Love the slick look of those leaves!

I always like checking out what the local GCs stock. Our Lowes is selling So Sweet, Love Pat, Earth Angel, LS Cupcake, Blue Hawaii, Guardian Angel, and Blue Flame. I have all but Love Pat and Blue Hawaii. How long will I resist the big box temptation...?

I did come home with several non-hosta purchases, though...beautiful, filled out pots of heuchera Fire Chief and heucherella Golden Zebra (thank you, FlowerFrenzy!), and a gorgeous 3gal Bartzella itoh peony for only $30. I'm watching those buds like a hawk...can't wait! :)

I gave in today as well and got a blue angel for 5 bucks and a so sweet for 3..there by themselves for now

'Queen Josephine' is such a nice hosta. The leaves look so plastic (in a GOOD way). Is the substance as thick as it looks?

Don B.

Right now, Lowes here has F. Auereomarginata, Minuteman, and Guacamole (I have all of these already)... But the one I got at the C of O greenhouse looks a lot better. Home Depot didn't have any yet and neither does Walmart here. Usually Walmart has some good ones pretty much all through the season so I can't wait to see what they end up getting this season. Lowe's is OK on selection... HD is usually pretty lackluster in hosta selection here.
Good buys... Enjoy!

Linda, THAT is one heck of a beautiful hosta! Prime buy! I have a mature one and she is a one-of in my garden....she is the shiniest, the prettiest green with the lovely gold margin and when she blooms - well, she's a WOW!

Don, she is of average substance, but rated as the shiniest hosta. You have to have one you can touch to really appreciate its presence in the garden...that's how I feel about her. I've had mine since mid-ninety's, she travelled a few thousand miles to live in Calgary for awhile and is back home with me again. Happy story!

If I saw one like Linda's I'd get a few more! :-)

Josephine- I agree with you about her beauty...the shiny leaves are really nice and that is what drew my attention to her. The shiney leaves are unlike anything else I have.

It's interesting to hear what everyone else has at their Lowes store. We don't have much selection...only Blue Angel and First Frost in the smaller pots and Queen Josephine and Guacamole in the larger pots. And they only had one Heuchera that I already have.

I don't usually buy anything at HD...everything they had last year was mis-named and many them labeled as Sum & Substance when they obviously were not.

Wal-Mart doesn't usually have much selection here either.

Jadie- That peony sounds interesting, I will check it out!

Thanks everyone!

Linda

Let's be careful out there.

Just remember that there is virus in them there Big Box Stores. You may have gotten a bargain or you may get more than you bargained for. Sometimes virus doesn't show up for a few years. BB stores are getting their plants from growers who won't tell you where their liners come from. Just be careful.

Steve

HD and Lowes both had hostas out. There was a nice looking Winter Snow (think that was the name) and some strange looking Guacamole. Decided to pass, the Guac scared me.

Menard's had lots of hostas, all helpfully labeled "Hosta".

Yeah, I ran into those labeled "hosta" yesterday. They were at a local chain nursery, though.

Lowes has the same thing they always have. They have u. albomarginata, Wide Brim and Frances Williams. They could be labeled anything, but that's what they have. Oh, sometimes they have Francee, which is usually labeled Francee.

bk

I agree with Steve, 5 years ago I bought HVX I think from that Walmart here in a h.'Sum and Substance' which was mislabeled, but the price was very good.

You have to be careful of HVX almost anywhere you buy except a dedicated hosta grower. Many of the dedicated hosta growers have their own faults, but HVX isn't usually one of them.

This has been said many times on this forum, but I will say it again. I assume it is the same for all areas. We have growers close to the area who grow all kinds of plants, including annuals and perennials and sell to local nurseries and have contracts with local big box stores. They have no idea where the starts they buy come from. They buy them from a broker, who bought them from someone else who bought them from Europe where HVX is common. They know nothing about the disease, transmitting it and identifying it. They're just growing out starts of lots of types of plants. Hosta is just one of many plants they deal with. AND the biggie is that HVX usually doesn't show up until after the plant is sold and so they don't care if it's infected.

