I don't believe what he told you, not for a second...WalMart, not to mention HD and Lowes, would NEVER go through the expense of testing 'EVERY SINGLE' hosta for HVX...Why? HVX testing is very expensive. There's money to be lost in that, which goes against every fibre of WalMart philosophy. They'd lose money. Period. That is why I don't believe what he told you. Sounds great, but that is a huge, shameless lie.

Don B.

"He personally test EVERY SINGLE hosta for HVX BEFORE it is put on the shelves!"

Sweet innocence, such a fleeting thing.

You might want to see him do that sometime just so you know what "process" he uses.

tj

Wow you don't have to be so negative and awful, geesh! I was just saying what he told me... NO reason to jump all over me. He was a sweet older gentleman. Maybe he does. He seemed very strict on it.

And I will say that the only person I've ever known to have diseased plants (not just hostas) but different things... She never bought from what she called "chain stores" either for the same reasons you all claim... But she lost her entire garden 3 years in a row thanks to diseased plants and contaminated soil because of those diseased plants that she bought at what she described as a very nice greenhouse. So just because something appears to come from a nice place doesn't make it so. That is my point. And not every plant from a cheap big box store is bad and diseased. Get a grip people!

Who's jumping all over you? I called the lying garden manager a liar, not you.

Don B.

Also another factor is that people don't realize, I am talking about Branson Missouri Walmart... We are usually a lot smaller than some of the other areas. They do not get 100's of plants or even 100's of hosta every week. We are talking maybe and a big maybe 15-20 plants a week. And this goes on for about 2 or 3 months and then it stops. Most likely, they are left with about 15 to 20 plants (hosta I mean) at the end to get rid of and they place them on sale for 50% off and they are usually gone within a day or 2. So I am saying it is possible he is not lying. Not saying he's not but it is possible when you consider that he doesn't have as much inventory as the larger stores.

That's what I meant Don B. :-)

Brandy, fyi test kits run about $5 per plant/test.....

Paul

Please don't feel offended, these guys know what they're talking about. HVX tests aren't cheap, and it is simply not within the realm of belief that Walmart would test every plant, even if the garden manager is a hosta enthusiast! The test itself would cost much more than their profit margin.

I'm an eternal optimist, so I'm more likely to believe that there was some misunderstanding...perhaps he meant he "checks them over" rather than "tests" them all.

Anyway, its good you have confidence in your supplier, and your plants look great!

This post was edited by jadie88 on Fri, Jul 19, 13 at 21:15

Brandy,

We know that BB stores like Walmart have different suppliers and it is possible that the supplier of your local store is buying clean healthy stock. The question is where is the Tissue Culture plant coming from. The grower doesn't grow the plant from seed. He buys a Tissue Culture liner plant, a very small Hosta, and grows it on until its the size you see in Walmart. If that TC liner is coming from Holland or other overseas TC labs, the chances are that a certain percentage of those liners have virus.

The grower that supplies your Walmart may be an excellent grower who inspects his plants, grows them all in pots and cleans his tools and machines with every use. He may visually inspect his plants carefully. But even with that care, if the plants are coming from the Dutch, it is likely some virused ones will get through and will be sold.

I suspect that your Garden Center guy means that he visually inspects every plant he sells. That's a good thing and it will lessen the chances of a diseased plant getting through. But as others have pointed out, they aren't all tested. It would be too expensive.

We all make our own choices about where we buy our plants. I won't buy from BB stores or even from local generic nurseries. That's my choice. Yours might be different. But it's important to make that choice fully informed as to what the chances are.

You are growing in pots. That means if you get a diseased plant you aren't contaminating your garden soil. Just be sure if you are cutting your plants scapes or repotting a plant that you wash your tools with an antiviral solution and you should be fine. 10% bleach and water works well. I use Lysol anti-viral wipes.

Your small garden of pots is a thing of beauty. Just be careful and you'll keep it that way.

Steve

It is nice that the garden center manager is paying attention and cares. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if he is testing 1 of each variety that comes in, as long as he is paying for the test kits out of his own pocket. Very few Wal Mart store managers would authorize that expense.

BFN is a huge conglomeration of nurseries. They own facilities in OK, TX, TN, FL, NC, and OR. You would think the hostas would be grown in one or more of the facilities in one or more of those states....and if you did think that, you might be wrong. These big nurseries sign contracts to supply whole regions of big box stores, and when they can't fill the order for any number of reasons, they will source those hostas from wherever they can find them. Even though the pot and tag say BFN, for all you know those hostas could have been grown almost anywhere. Horse trading to fill orders is rampant in the big box world in this day and age.

Yup, Brandy... I can see why the first comments felt personal - but they really were directed at the manager, not you. My first response was a kind of spit-the-coffee-out-all-over-the-monitor kind of thing as well.

So the negativity and outrage was directed at the guy who "lied" to you when you went to the effort to ask.

Let's take a step back. Though my assessment of what he told you will be negative, its not personal or negativity. It's just a look at what is physically possible.

What we have is a very unusual Walmart nursery based on a very unusual manager... and you are getting nice plants at reasonable prices and are happy with it. It was good to hear how much he cared about the hostas.

But it falls apart on the "tests every plant" assertion. What he mean by that isn't clear, but it can't be the only known way to test for HVX.

Until just a few years ago, we were carefully packaging leaves and mailing them to Dr. Lockhardt at the University of MInnesota and waiting for a mailed reply.

