On Valentine's Day let’s chat about one of my favourite subjects, and a firm favourite with many of our customers… The Love of Mouse Hostas.
What is it that makes us love them so much?
Why are they so popular? I don’t know of many collections that don’t have at least one of the mouse ears Hosta in.
If you do have just one Mouse in your collection, it will almost certainly be H. Blue Mouse Ears. This is one of the least expensive and most popular varieties of all the Mouses. It was registered by E. & J. Deckert in 2000. A sport of Hosta Blue Cadet.
Hosta Blue Mouse Ears is a variety that has been used to breed many other fabulous varieties. These are generally more expensive to keep being around twice the price of Blue Mouse Ears or more. Despite this, collecting them can be an addiction.
Once established 'Blue Mouse Ears' became the origin of many new mouse varieties such as 'Church Mouse' and 'Dancing Mouse'. The series has gone from strength to strength with interesting introductions such 'Country Mouse' and 'Snow Mouse'.
There are hundreds of varieties of Mouse Hostas on the market today in a variety of shapes, colours and even sizes. Not all of them have the Mouse name in the variety, such as Hosta Mini Skirt. This is still a ‘Mouse’ Hosta.
If your space is limited, growing the adorable Mouse Hosta may be for you.
Love them how you wish, how do you get a collection of Mouse Hostas.
There are those that are readily available in the UK, particularly early in the season, before they sell out. (So popular). There are also those in America, that won’t be available unless the breeder has a European agent, but will be on your wish list. The odd one or two varieties of Mouse do pop over to the UK such as the very recent introduction Host Buffalo Ice Mouse. These will, if available at all, be in very low numbers.
Mouse Hostas have become very collectable, and it can be exciting to build up a collection, but for the collector there are some frustrations. In 2025 there are likely to be around 30 or so Mouse Hostas available from UK Hosta specialists. These include Blue Elf, Blue Mouse Ears, Dancing Mouse, Desert Mouse, Frosted Mouse Ears, Funny Mouse, Holy Mouse Ears, Lucky Mouse, Magical Mouse Ears, Mighty Mouse, Mini Skirt, Mouse Capades, Mouse Madness, Mouse on the Moon, Mouse Trap, Pierced Mouse Ears, Ruffled Mouse Ears, Ruffled Pole Mouse, Smiling Mouse, Sun Mouse.
Some miniatures are much better growers than others. It is always important not to over pot as they take much longer to establish than regular sized Hostas. The best way would be to gradually increase their pot size overtime as they grow. Always be sure to include plenty of drainage.
Container gardening is the most used method of growing mice. Mouse series look their best in pots rather than being planted in the ground where they can be lost or go unnoticed and overgrown by stronger competition. A pot or container can be moved around to take advantage of the growing conditions, more or less shade etc, or simply to add variety to your displays.
Choosing which Mouse to add to your collection will be made, based on either its name, or simply the way the Hosta looks. This assumes that you don’t have this variety in your collection already. Most Mouse Hostas are between 6” & 12” in spread and only 6” or so in height, so size is an unlikely choice. They will all be very similar.
Considering the beauty of these small perennials, it is no surprise that they have attracted the attention of gardeners all over the world, and groups of enthusiasts have emerged who are dedicated to collecting these cultivars. However, getting them into the Hosta collection may not be easy at all. Although some cultivars have a lower price, most of them belong to the more expensive perennials. This is mostly related to the fact that not all Mouse Hosta cultivars have been propagated through tissue culture (TC), and so their price remains relatively high. The most expensive cultivars are those with variegated leaves.
Available in all of the classic Hosta looks, including blue, green, gold, variegated and streaked, these deer-resistant and slug-proof plants fill an important gardening niche.
They can be unstable – that is, they tend to revert to their parents, so their cultivation and propagation is the most complicated of all. Some cultivars exist only in the private collections of hybridizers, never to be offered for general sale. However, nothing deters Mouse Hosta collectors, not even the difficulty of cultivation, high price, or other circumstances (some American cultivars are not and have never been available, for example, in the EU and vice versa), to build their Hosta collections of this group.
Mouse Hostas bring a delightful mix of excitement, pleasure, and joy, along with the challenge and potential for uncovering hidden gems. As the season progresses, Mouse Hostas will grace your garden with a variety of colours and later a flood of profuse flowering. Their ability to create new sports gives you hope that you too will one day discover a new, unexpected gem in your collection that you might name someday. Growing Mouse Hostas is not only about size and shape; it's also about diversity and surprises. For all these reasons, Mouse Hostas have captured the hearts of many garden enthusiasts. Long may this be the case.
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John Plant
Rewela Hostas
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