Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
hzdeleted_63513

Michigan shipments delayed

User
9 years ago

Well, folks, my 22 or 23 hosta ordered from Hallsons will be delayed. They were scheduled for shipment in "early April" but the ground is still frozen at this time.

Which is okay. I can wait a couple of weeks. There will be an order arriving from the Solbergs in NC, I think there is another nursery over in Virginia someplace like Stroudsburg,...

Guess I need to mark locations on Google Map and follow the Weather Channel more closely so I can plan my potting schedule better! I suppose VT (Green Mt) and NH (Mason Hollow, NH Hosta) will also be delayed but they may be in greenhouses or not field dug stock. My Minnesota orders will be delayed as well if they are field grown, right?

So that gives me more time to freshen up the garden arrangement, set up the stadium seating for the pots I can pick up without busting loose some vital organs. I might as well relax and enjoy the spring while I wait for it to arrive up north.

Hmmm, maybe it is time for me to call Hosta On The Hill up near Birmingham and see about placing my order there. It will provide my hosta fix for now. I already know Judy has Alabama Sunrise, which is only available with her. Combined with Alabama Gold and Alabama Bowl, I'll have a nice trio to group together.

Alabama Gold, in the ground, as of April 2014

Comments (34)

  • bkay2000
    9 years ago

    I was afraid of that. My single mail order was supposed to ship April 7, but I didn't get a shipping notification, so guessed they must be delayed.

    Thanks, Mocc.

    bk

  • josephines167 z5 ON Canada
    9 years ago

    Mocc, you are in need of hosta-retail-therapy while you wait, lol....you take care...you don't have time for injuries - your hosta family needs you! xoxo

    Jo

  • bkay2000
    9 years ago

    That's what I'm indulging in - hosta retail therapy. That's how I ended up with Big Daddy. I got a great Lakeside Shore Master, a Krossa Regal and a Crusader. Two of them, I really wanted.

    I need to hone my skills at saying no to hosta. Once I see them, I want one. Even if it's not what I thought it was or anything I wanted previously. I mean, really....a Crusader? That's about the last hosta I needed. Who among us needs another green with a cream edge? It's just hard to walk out of the nursery empty handed.

    Maybe that young man who works for me was right when he said, "Gee Barb, I think you're addicted."

    bk

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    9 years ago

    yeah moc.. 20 miles from chris.. i still have some snow spots ...

    i dont really feel sorry for you...lol

    ken

  • don_in_colorado
    9 years ago

    When I indulge in local retail therapy around these parts, 50% of the hostas I buy show HVX symptoms the next season...Then I need anger management therapy. Thanks for the info, Mocc. I was thinking they (Hallson Gardens) probably weren't thawed out quite yet

    Don B.

  • zkathy z7a NC
    9 years ago

    I moved my requested delivery date to after my vacation for all my orders. I'll let them water my hostas while I'm out of town. I'll post pics of what's up later.
    Kathy

  • bkay2000
    9 years ago

    Well, Don, I know that can happen. Since I grow in pots, and use few tools on them, I'm less likely to spread any disease I encounter. I'm well aware that it could happen.

    BUT, I'm getting really nice big plants. I'm getting hosta that would take two or three years (or more) to grow. DH collects guns, I collect hosta. My hobby is a lot cheaper than his.

    bk

    This Striptease was 2 gallons when I got it in 2012. This was taken last year.

  • ilovetogrow z9 Jax Florida
    9 years ago

    Do not forget the last riddle has not been answered. How many hostas will Mocc buy this year?

  • don_in_colorado
    9 years ago

    The question might be: How many WON'T she buy? (We have a better handle on this data, since she will try to avoid big blues/tokudama offspring). ; )

    Don B.

  • josephines167 z5 ON Canada
    9 years ago

    Well, let's see...she has 500+ already....I will venture to say there are probably another hundred on the way for the year 2014 - lol ....okay, serious here...56!

    Bkay - that Striptease looks gorgeous with that dark green margin...more crisp colours.

  • don_in_colorado
    9 years ago

    56 + 1 So about 561. Plus 3 more mama plantaginea. Cuz, why not? : )

    Don B.

  • don_in_colorado
    9 years ago

    BKay, don't get me wrong; I wasn't criticizing you or anyone who buys hostas from local vendors. Absolutely not. I hope the day comes when HVX is virtually 'eliminated' and everyone has reason to feel confident enough to buy local. I'm very glad you have places in your area where you can go and get big hostas; I see your big beautiful 'Striptease' and I think 'Wow! That'd be awesome to run down to the store and get that!' Then a second later, I think of all the infested plants I've bought in and around town (and the ones in my garden that still aren't showing anything) and I go 'Aaaarrrgh!' *&(^^$#@#!!!) Being primarily an in-ground gardener, I get a little EXTRA p!ssed off, maybe. So, obviously I live in the wrong area to do much local shopping, unfortunately. I hope that someday the issue will be moot. All I can do is not buy from 'em, tell 'em about it, and/or call the Colorado D of A on 'em if they don't seem to care about passing around virused plants. I occasionally see plants that originated from Walter's Gardens being sold locally. If I don't have that variety, I'll snatch them up. Those are ALWAYS nice to see.

