AHS Popularity Poll

AHS Hosta Popularity Poll 2009
H. 'First Frost' shoots up the rankings in the general Poll,
while 'Blue Mouse Ears' is the favorite (Very) Small Hosta.
Bob Olson  St. Louis Park, Minnesota

Participation in the annual Popularity Poll was down this year. With a shift from mailed-out paper ballots to online voting, this was not unexpected. Nonetheless, it is disappointing. We are devising strategies to improve participation, and we hope to have record numbers of voters in a year or two. But new ideas are always welcome. If anyone has ideas about how to increase voting participation, please send them on to me here.

Once again, the Popularity Poll did not have any real surprises this year, despite an electorate that may have been skewed due to the low turnout. Hosta 'Sagae', 'Liberty' and 'June' continue to battle it out for the top position, with 'Sum and Substance' not far behind at number 4. H. 'Sagae' and 'June' are there every year. H. 'Liberty' placing third is no surprise, despite its similarity to 'Sagae', because 'Liberty' is an outstanding cultivar by anyone's standard. In fact, given the Society's preferences for large, boldly variegated hostas, it may not be long before 'Liberty' claims the top spot. The rebirth of interest in 'Sum and Substance' is a mild surprise. Last year it could do no better than 11th place.

Also worthy of comment is 'First Frost', which moved up the rankings dramatically, from number 25 in 2008 to number 12 in 2009, and left its almost-twin, 'El Niño', in the dust (although 'El Niño' did manage to rise into the rankings, placing at number 25). To my mind, there is not much to separate the two—both are white-bordered sports of 'Halcyon' and quite striking. People say the difference is that 'First Frost' starts out with a yellow edge in the spring that soon turns white, while 'El Niño' emerges with a white edge and keeps it. This isn't much of a difference. I suspect the sudden preeminence of 'First Frost' is due to marketing. It was selected by the American Hosta Growers Association as its Hosta of the Year and heavily advertised as such. Many of the top-selling hostas were at one time chosen as the AHGA's Hosta of the Year. Of these honorees, however, only 'Patriot' has a near-twin rival ('Minuteman').

The big change in the (Very) Small Hosta Poll was that 'Pandora's Box' was knocked out of the top spot by 'Blue Mouse Ears' (which also came in at number 22 on the general Poll). Prior to 2008, 'Blue Mouse Ears' was eligible only for the general Poll. In 2008, we changed the Mini Poll from one focusing on miniature hostas to one focusing on (very) small hostas, primarily so 'Blue Mouse Ears' could be included. It ranked number 2.

Most of us don't actually measure our hostas and we haven't memorized the registration listings. That was particularly troublesome for the Miniature Popularity Poll prior to 2008—most AHS members considered 'Blue Mouse Ears' a mini, but it didn't meet the official criteria and couldn't be included—and it was the reason we recast the Mini Poll as the (Very) Small Hosta Poll.

Now the definition of a Mini has changed. After a prolonged (and quite fruitful) series of discussions with the Hosta Show Classification List Chair, the Vice President Judging/Exhibitions and the Chair of the Nomenclature Committee (ably assisted by a representative from the AHGA), we have achieved comity. There is now a single definition of a Miniature Hosta for The American Hosta Society, which will be used in leaf shows, the Popularity Poll and all other applications. The official AHS definition of a Mini, from now on, is a registered hosta with a leaf measurement of no greater than 6 square inches.

Fortunately, 'Blue Mouse Ears' was registered as having a leaf area of 6 square inches, and almost everyone has seen a 'Blue Mouse Ears' plant. To assist Popularity Poll voters, the committee agreed that we should use 'Blue Mouse Ears' as the “biological standard” for the Miniature Hosta Popularity Poll. (Yes, next year we are calling it the AHS Miniature Hosta Poll again, thanks largely to the efforts of Judy Burns, Meg Dalton, W. George Schmid and Bob Solberg.) In other words, we will ask members to consider any hosta the size of or smaller than 'Blue Mouse Ears' as candidates for the Miniature Poll.

Also note the inclusion of a newcomer, 'Pixie Vamp', which is on the top 10 list in the (Very) Small Poll for the first time.

The 2009 results were tabulated and provided by Popularity Poll Chairman, Bob Olson.
They were announced in The Hosta Journal vol. 41, No. 2