Hey Andrea! Did you know that Hans Hansen is now with Walter's Gardens. He left Shady Oaks over a year ago. I just photographed some of his hybridized Hellebores this morning at Hideko's house. He just sold his home in Waseca and is still removing plants. He gave Hideko a bunch of his plants last Saturday. She called yesterday to see if I could come over to take photos of everything that is in bloom. She talks to Hans all the time. I'll give her your list and see if Hans knows where any of the ones you are looking for can be found.

I'm still looking for a job. I am not going to google any of the plants you listed because I do not need to get hooked on anything else!

I couldn't live so close to her. I would be in trouble. LOL Totally cool that Hans is there now! (Do you remember when I called him by the wrong name on the hosta tour...Lars or something? rofl)

Can't believe no job yet. Just sell your stuff...that's what I did for ages....just NOT the hostas. ha!

You really should look at these ligs...............

Yes - I remember you referring to him as Lars. I also remember Tara joking about dating him so she could get free hostas! LOL

I think I am over getting every hosta that I can get my hands on. Good thing - because I think the entire vole population in the state of Minnesota moved into my yard over the winter. Who knows what I lost. I'm afraid to look.

I just got my hosta journal today. It contains a notice about the convention that says "space is limited and filling up fast." I'm not sure I even want to attend........ but I guess if I do I'd better sign up quick!

Waving at ya, Andy. How the heck are you?
Shady Oaks has Osiris Fantaisie available in July
Walters has Osiris Cafe Noir
I haven't seen the others listed any where.
Pam

Hi Andrea,

They (the hybridizer basically) is releasing these slowly over several years. A couple you mentioned were planned for 2010 releases to the wholesalers, so then could take longer to get to the retailers.

I have Osiris Fantaisie, and had Osiris Cafe Noir on order last year but that fell through for some reason. The latter is on order again. If the others you mention hit the wholesale market this year then retailers like myself wouldn't have them until late 2011 or 2012.

So far sales of Osiris Fantaisie have been a dud, but I really like it myself, so hope that it will catch on.

Besides (to keep this on topic) they look great with hostas!

I am sooooooooo not looking at any other plants except that weeping hemlock. It's your fault Andrea that I got interested in evergreens.

Yay! Pam! How are you? So great to see your fonts again. :)

Chris, they DO look awesome w/ hosta! Especially gold against Britt Marie - SWOON! :D I got O. Fantaisie last year and I also love it. I have O. Cafe Noir as well and although it looks very similar...I had to get it to see how similar they really were. :)

Ok...I will be chomping at the bit waiting for one or more of the newbies to come out!

Teresa..I am almost out of room so can't order more hosta (she tells herself). As for conifers...you are in trouble if you get going there (refer back to comment about no more room lol).

I am going more vertical now. Shade tolerant vines on the fence in the hosta beds and things like asiatic/oriental/etc lilies on the margins of the beds in the sun.

Does anybody know the scoop on why Hans left Shady Oaks? I've heard all sorts of different rumors, ranging from the clearly ridiculous to the wildly speculative.

I think your description of the rumors is very good - they ran rampant last spring - and I suspect the truth is much more mundane. Certainly there were personal and professional issues involved in his move. A more reasonable question might be why Hans would have stayed with one local specialized wholesaler for such a long time.

Shady Oaks still concentrates on hostas and, though they have expanded into some other plants, their selection is still quite limited. Walters, on the other hand, may offer the widest range of perennials of any wholesaler in the US. I know Hans has developed interests beyond the world of hostas, and his opportunity to explore other plants would have been much more limited had he stayed at SO.

I stopped at Walters last summer on the way to the convention and fell into spending a couple of hours touring around the farms with the president of the company. They were excited to have Hans, primarily for his interest in some other plants beyond the hostas...

So... without participating in the rumor mill... I'm excited for Hans to have the resources of Walters to explore his interests... and yet as a Minnesotan, I was sorry to see him go.

And to remain OT, I like HOSTAS, but ligularias in my sandy soil tend to droop so dramatically at the slightest bit of brighter light or heat, I only grow the species plant ligularia przewalskii. It tolerates dry conditions much better than the bigger leaved, more dramatic ones. It has smallish leaves with neat cut edges, so it has its own charm. Nice companion for HOSTAS.

Lig planting tip for sandy soil:

Use a planting bag or heavy duty plastic garbage bag w/ holes poked in it. Dig a big hole...fill the bag w/ non-sandy soil and stick it in the hole...plant the lig in it. It createsa nice moist environment like they prefer and they do great! :)

Hideko told me on Sunday that Walters is really good to Hans and he is so much happier there. They have sent him to Holland and Belgium in past months. They are sending him to China in upcoming months to take full advantage of his knowledge and hybridizing skills. Go Hans - I think we will be seeing many interesting plants coming from Hans/Walters in the years to come. I am so happy for him. Moving his 5+ acres of unusual plants has been quite a chore that started last fall and still continues today. He has arranged with the buyers to be able to remove much more even after they move in. Hideko is benefiting from the plants he cannot take with. She got some Hellebores last weekend that are not on the market, along with many other unusual plants.

I don't think we have come close to seeing what Hans will develop in the plant kingdom, but will see it in years to come while he is at Walters.

Still frothing for these new Osiris babies. C'MON. lol

Does Walter's Gardens offer tours? I live about 20 minutes from them.

Hi Andrea,

I saw Osiris Pure Fantaisie recently in a wholesale catalog, but for the life of me can't find it now. Unfortunately the public response here to Osiris Cafe Noir and Osiris Fantaisie has been so poor that I won't be adding any others. So far they've proven a complete waste of my money and time so I'll probably dump them to make room for something else. But good luck with your quest.

Chris

ahh, bummer! Fantaisie has done great for me! If you need to dump them somewhere, you just let me know! ;D