    I hope ALL the local plants you and everyone else buys are clean and healthy. A person should never get burned for doing nothing more than buying a plant they think is nice-looking. %$&*^^%^$%!!

    Add-On: There is the one place that guarantees disease-free hostas in my area, and that's awesome, but their selection is pretty poor, and there's a NO VACANCY sign at the Hotal Guacamole. That hotel is full, I must say. : )

    Cheers!
    Don B.

  • josephines167 z5 ON Canada
    9 years ago

    You have my sympathy Don re infected hosta. It's a darn shame not to be able to shop locally...where you can see and feel the plants and choose what you like..... I guess the poor selection in the ones you are safe to buy isn't that much a plus either.

    Did you ever approach the owner and have a chat about the limited selection? Maybe he/she needs encouragement in that department. Lol
    You would be a VERY good repeat customer if that were the case! :-)

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    9 years ago

    Hallson's website gave a heads up in March on their website news section. With all that white stuff and cold temps up North, I figgered as much. I can wait. Just returned from a week in Hawaii, 99% of my pots are up so it is time to begin arranging them. The older I get the longer it takes me to move them pots.

    -Babka

  • User
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Ah, Ken, not complaining about it here, just saying THEY are still impacted by the cold. I have plenty to do, and a small halt in the flow of plants from north to south will be to my advantage.

    This morning I took delivery of a small initial order from New Hampshire Hosta, in their pots/bags. Two Garden Delight (fragrant) and a 2 gallon S&S (backup for the S&S I put in the ground last summer....just in case it does not break dormancy, you know). I got that one in 2010, in my very first hosta order, and am quite attached to it.

    Meanwhile, refreshing the hosta portion of the garden continues with frequent rest breaks. Maybe I can do as much as I once could, it just takes a longer time. I'm not as persnickety as I once was, which helps bring the odds in my favor.

    Regardless of the issues to be dealt with gardening in my zone, I am so very glad I do not have intense cold for a large portion of the year. Cold gives those of you who must deal with it a break from gardening so you can deal with other aspects of life, but ...... well, I guess we all pays our money and takes our choice.

  • User
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here is an excerpt from a post on Smaller Homes Forum by a lady in Michigan about some weather related issues of the area.

    quote:
    In the upper peninsula of Michigan, which is not actually touching the rest of Michigan, but is above Green Bay Wisconsin and east of Duluth, Minnesota, the towns are having a real hard time with their water systems. That is because they are buried only 8 feet deep. The ground froze deeper than that this year. Some areas are having the water mains heaving and breaking. Others are asking residents to leave the water running in the house all the time because that is the only way to keep the whole darned pipe from freezing solid. And once water freezes, it gets larger. So pipes burst. Let's see how much it costs to replace the entire water system of a small town! None of this is thawing yet up there. I was there in the winter when we got 300' of snow in the Keewinaw Peninsula. But it was not this brutal cold! We still had ice build up on the shore of Lake Superior in June that year. .... end quote.

    When the soil freezes MORE than 8 feet down, now that is COLD. To compare, here in Mobile, our soil does not freeze at all, so foundations can be about a foot down. Pipes deeper, of course.

  • User
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Oh dear, you guys are TOO MUCH. I am glad that GWeb lets us get emails of threads we follow, or I'd have skipped over the posts by Don and Paula and Jo surmising about the number of hosta etc. Well, I'm trying to keep track, but I think YOU are doing a better job than MOI.

    Just remember, it ain't over until the fat lady sings. I snuck two in there from Naylor via the HostaLibrary auctions....and got a gift from Bridgewood of another Tea And Crumpets, a super fine smaller hosta.

    I now have a sleeping T-shirt (long) which says
    THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TOO MANY HOSTA.

    I am liberated, and enabled.

  • josephines167 z5 ON Canada
    9 years ago

    I NEED one go those shirts!

    Oh no! She snuck some in...let's see, there's that previous order + the other one, + plus the retail therapy for the delay, + sneaky ones + ... Yikes, we are going to be blindsided, I just know it! :-(

    Lol

  • User
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    hehehehe
    I'm sitting here with a smug smirk on me face, thinking always thinking.