That's how I ended up with a $25.00 Royal Standard with HVX from one of the highest priced nurseries in Dallas. Everyone in the area says Green Lake grows pretty plants, though. No one would suspect Jackson's of selling diseased plants, either.

The plant showed no signs of disease when I bought it in the summer of 2012. We had a cold spring in 2013, so I did not immediately recognize the disease. It was May or June before I finally realized that it was more than cold damage. This is how it looked when I bought it. (Yes, I know that's a lot to pay for a Royal Standard, but I had wanted one for a while and there it was and it was big and pretty.)

Sometimes the thrill of getting a great looking plant for a great looking price is hard to pass up, but it can cause so much heartache after a few years. Just not worth it, well except for GE. Damn I buy that one every 3-4 years from a Box store. Some people are hopeless. (me) If I were planting hostas in the ground, no way in hel* would I get them from a box store, or even another supplier unless they could confirm that they test their plants (or are otherwise assured) that they won't have HVX. Yes, it is THAT bad a problem.

Years ago, it was fun to trade hostas, "the friendship plant" with secret Santas, etc, but since then the problem with HVX stopped that dead in its tracks. There is no cure, and it contamiantes the soil and your tools.

Bah Humbug.

-Babka

May I interject some sanity here? I have many very nice hostas that came from Lowes,and Wal-Mart,and they are still nice even after years of growing in my garden. The ones I avoid,are those in bags. The only hostas I ever got that had HVX were in bags,and another thing about bagged hostas. You may,or may not get what the picture on the label shows! If you watch what you pick out at Big box stores,there are some nice buys there. Just MHO,and I'm stickin'to it! Phil

I'd still buy a hosta from Lowe's or Home Depot if it was one I wanted. I now ask any independent nursery where they get their hosta. If it's Green Lake, I pass. I haven't been back to Jackson's, nor will I buy from Northhaven gardens. Both use Green Lake for hosta.

(Note here: I grow in pots only, therefore I do not contaminate my soil and I'm unlikely to pass it on to other hosta.)

bk.

I will buy from a big box on occasion, but most of my plants go into spin out bags. If the plant eventually looks diseased, I can just pitch bag and all. Having to disinfect the pruners between plants is tedious, but I can put up with it, at least for the scapes. I definitely give hostas a good once over before buying, though.

I've only had HVX crop up twice. Once was in some Golden Edger from a hardware store, and once was in a plant from a friend, who got her plant from a reputable hosta grower. Her original plant still looks perfectly healthy, so maybe it got infected during division. The GE was in my garden for at least 7 years before the HVX showed. Now I just treat any hosta as possibly infected.

Too bad the nurseries in Europe aren't more careful.

I've been cleaning up all the dead leaves from last year. Let them get good and dry so they were safe instead of cutting them off in fall.

I don't guess I have ever seen it in person or noticed it if I have seen it..anyone link me to a good thread on HVX causes, problems, ways its spread all that? I buy from BB stores or wherever but I do tend to stray away from walmart they just seem to have the worst stuff even if its healthy

Hi Mike,

This is a link from the hosta library homepage that's not too bad...

Don B.

Here is a link that might be useful: HVX Link

I've bought a bunch of potted hostas from a few big box stores around here, (in 2012). they looked clean at the time, but they were not. My personal reaction is to no longer buy from places local to me, because infected hostas are of no value to me, and as a person who grows in-ground, it's a hassle to dig out a hole the size of a bomb crater just to hopefully re-claim the spot for another hosta planting. So, as a guy who's gotten a bunch of crap hostas from so-called 'big box' places, to each his own, but as far as I'm concerned, they've blown their chance at my business, regarding buying any more hostas from them. I really doubt they care about my measly dollars, though. I am happy to say, Hallson Gardens (and others) DO seem to care about my measly dollars, so I give them my money, and they give me disease-free hostas! I like the way that works. : )

I don't think that's so insane. I think insane people never suspect they're actually insane, though. Hard to type with a straightjacket on, had to use my toes.

Cheers!
Don B.