Note, all hostas are 4.5 inch pots. 4 of the hostas were on this sale:

FALL SALE 40% Off Hostas
Limited Time Offer - Order Today!

Here's one of them, Deja Blue, regular 9.95, on sale for 5.97

#2, Striptease, regular 13.95, on sale for 8.37

#3, Emerald Ruff Cut, regular 13.95, on sale for 8.34

#4, Grand Prize, regular 9.95, on sale for 5.97

#5, Climax, regular price 12.95, not on sale

#6, Love Pat, regular price 9.95, not on sale

This post was edited by funnthsun on Thu, Oct 17, 13 at 11:08

#7, Broad Band, regular price 11.95, not on sale

and last, but definitely not least, #8, Thunderbolt, regular price, 12.95, not on sale

Shipping 12.00, order total $88.45

So, what would you say about this order?

This post was edited by funnthsun on Thu, Oct 17, 13 at 11:05

My guess that leaves were looking a bit ragged and going dormant so they trimmed them off. Disappointing to have them unpot in transit, but it won't affect the plants.

Picture below is Spring Fling from NH Hosta - similar 4" pot planted in 2008 top pic and progression is +1yr going down....so expect a couple of years to see take hold (sleep-creep-leap).

Paul

I actually had FedEx do a slow drive up my driveway and toss my order out of his truck without even stopping. Sometimes keep upright, fragile and live plants mean nothing apparently. -So it could have been a handling issue. I too would be disappointed at the sight of those hostas, however, I agree that the foliage was probably about shot this time of year so they trimmed it off. The roots look good except for DeJa and ERC which are rather puny. They should do fine, maybe they'll be a nice surprise in the spring! Keep the faith and good luck!

I bought a 'Proven Winners' 2.75 quart pot Empress Wu in the same condition for $1 at a local nursery.

I have bought from NH Hosta a couple of times and have been disappointed with size each time. Each hosta didn't do much for the first or second year. They all lived. Yours have nice roots and I think they will be fine, but I understand the disappointment.

Jon

Funnthsun....you didn't actually say anything positive or negative in your opening comments to sway us in one direction or another....simply asking us for opinions, right?

My reaction was (playing the role of recipient) "oh, this box looks like it's been dropped or jostled about". It/packaging doesn't look "pretty" but then again, it's the state of the hosta that is important, not the extraneous stuff.

I was a little disappointed in roots of DéjàBlue compared to the others, but all in all, considering the average price per hosta against the total cost, I think I did well. The roots look good, are plentiful enough and I see several dormant buds already. Someone obviously gave this order some thought and included a hosta with leaves still in good condition just so I'd have at least one to admire.....end of role-play.

It makes sense to ship leafless plants at this time of year. It has no negative impact whatsoever...if you were to buy irises or lilies right now straight off the field, all foliage would be trimmed down, or as I do here, pulled right off.

I would, however, email the hosta supplier and describe the condition of the contents of the box upon opening..going even further and sending a pic of it if possible. ..to make supplier aware of possible mishandling/negligence by their courier of choice and giving them the benefit of the doubt that the fault lay with the shipping staff. :-)

After seeing so many beautifully packaged mail orders on this forum, this one stands out, sure, but all the pretty wrapping and labelling does not necessarily a better hosta make....it just shows that someone cares and goes the extra mile to ensure a pleasant and positive buying experience.

I think you fared well overall, Funn! You've acquired some lovely hosta at prices I envy. Just think of all the anticipation of Spring... :-)

Thanks for letting me pretend this was my order...kind of gave me a hosta "fix" so to speak. lol

Jo

P.S. Paul's example was a thoughtful gesture and proves one thing...patience pays off....sometimes you just have to wait for the frog to turn into a prince, lol. Beautiful hosta, Paul - wonderful progression. :-)

That's about what was getting on my last two or three mail orders. These are growers that are generally recommended. The last straw was when I received my $25.00 Lakeside Paisley Print. That, and a Fragrant Queen of the same size, with shipping, was $52.00. This particular grower says right on the first page of his website that he sells 1 gallon plants. If that's a 1 gallon plant, I'm a monkey's uncle.