    Unless I count heads, how can I truly know how many I purchase? And even then, I potted sometimes two and three of the same in one pot. So now they are reduced from 3 to 1. hehehe

    Only take a look at this:
    I got Purple Passion....4 of them....they will go into maybe 2 pots. Just presto change-o, no longer FOUR.

    Same for Verna Jean....I got 4 from Bridgewood. And I'm waiting for 4 more from Green Mt......guess what will happen there, hmmmmmmm? So look quick, the score is changing all the time.

    Honestly, I will try to be precise. Any garden is in a state of change every day though. Regardless of how many pots are involved. :)

    Cheers, you guys with the tally sheets.
    It's TALLY-HO for me!

  • zkathy z7a NC
    9 years ago

    Mocc, as long as the answer to the riddle is not "All of them" you go girl!
    Kathy

  • don_in_colorado
    9 years ago

    Have you gotten any 'proof of life' from your hostas planted in-ground, Mocc? Any pips and such?

    Don B.

  • User
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Oh, there's proof of life in the driveway bed, DonB. Just a couple are really slow.....Empress Wu has a couple of pips up. S&S (dating back to 2010May) has nothing up. Blue Angel just put up 3 pips after I raked leaves away and felt the hard points near the surface, so now it is coming along fine. However, I'm still looking for Winter Snow, which so far shows nothing up.

    A few of the name tags were not where I placed them last fall, I think DH may have done some raking and rearranged a couple of things. Like removing dead twigs and such, because my St Francis statue fell from its pedestal due to a blow of some sort....maybe leaping squirrels. All else seems to be fine.

    The success is the Undulata Albomarginata which is the hosta DH grew in MA for over 40 years....he split and shared those to populate the entire town of Chelmsford with a simple 20 plant purchase made in 1963.

    I guess I'll simply start another thread to show those. They were from numerous sources, but none specifically from Michigan.

  • josephines167 z5 ON Canada
    9 years ago

    Did u say u were looking 4 winter snow??? Come on up to Canada! Har har
    ;-)

    Cool story about UA - your DH sounds like a real gem.

  • santamiller
    9 years ago

    Moccâ¦â¦did they give you a date when they would ship? I have an order placed with them and got an update 7-10 days ago that the order was delayed until the week of the 14th but have not gotten an update since then.

  • User
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Santa, they indicated that the 14th might be a good date to ship, if things improve. So I'll see.
    Meanwhile, I got 3 hosta from NHHosta yesterday.....(did anybody count those yet?) Only one was possibly field dug, since it came in a plastic bag, the other two in small nursery pots. All had soil, not bare root.

  • bkay2000
    9 years ago

    I just got an email from Hallson's that my order had been "completed", along with a shipping number. USPS has no record of that number, so I'm not sure if that means it's been shipped or will be shipped Monday. I'm pretty sure that means that I'll get them next week.

    bk

  • ctopher_mi
    9 years ago

    Hi BK,

    That just meant that the number wasn't processed in their system quite yet, but should be there by now. It takes a little time for the tracking number to get uploaded to USPS after they scan the package. Yes, you will receive them early in the week. Sorry you didn't get my other emails letting you know about the delay and the anticipated shipping time.

    Chris

  • bkay2000
    9 years ago

    Yea!!!!!

    I've really been looking forward to receiving this order. It has a couple that I've wanted a long time.

    bk

    (Edited to add: I found the notification regarding delayed shipment from Chris in the spam file.)

    This post was edited by bkay2000 on Sun, Apr 13, 14 at 18:57

  • User
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I chatted with Chris mid morning Monday, and he'd already pulled my order for shipment. However, he so kindly added my "must have" English Sunrise to complete my grouping of June and Teatime. Chris said English Sunrise was a bit small, but he'd do his best.....and that is always excellent.

    So....I think there will be several more folks from our forum getting spring shipments from Hallson this week. Be sure to show and tell!

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    9 years ago

    Watching my door step.

    -Babka

  • josephines167 z5 ON Canada
    9 years ago

    What terrific service from Hallson... Can't wait to see your new babies!
    You all are going to introduce the new kids, right?

    Jo

  • in ny zone5
    9 years ago

    Moccasin, I agree when you are young or middle-aged your Tshirt's saying 'THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TOO MANY HOSTA.' is correct. Lifting pots is a good weight lifting exercise! But when older it is good to think several years ahead. My back / knee shows some kinks this spring, so I have to watch out for that. Bernd

  • santamiller
    9 years ago

    My order that I placed a month ago from Hallson is on the way. I'm pumped! They have been a joy to work with.

  • funnthsun z7A - Southern VA
    9 years ago

    Mine's supposed to be here tomorrow. Can't wait!