Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ after I brought it home on 4-23-17, #321-7.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’
2014 American Hosta Growers Assn. Hosta of the Year
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ is a hybrid of Hosta ‘Tokudama’ and Hosta sieboldiana. It was registered in 1989 by Dr. Charles Purtymun of Walden West Hostas in Oregon. Dr. Purtymun used the name “Abiqua” in 24 other Hosta cultivars, named after the Abique Creek that flows through the Cascade Mountains. The “Drinking Gourd” part of the name comes from when he saw a dog drinking water from one of the plants leaves.
I apologize for the untidiness. There is always plenty to do on the farm and sometimes the beds get a little weedy. It seems like I take photos before weeding instead of right after. I amended the soil with composted cow manure and hay, what I call “The Good Stuff”, so there is always grass and weed seeds that come along.
I take a lot of photos, sometimes only a few days apart. I hope you enjoy them.
THERE ARE SEVERAL LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 5-31-17, #339-16.
I brought this Hosta home from Lowe’s on April 23, 2017. It is a unique cultivar with heavily corrugated and cupped blue-green leaves. The leaves are thick and slug-resistant.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 6-11-17, #343-17.
USEFUL INFORMATION:
Family: Asparagaceae (formerly in Liliaceae)
Origin: Purtymun/Walden West cultivar
Zones: USDA Zones 3a-8b (-40 to 15° F)
Size: 18” tall x 24-36” wide
Spacing: Space 36” apart
Flowers: White flowers on 22” stems in mid to late summer
Leaves: Nearly round, blue-green, corrugated and cup-shaped
Light: Light to full shade
Soil: Prefers moist, well-drained soil
Water: Average water needs once established
Propagation: Division every 3-5 years.
Uses: Attracts hummingbirds, shade garden, containers, etc.
Tolerates: Dry shade and high humidity
Resistant: Slugs and snails
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 6-18-17, #345-22.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 6-24-17, #349-37.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 7-19-17, #357-33.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 10-11-17, #382-34.
When cooler temperatures came and daylength started decreasing, many perennials knew it was getting time to sleep. Sleep well my new friend. I hope to see you again in the spring.
<<<<2018>>>>
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ coming up on 4-13-18, #425-16.
Spring is always an exciting time and I am always anxious to see if the Hosta have made it through. Some appear sooner than others which just makes me check every few days.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 5-6-18, #436-25.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ getting off to a good start by May 6 in 2018.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 5-17-18, #443-41.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 6-9-18, #456-10.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 6-14-18, #459-25.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 6-21-18, #462-2.
The clump measured 9″ tall x 18″ wide when the above photo was taken on June 21, 2018.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ leaf on 6-21-18, #462-3.
I really like the thick, heavily textured, and cupped leaves of this Hosta.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 7-29-18, #487-51.
With the invasion of the Japanese Beetles, the shade beds were receiving more light. The light was still somewhat filtered, but it was certainly not good for shade-loving plants.
<<<<2019>>>>
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 3-24-19, #556-2.
This winter wasn’t as cold as last and we had more snow. We had mild temperatures followed by snow and cold. Then the weather would be nice and the snow would melt then we would get snow again. This happened several times and it is not necessarily good for many perennials. I went out to check on the perennials, mainly the Hosta, on March 7 then again on March 10. There were several Hosta I couldn’t see sprouting yet. I thought that was a little weird. I checked again on March 24 and found more soil had covered one of the Hosta, so I thought maybe that’s what happened to the others I couldn’t find. As it turned out I was looking behind their labels instead of in front of them. All my plant labels are in front of the plants so it was weird one group had ther labels in the rear… Hmmm…
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 4-7-19, #558-13.
The Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ growing at a snail’s pace on April 7.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 4-20-19, #560-12.
On April 20, it is still working on it.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 4-23-19, #562-8.
Well, we are getting there.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 5-5-19, #566-32.
By May 5, temps had been getting warm enough for the Hosta to start growing much better.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 5-25-19, #576-35.
Then, by May 25, they were in full swing…
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 6-9-19, #585-10.
Looks like we have a bud!
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 7-1-19, #597-3.
The Japanese Beetles weren’t as bad in 2019 as they were in 2018 because I had a trap right next to the shade bed. They love the leaves of the Chinese Elms and there are two that shade the beds where the Hosta are. They turned a shady area into light shade which caused some of the Hosta’s leaves to burn somewhat.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 8-11-19, #613-14.
August 11 was the last day I took photos of the plants in the shade bed in 2019. They had a great summer despite the Japanese Beetle invasion which wasn’t bad in 2019 as it was in 2018. It wasn’t as bad in 2019 because I had a trap right next to the shade beds. I had to keep an eye on them and water a little more often.
<<<<2020>>>>
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 3-20-20, #681-15.
Spring was in the air when I took the above photo on March 30 and the Hosta have been “working on it”. Most of them have been poking out of the ground for a while and now are beginning to turn green. They are a bit slow sometimes when cool temps linger, but as soon as it gets warm enough they will start growing better. It seems like they are anxiously waiting for the perfect opportunity.
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 5-15-20, #700-10.
By May 15, the Hosta were well underway and looking great. I was fairly busy over the summer of 2020 so I didn’t get to take many photos. The Hosta did very well and we had rain off and on. Luckily, we didn’t have much of a problem with the Japanese Beetles like in 2019, so the shade beds stayed shady…
<<<<2021>>>>
2021 Wasn’t a good year for the Hosta here. Normally, the deer only nibble on the H. ‘Potomac Pride’ when the Hosta start growing in the spring then leave them alone. In 2021, they kept eating their leaves and wouldn’t let several of them grow.
<<<<2022>>>>
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 4-21-22, #871-6.
The Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ made it through the winter and came back up in the spring. The deer didn’t bother any of the Hosta in 2022, but I was fairly busy and didn’t take many photos of the plants in the shade bed.
<<<<2023>>>>
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ on 5-10-23, #938-9.
I moved the Hosta to the bed on the north side of the house in the spring of 2023. There was a continual problem with moles over the winter and they struggled coming up in the spring for several years. The Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ was looking great when the above photo was taken on 5-10-23. Better than most of them…
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ is a great Hosta and I recommend growing giving it a shot.
I will continue adding more photos as time goes on.
If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, I would like to hear from you. Please leave a “like” below if you visited this page. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. 🙂 Click here for my page about the Hosta genus, growing information, and sources. The links below are specifically for this cultivar. There are several good sources of Hosta somewhere toward the bottom on the right side of the page.
The Belmont Rooster 