On the positive side, they both were perfectly healthy without one slug bite.

I guess on some things, I'm cheap. Maybe I just don't appreciate the value of new hosta over the old ones. For $25.00, I'd rather have a large OBL than a tiny Lakeside Paisley Print.

I received some great hosta last week from Green Mountain. I'll post the photos.

Thanks for sharing the photos. I wondered about NH hosta.

bk

My (since killed by my darling demon doglet) Lakeside Paisley Print

I've never ordered from NHHostas because I have gathered from this forum that the plants are small. For the most part, your order looks OK, just OK. Deja Blu is a real disappointment though.

I posted on the Hosta Sale thread about being really happy with my order from Northern Grown Perennials. NGP doesn't get discussed very much in the forum, not as much as it probably should. Putting up a link so you can check them out for next time.

Here is a link that might be useful: Northern Grown Perennials

I guess the intact roots are what's important. They are bargain hostas because they were probably too browned up to look nice, so they trimmed off the ugly brown fall leaves and sent you the essential part, the roots. Notice how the full-price one has decent looking leaves, so they didn't cut them off.

I will just bet that your new hostas will give you some pretty leaves come spring. Congrats on your new "babies". My new hosta-babies should arrive tomorrow.

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it...lalalalalalalal-lala

funnthsun, I want to comment that you got NO sale. Those first ones were only $5-6 plants anyway, I get that size by growing hosta from seeds in the first year in my basement.
I am retired and hate to wait many years to get a reasonable plant from a liner.

Funnthsun, my first-ever hosta orders were with NH Hosta. I've had some leap nicely this season, some more of a blah type of growth. I bought from them before I was aware of other sources. Their hosta are on the small side, but ALL of them I received had nice root systems. (About 30-35 plants spanning 3 orders).

Their packaging was great, and some of those plants will surprise you with their size next season, but knowing the sources I get plants from now like Hallson Gardens, Green Mountain and others that have great reputations I HAVEN'T ordered from like LOTG, Naylor Creek and Glenbrook, I'd probably not buy from them again, although I certainly wouldn't say I was 'Ripped Off'. I have to say, the root systems on your order DO look a bit smaller than the ones I got.

So, in a nutshell...Small plants with good root systems, there are a lot better sources out there.

Cheers,
Don B.

'Royal Tapestry' pic taken this summer. Bought from NH Hostas last summer. Big leap from last year, very pleased.

'Guardian Angel' pic taken last summer, bought from NH Hostas.

'Guardian Angel' pic taken this summer. So, a good percentage of my plants from NH Hostas I'm pleased with, as far as growth goes. Others, not as happy with. These nice progressions, hopefully, will happen with the ones you just bought. Still, I'd rather get bigger plants from the get-go. When I got my first Hallson Gardens order, I was like 'WHAT??? I've been buying midget hostas from these clowns at NH Hostas'!! LOL

Cheers,
Don B.

Funnthesun,

I think you got what you paid for. Those look like 2nd year TCs that were grown on in 4 inch pots. That's what NH Hostas sells and they tell you that on their web site. Some of those plants like Emerald Ruff Cut are just crappy cultivars that don't grow much, especially when they are little. I assume that you removed the planting media from those plants. NH Hostas recommends that you plant their Hostas without removing the media to reduce transplant shock. That's why they don't ship bare root. Next time order from Hallson or Naylor. You'll pay more, but you'll get better plants.

Bkay, your LS Paisley Print looks like a first year TC or liner. You can tell from the size of the root ball that it came right out of a 2 and 1/2 inch pot. The thing about LSPP is that it's only recently been put into TC and it's hard to get good sized plants of it anywhere. Still if that were sold as a $25 "market ready" plant, I would have complained to the seller about it.

Just be aware that Northern Grown Perennials and Green Mountain are likely selling a lot of plants that are divisions and/or field grown plants not plants out of TC that have lived in pots for their entire existence. So there's a little more risk involved especially with nems.

Steve

THIS...IS...SPARTACUS!!!

Whoa, sorry all, had few whiskey 'neat' and I just watched "300"! Hee Hee Hee!!

