It may clear some fears; On Mon, Aug 22, 2011 at 1:17 PM, Charles Barnhoorn (Hadeco) wrote: Hello Arif, Cucumber mosaic virus is not so common in Hipps. Leaves show large yellow concentrated rings and stripes. Also affects many other kinds of bulbs and other plants. More common is Hippeastrum mosaic virus (symptoms: yellow streaking with alternating patterns of light and dark green) and Tomato Bronze Virus (circles, white marks and streaks and wavy erratic leaf shape) All are transmitted by aphids, thrips etc mostly while in flower. Generally only transmitted by insects or mechanical damage. Causes some general weakening of the plant although this is usually only noticeable after a few seasons. Bulblets will also be affected. Kind regards, Charles Thank you Charles, Am I correct to understand that, an affected mosaic virus bulb will continue to bloom for some time and will also produce bulb lets which will have the disease but will mature to bloom. In short it would be like a genetically weak breed having short blooming life. Arif Arif, Essentially, yes that is correct. Many growers around the world maintain stocks of virus infected plants because the effects are usually quite minimal. Our belief however is that it is better to have best quality and clean stocks and so we ensure that virus is not present. Kind regards, Charles

Welcome 'conel946'! Glad you stepped out to comment on this forum! Hope you will be inclined to speak up even more as you feel comfortable with the 'regulars'! :o) I spoke with the manager of a foremost nursery in the general area (a bit of a drive but would not have kept me from returning), before making the trip! I told her that due to the increasing problem of HVX in the industry, I have become rather particular and careful about my hosta purchases and that even more than the HVX, I am concerned not to introduce any further nematodes to my garden!! I have had them show up in some hosta and fern I've acquired (So far, they have not appeared on any other hosta other than the ones I found them on initially and I took extreme measure in dealing with them when I found them)! She assured me, that they were very much *on top* of the virus, and that their plants are tested regularly for it and that I could have confidence in shopping with them. Well-----if they are *on top* of it, I don't know how they could have missed the ones I saw, definitely infected. I'm no expert, but it doesn't take one long to truly recognize the most obvious of signs, the 'bleeding out' along the veins, usually a darker green than is usual for the plant, the yellow spotting along the veins, the gnarly and deeply pock-markings that are not customary for the hosta! So--I passed on an awesome looking 'Hanky Panky', 3 eyes and beautiful, and priced at $20! It may have been fine, but how can I know--it may not present itself for years and then what? They would not take it back then! And, I run the risk of infecting my garden, if not by not being really careful, then by squirrels running through and breaking leaves, and caring the sap with them through the next hosta they encounter on their romp! Sigh! I know it is a terrible thing for the industry to deal with! I know, that the individual nurseries are as much a victim as we are, and on a much larger scale--but, to say you are taking every possible measure to protect the consumer, and then to obviously be 'missing the boat' as I saw is a total lack of integrity IMO! Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, Meijers--all of them are victims and know little about the plants they sell. They are warehousers not nurserymen, but the nurseries should be more responsible to their customers! HVX, is not the end of the world, in a garden, but it sure is a nuisance and ruins the appearance and perhaps the vigor of a most wonderful plant that I love!

Hi, Gina - thank you for the kind words. I now have it in a south facing window, that is mostly covered by a light filtering shade, 4 feet from a west facing window in a fairly bright room, and next to a humidifier. So it's sort of between a S and W window? I wondered if I did a full repot and root trim if I could possibly put it in a slightly smaller pot? I plan to use a mixture of 1:1:1 potting soil, perlite, and repti-bark, and possible put some empty bottles in the bottom as ballast. Yes, you'll be able to put it in a smaller pot after the root reduction, but do make sure you don't cut yourself short insofar as space for roots to run, given you'll be adding ballast. I also hoped to turn it into a standard or “mother/daughter”. It has 6 stems that all seem to be from the same plant and I wonder what the best way to convert it would be? A mother/daughter arrangement would look like the larger tree hovers protectively over the daughter tree. When you select the two trees, be sure the larger doesn't dirsctly overhang the smaller and shade it out. The two should be offset a bit. This can usually be accomplished best by allowing the two trunk lines to be directly above each other for a distance before the daughter's trunk turns toward you. This arrangement has a front and a back for viewing purposes, but it should be rotated regularly so all sides get their share of light. Remove the surplus stems.branches unnecessary to the composition by pruning them back to the trunk. Start them as cuttings if you like. I read about removing stems to accomplish this but also about leaving stems, because those leaves have value to the plant, while you focus on strengthening one stem or binding a few together? Honestly, I just read so much information at once in the past couple days that I am a little overwhelmed :) Not pertinent at this point - save that for later. I would like to give it the correct soil and conditions for it to thrive. I think you can expect good results with what you proposed above, and the ballast will definitely work in your favor. Is it too late for a repot and root pruning in zone 7b? If there was no pressure to get the plant out of the pot/soil it's in now, I'd probably wait. If you think the combination has potential to dump a serious problem before next spring, go ahead and repot. It would be best if, after the repot, the plant could be sited outdoors in dappled or open shade and out of wind while it recovers. You have a longer growing season than I do and I set Aug 1 as my last repot date for Ficus ..... but all my trees are outdoors, which makes a very significant difference. Start fertilizing when you're seeing new growth. Make sure you keep the roots WET for the entire duration of the repotting session. Have everything ready to go before you start. Add a wick to the pot too, if you like. Questions? Al

I totally forgot that June fever was not the June family but from Devon Green... Another beauty for sure. I think the one next to Justine is Dream Queen. .I have not been on the site for some time. Both Myrle and myself seem to get so busy and never find the time but winter is coming soon although still have not had frost yet, picked dill and,apples( granny Smith) yesterday along with beets ,carrots and potatoes. Hosta have lost their beauty now and still trying to get the beds tidied up but now are covered in leaves so maybe not and then the snow will hide it all. Myrle is going to be a grandmother of her second grandchild in a couple weeks so she is quite excited for the event Will pass on the message Jo although I think she snoops here from time to time too. I haven't got many new hosta so feel don't have much to contribute except the same old same old lol Did have a photo shot for a couple girls who were donating their funds to Breast cancer so that was a fun time