updated 28 November 2018