Another 4" pot I bought from NH Hostas last summer. I can't find a 'before' pic but I was no so happy when I pulled this guy out of the shipping box. One year later, it must have been time for that 'leap' because it did so nicely. Looked beautiful this season. Great-looking, with some mature features. Just trying to cheer you up, Funn, and show you what yours could look like sooner than you think, possibly : )

Regards,
Don B.

oh my ...

first .. they are hosta.. some guy i know.. says to throw them on the driveway.. but when the delivery guy does it your head explodes... whats that all about ... the same guy told you to beat them on trees... but OMG.. if they are all swaddled up ... in a packing box.. you go ape poop ... lol ....

that said.. IN REGARD TO THE DELIVERY SERVIS.. i also would not appreciate such service from the delivery guy ... for the price i paid... but as to the plants.. its irrelevant ..

second.. these are one gallon plants.. because that is what they would have been potted up to.. in dormancy ... for next spring .. to save the investment in a pot.. media.. and labor.. they figure to sell them at a discount ...

i am with steve.. you got what you paid for ... especially based on the season ... you bought dormant plants ...

i never ordered from this place.. so i have no first hand experience ... frankly ... i dont see anything wrong with them for the 5 bucks or so .... you paid for them ....

this is just about the converse of the warm zone peeps.. back a few years ago.. when they were ready to plant in early march.. and were complaining that that seller in WI wont send their plants.. and i suggested his ground wont thaw until JUNE!!!

fun... here in MI .. i am expecting my first hard frost in hours... and NH is north of me... we are not all snug and toasty like NC ... your order is very late... so plants are going to be really ugly ... [size aside] ... would you rather have gelatinous rotting leaves in the box for shipping???

anyway .. plant them.. and they will be fine for spring ... and be happy about the price you paid ...

but if you want better stuff.. pay a bit more.. and order in the proper season ... [you can buy a mercedes or a yugo ... but you cant complain the yugo isnt as good as the mercedes ] ...

after all.. they are hosta.. you could probably leave them.. wait for it.. on the driveway all winter.. lol .. but not in the box... lol ..

live and learn... you might not be happy.. but for sure.. you did NOT get ripped off ...

ken

I have a question about Steves comment. He is saying that these are probably field grown, not plants out of TC, so they are riskier. I understand that part, but I actually thought a field grown plant was more desirable than a TC. No?

Anyone want to explain that for me?

No, Steve said the opposite, that these were probably TC plants, NOT field grown. He said that there are some things, despite their smallness, that you don't have to worry about with TC plants, like nems.

No, Steve is saying Northern Grown Perennials and Green Mountain sell field grown hosta. So does Hallson.

He's saying you are more likely to get nematodes in those than a pot grown plant.

He commented in another thread this week that he only buys plants grown from tissue culture that are grown out in pots. He does not buy any that have been in the ground.

bk

Now the flip side of buying tissue cultures is that the plants you get may not be the plants that you ordered. Least that was my experience a couple of years ago. Purchased 4 'Guacamole' tissue cultures from two different sources. None of the 4 were Guacamole...they're all some NOID large blue hosta. Sucks because by now I should have four nicely sized Guacs instead of more blue not-fragrant hostas. I already had plenty of that.

Often the case is that the immature TC's don't resemble the mature plant.

So..... A tissue culture is less likely to have a virus or nematodes. But, you may end up with something other than you order.

A field grown plant could have nematodes or HVX, but would it be a larger more established plant? And more likely, correctly identified?

To clarify....tissue culture (TC) is a method of reproduction....field grown is how the plant is grown on at some point (vs continuing to grow in a pot).

Almost all commercial hosta were reproduced by TC initially.

A field grown plant likely was TC reproduced and then grown in a pot for a year or two before it was planted in the ground and grown out.

So TC, pot grown, and field grown are not exclusive terms....they all may apply to a particular hosta.

Paul

This post was edited by paul_in_mn on Fri, Oct 18, 13 at 12:09

Jamie,

Anything grown in the ground is more likely to have nems. Virus is not likely unless the original plant, either TC or division, came from a questionable source (i.e. imported from Holland or from some less than clean TC labs in this country).