I saw my first test kit actually used in 2010. A company called Agdia developed a home kit. You can see a brief video I made at the 2010 AHS Convention - Agdia gave us a couple of free test kits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JX7d3GeGzY

The problem, as has been stated, is that test kits in the quantities you are talking cost about $5 per plant. It is very difficult to imagine how a Walmart store, following their "aggressive" pricing structure could build in an extra $5 per plant and still make a profit. And, of course, the testing would take quite some time and organization.

Berry Family Nurseries is a very large wholesaler. I know nothing of their HVX prevention efforts. I do know that their catalog shows only 15 types of hostas they provide - all good, but nothing particularly exotic... you can check the catalog to see how this list matches up with what you see on the shelf...

http://www.berrynurseries.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.kwSearchPost

So I hope that what you ran into was a good man who, with good intentions, misinformed you. I don't like to think he was actively lying.

But the statements just don't add up...

Sorry for being negative - and sorry this has to be oppositional. I think future readers need to know the facts.

I feel compelled to add my two cents to this post.

Brandy, first and foremost, please realize that these forum members are hosta LOVERS, just like you and me; therefore, they really get concerned for any other member when there is even a slight chance of losing a hosta, whatever the reason, virus or no virus. I'm not going to be presumptuous and speak on their behalf, they do a good job on their own. But I have to admit that occasionally the written word doesn't come across the way it was intended. Bottom line: to curtail the spread of HVX

Can you imagine how awful we'd feel if we unknowingly shared plants/divisions with our friends to find out later that those plants were diseased? We'd be responsible for spreading it. I shudder to think about it.

I first found my JUNE and GOLDEN TIARA hosta at a grocery super store about 3 or 4 years ago. Both are growing very well and are lovely, healthy plants. It was the end of the season and the prices were unbelievable at $6 apiece.

My HYDON SUNSET mini and BARBARA ANN were both purchased at WalMart, last and this year respectively. Both are doing just fine and I am happy with them. Two years ago (I think it was two years ago) I picked up DREAM QUEEN at WalMart. Shortly after I heard that Dream Queen was one hosta that was carrying the HVX virus. I immediately potted her up and quarantined her. I removed ONE leaf that LOOKED like it wasn't doing well, didn't look virused though, but to be safe, rather than chuck the whole plant (I don't throw anything out, ever, just can't do it) I just kept a watchful eye and babied it as I usually do with any perennial .... as I get a kick out of saving them. It is quite small still, in a pot, but very healthy. It's no longer by itself, but in some other potted company. I'll continue to monitor it just because it was on the HVX HIT LIST.

The rest of my hosta were either given to me as divisions or were purchased at reputable nurseries....Some of them were purchased from home growers. I lost LOYALIST and ZOUNDS, both purchased from a grower who had infected plants, something I found out last year from another home grower. She has over 800 varieties and her business is booming. Her plants are extremely healthy, root system amazing. All of mine are doing great, no complaints! My entire hosta family (gotta be at LEAST 90 plants-76 varieties) looks healthy and is growing well.

If I find a hosta ANYWHERE other than a reputable nursery, I will continue to buy....I'll buy wherever and whenever the fever hits me. The "buyer beware" phrase is always in my mind but I also use the common sense I was given.

Important Note: I WILL NOT and DO NOT share divisions of any box store hosta growing in my garden until they have surpassed the monitoring years. Meanwhile, I am happy to see them grow into lovely mature hosta. So far, so good! :-)

Brandy, if you re-read the last three paragraphs in Steve's post....and ..the last one should make you proud..a lovely compliment that I second.

The long and short of it is that IF we (you and I) buy from a box store there is always the possibility that our good-looking-hosta-at-the-time-of-purchase may be virused.......a wait-and-see game.....common sense --keep in pot for a few years and monitor....fingers crossed. Lol

Continued happy gardening!
Jo

Never trust an old guy with white hair! It is a joke so none of you old guys take offense and if you do I apologize before hand

I looked at Berry Family Nurseries website,they have some hostas I haven' t heard of and if you do a search by zip code you can see who they supply in your area.

They take pride, etc., supply the Lowe's and Walmart in my town here in NY.

Brandy, I have noticed that you have become a hosta forum member who posts regularly, and I can practically "feel" your enthusiasm through your postings. You are among equally passionate fellow hosta lovers like me!

I am glad that you had an opportunity to talk to your garden manager. He sounds like a very nice man. It sounds like he is an enthusiastic hosta lover and that he may have been truly honest with you. When you said "He personally tests EVERY SINGLE hosta for HVX BEFORE it is put on the shelves," I believe that he may have said that. But it only makes sense that he is not using the $5 hosta virus test kit for each hosta. I would ask him exactly what method he uses to test his hostas. Could it be that he tests every single VARIETY he has and not every single hosta plant?

You may have read my recent post "S&S Emergency #2." My Sum and Substance hosta plant looks like it has HVX. I can't just simply remove it and I can't plant another hosta in that place---maybe ever! And now I am thinking that even if I carefully remove my 2 S&S, don't I have to be careful when I dig with my shovel in that area (like forever)? Won't I have to disinfect my shovel then each time? And then, have I even perhaps passed the virus to another of my plants unknowingly? In my case I have had my two S&S for three summers. That means that if I was not careful, I had plenty of time to pass this virus to my other plants.

So if you keep all your plants in pots and disinfect your tools, you should be virus free.

You have accumulated a great variety of beautiful hostas that will get even more beautiful in time. Keep up the good work!