In my experience is it possible, but rare that a TC being sold in the marketplace is not true to type. All nurseries guarantee their plants are true to the name that they sell. It's true that some plants don't TC well, but that's an issue with individual cultivars, not with Tissue Culture in general. If you want to just buy OS (originator's stock), be my guest. I know some folks that do this. But you'd better have a very large bank account. It's tissue culture that has made thousands of cultivars available at reasonable prices to all of us.

Steve

jamie.. you are hijacking this thread.. and i mention it.. only because if someone were to search for this info.. they would never find it in this seller review post ..

ALMOST ALL PLANTS ARE TC ... since at least 2000 .. unless they are specifically listed as OS .. originator stock ... which means the originator literally cut his stock apart for someone in the chain ... and how often do you see OS plants listed??????

once the lab sends them out.. some put them in pots.. some put them in the field...

i simply dont know where you guys are going with this ..

TC producers .. have to start with a sterilized pure unadulterated meristem ... its inherent in the process ... of which i am not explaining in this post ..

what is done with them after being made .... is a .. retailers issue ... jamie is talking about producers of TC.. and you guys are answering about secondary sellers of TC .... apples and oranges ...

i can not think of one NEWER plant.. that is not.. currently TC ... hell.. most of them are off-kind culls of the TC process ...

all that said.. a lot of sellers.. of very old.. bargain plants.. grow them in fields ... so what ....??? .. are you suggesting they all be put out of business for growing garden plants.. in the garden.. so i am back to.. what are you talking about ...???

buy from trusted sources.. and find some other chicken little thing to worry about ...

and if you get a plant with nems.. throw it out or ignore it....

ken

Sorry Ken. My bad. As usual you are right. I was hijacking the thread.

I really try not to post at all. I know it irritates a few of you when I ask a question you consider unrelated to the post. Usually I am considerate enough to delete it before actually posting.

Sometimes though, when I don't understand something, I want to know badly enough to take the risk. And luckily for me....there are a lot of very kind people on this forum who patiently explain.

I hope they all know how much I appreciate that. I am curious about things, and I have always felt that asking questions is the only way to learn.

Again, my apologies.

"I really try not to post at all."

Jamie, please don't let this dissuade you at all from posting. I'm still learning posting protocols and many of us have inadvertently hijacked threads.

Ken explained it well - don't take it personally...I look at it as coaching. I think I drove the members nuts when I first joined...I read up on protocols of posting long after I signed up ...I eagerly jumped right in (I'm too enthusiastic) and remember being prompted (more than once, lol) to start my own thread. It took me awhile to realize what that meant. Like you said, there are a lot of very kind people who patiently explain and I too am very grateful for that.

I'll probably get zinged for taking space here on this thread to address this, but hey, we all make mistakes sometimes. :-)

This is a good thread...I learned something new, albeit via a detour, lol. Thanks, Jamie! Thank you, Funnthsun for your tolerance (I hope).

Jo

You can only hijack a thread if the person that originally posted feels like they are being hijacked and I don't, so, no worries! This is the point of a discussion, you talk about one thing, which, hopefully leads to deeper, more interesting discussions. The topic will still come up in a search, search engines don't just search the title, but all of the words in a thread.

I will use this time to respond to the original idea, though and say that, thank you, Jo, for going along with the spirit of the original post so well! Exactly what I was going for!

I do have to say, though, that I did try and keep my original post neutral, but most everyone thought that I was disappointed, which is interesting b/c I actually was. I agree wholeheartedly with bkay and bernd on this one, those hostas were tiny. I am used to field-grown and in, fact, will only buy those in the future b/c I have no patience for a hosta that will take 5 years or more to have more than 10 leaves! Naylor Creek and LOTG has completely spoiled me. In fact, the Naylor Creek auctions sent plants that were 3 to 4 times that size for the exact same price and that was just a couple of weeks ago, so the off-season idea that Ken presented has little to do with it. I don't even care if they have leaves, which most posts focused on, it is the size of the root ball, the little, tiny stems and the fact that they have like one or two stems in total. Ridiculous. Just like bkay said in her thread about this, when you list a hosta at regular price and then sale it as an end of season plant, then it should be have some growth on it, like a regular plant should. It should not, however, be newly grown! They lead you to believe they are clearing out their stock, and then you get little babies that look like they just been unswaddled. That is not what I am used to, so I'm going back to the tried and true, Naylor, LOTG, Made In the Shade and Plant Delights for me. They were absolutely fabulous this year! They have the newest in stock, so if it ain't there, then I don't need it!

Thanks to everyone for contributing to this, feel free to continue either discussion, it is very enjoyable!

'Ape poop...' LOL I like it...

Thanks, funnthsun, and I hope those little suckers get a good leap next year...I'd bet a lot will, just from the ones I got from them. I hear you, though. 'Tried and true'. I tried 'em, but we know where to get better ones, eh? : )

Don B.

P.S. Nothing personal NH Hostas! I wish you continued good business, and I love your videos on YouTube!

Oh, and Jo...ahem....ZIIING!!!

This post was edited by Don_in_Colorado on Fri, Oct 18, 13 at 20:01

LOLLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOL-guuuud one, Don!
Cheers, Everyone! Pouring myself an excellent brandy to drink to all you good people and I wish you a great week-end. :-)

my fast flash reaction was "are they properly cleaning snipping tools between plants?"

it's a real PITA to do, properly

but the only properly safe way

I haven't posted for a while. Unfortunately I've been very busy battling foliar nematodes in my garden. But I have to stick up for NH Hostas here.

I've had 350+ hostas in my garden - at least until my nematode disaster. I estimate that more than half of these were from NH Hostas. Most were bought in the fall during their sales. Most I bought in person - they're pretty close by. Some were mail order.

Out of all the hostas I bought from them, only 2 ever got foliar nematodes, and these may well have been "caught" from infected neighbors.

Until spring 2012 I had only bought hostas from five places. Early in 2012 I decided to branch out. I ordered over 100 hostas from 9 nurseries mail order. Unfortunately 15 out of 59 hostas from five of these companies developed foliar nematodes. Since I planted these new hostas in mainly new planting beds and I'm very careful to bleach tools, shoes, use clean gloves, etc. I'm pretty sure the nems came with the plants.

None of the 54 hostas from NH Hostas, Hallson's, Naylor's and In the Country have developed nems.

In general plants don't grow really quickly in my garden - not a lot of sun and lots of tree roots. I haven't noticed that NH Hostas are particularly slow. Most of my older hostas are looking pretty good. In fact some are a lot bigger than I anticipated!

For me it's much much more important that plants are disease/foliar nematode free than instantly huge. When I'm back to buying more hostas, NH Hostas will be high on my list.

ejr, you misunderstood. Some people have said NH hosta are on the small side. No one questioned their being healthy. No one implied or said that their hosta would have, has had or might have a problem. The criticism was only regarding size.

The discussion became about hosta grown out in pots, versus hosta grown in the field. Steve likes pot grown better because he thinks it is safer if they are never exposed to real dirt. Others like the field grown method (from selected vendors) as they feel they get larger plants or like that particular grower.

Again, no one implied or said NH hosta had any kind of health problem - at least not in this thread. I'm not aware of anyone ever saying it on this forum.

bk

BK - I understood the poster was questioning the size.

Just saying there might be other factors to consider.

Did it not occur to anyone that the #2 Striptease looks oddly rhyzomatous, something I would NOT expect from that family tree. Don't be surprised next year if it shows up as something other than what it was shipped as.....

Pieter

I would be upset with the Deja Blu as it appears to have a lot of rot. So does Love Pat, but not as bad. Other than that, I think they will be fine next year, and if you asked I bet they would be happy to send you a new Deja Blu. Yes, Striptease is a bit odd, but might be from a division that formed small buds from the cut parts.

I was wondering if someone was going to notice the rot up under the crown on one of them. It was actually on three of them, but I pulled it off before I realized I should take pics of this shipment. Did leave it on Broad Band, though, but you are right, Christopher, you can see it on Deja Blu and Love Pat as well. Good eye!